"Is it Hick? Jos, what happened?"
"That snake in the grass, al-Bashir posted a video a couple of hours ago. In it, he claimed American forces attacked the private residence of one of a distant relative in Iraq killing several unarmed inhabitants. According to him, the family fought back and managed to kill several of the raiders before successfully repelling the rest."
Annabeth smacked the remote against her palm and furiously pressed the button. When it didn't turn the television on, she threw it in frustration, shattering it on the wall. "What else? I know you are hiding something from me."
Joselyn hesitated a few moments. "There were pictures; grainy ones like taken from afar. It showed a soldier slumped on a rooftop. A helicopter is burning on the ground. They claim they killed six and wounded many more."
"Oh my God," Annabeth whispered. The room became bright as if a 1000 watt light bulb suddenly flicked on. "I think I'm going to pass out."
"Put your head down. Try to stay calm. Maddox is on the phone trying to find out anything he can. He said he doubted this was true; it didn't follow what he knew about SEAL missions. Did you hear me, Annabeth? He said he didn't think it was true."
"What if it is?" Annabeth's hands were shaking badly, and goosebumps had broken out all over her body. "Jos, what if he's gone? We just figured out this thing between us. I don't think I can handle it if he's gone."
"Annabeth! Don't kill him off so quickly. Hick and the other guys are all highly trained. Maddox says they have plans on top of plans. He said to try and not worry."
"Let me have the phone." Annabeth heard River's voice in the background. She gripped the chair arms as the sound of the receiver changing hands crackled in the speakers.
"Alright, I spoke to a friend, Tex. He can find out anything about anyone. He confirmed there was a fight and it was bad. I asked him about my team, and he said they are badly battered, but they made it out alright. Hick's alright. Did you hear me Annabeth? Tex says Hick is fine."
Annabeth heard, and the wave of relief that washed over her could drown an elephant. Hick was alright; battered, but alright. She didn't care what battered meant; she was just relieved he was still alive. Putting her head down next to the speaker, she swallowed. "Yeah, I hear you River," she whispered.
"I'm going to call Grace," Joselyn promised.
"No, don't. Kenseth is out of state, and she has Elliot. I'm okay. I'll wait until my nerves calm down then go home. I think I'm done for the day in the office."
"I'll stay on the phone with you."
"No, you go ahead. I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
Annabeth thought about the news, the ups and downs of the last few minutes. Nodding absently, she whispered, "Yes, I'm alright. Thank River for checking for me."
"Honey, we wouldn't let you go through this alone. I'll tell him when he gets off the phone. He's calling Olivia to let her know. I'm sure she's going out of her mind worrying as well."
"We need a support group. I don't know how the other wives go through this."
Joselyn's voice turned bitter. "Maddox told me this is unusual. Normally, the guys are home long before any sort of news comes out. This jackass terrorist jerk couldn't wait to spin his propaganda."
"So basically, I won't know he's hurt until he's standing there with blood all over him?"
"Pretty much. At least then you can see with your own eyes that he's alive."
"Okay."
Annabeth stared at the words on Andrew's contract until they blurred and thick tears splattered the type. "I think I'm going to go home now. I'll wait for him to call me while I drown my sorrows in a tub of Death by Chocolate. Maybe whiskey. Hell, I may mix the two. Right now I think I need a dose of both."
"Alright, honey. Call me when you get home so I won't worry too."
"Okay."
When the phone disconnected, Annabeth lowered her head to her arms and let the flood go. Hick was alright. He was alive.
Chapter 12
The atmosphere was subdued in the ranks. Even with the victory yesterday, the coming event was heavy on everyone's mind. In less than a week, Allah would exact his revenge.
6 days
The rumble of the C-17 transport plane echoed in the cargo area. Bravo team along with the assorted equipment and supplies fought for space in the cramped hold. Along one side of the fuselage, the men rested, silently waiting for the signal that they had crossed back into American airspace. The ones who were still awake stared blankly ahead or down at their cell phones, anxiously awaiting the notification they could finally contact their loved ones. Though technically, the mission had been a success, it had come at a great cost. When the dust cleared, all of the enemies were dead. However, Alpha team had taken a huge hit. Four of their fellow SEALs wouldn't be coming home this time.
"Diablo, Mastiff, Janitor and Razor," Finch muttered. "Four gone in the blink of an eye and seven injured including Diesel and Fritz."
"It was all a trap," Mozart growled. "They were waiting on us, dug in like ticks. You saw it happen. They waited until the team was in that tiny dead-end room before swarming them. The information was planted specifically to pull us in."
"Thank God Bravo was close, or it could have been a lot worse," Bruiser added as he readjusted his leg jutting out into the aisle.
"How's the leg?"
"Hurts like hell. Olivia is probably going to go apeshit when she sees it. I think it's worse for her because she's ex-army. She knows how fast things can fall apart." He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back.
"I can get Ice to talk to her if you think it'll help," Wolf volunteered. "She and the other women get together when we're gone. They're each other's support system."
"I may take you up on that."
"How about you, Hick? The shoulder doing alright? If you need to switch with me so you can rest your arm on the bags, it's okay with me."
"Stop mothering me, Finch. I'm fine. It was a clean shot on the top of my shoulder. Other than a little soreness, I don't even know it's there. It won't even slow me down." Hick snarled.
Finch threw up his hands in surrender. "Okay, Okay. I was just trying to be nice. Jesus."
"What's his problem," Abe asked.
"Which one," Railroad answered without opening his eyes. "Finch is overprotective, and Hick is worried what his friend is going to say when she finds out he's been shot." He made air quotes when he said the word friend.
"Leave her out of this," Hick bit out.
"Oh for God's sake, when are you going to man up and admit that Bethy is more than just a friend?" Toad jumped to his feet. The plane hit a pocket of turbulence causing them to sway precariously. Toad shot a hand out and braced against a stack of crates tightly webbed in against the floor. "Try another line because this bullshit you are shoveling isn't working."
Hick shot to his feet and shoved Toad roughly. "You don't know what you're talking about. What happens between us is our business and nobody else's."
Toad smirked. "Well if there's nothing but friendship, maybe it's time she moved on. If you're not going to close the deal, I can do it for you. Redheads are tigers in the sack. Plus she's got all those curves... a man could spend a lot of time exploring."
Hick curled his hands into fists; his eyes narrowed as the veins in his temple pounded. "You lay one finger on Georgia I'll end you where you stand. This is your only warning."
Toad huffed. "That's another thing. Pick a damn name. Call her Annabeth or Georgia because I'm getting whiplash from her names and you saying you have a casual thing then getting all sentimental when you talk to her."
All eyes were open now and watching the shouting match between the two.
"What I call her is between us. The kind of relationship we have is too. You're the one spending all your time seeing how many girls you can bag. Jesus! Your freaking name is Toad because you hop from bed to bed!"
"Wow, I thought it was because he was their best swimmer," Cookie muttered to Benny.
&
nbsp; "You know I don't tell people about my name," Toad snared and pulled his fist back as if intending on landing it on Hick's face. Suddenly, Wolf grabbed Toad as Bruiser pulled Hick back.
"Stop it, both of you. Sit down and cool off," Bruiser roared, twisting Hick around and pushing him into the seat. He hopped a step then bent over, groaning as a bright red spot bloomed on his thigh. "Great, I think the stitches popped."
Mozart rose up and grabbed a pack. "I'll take a look. Drop trou and take a seat."
The air was thick as soup from the tension radiating off Toad and Hick. The two glared at each other as Mozart unwrapped Bruiser's leg. "Yeah, you popped 'em," he grunted. Squatting down, he pulled supplies out of the med bag.
Hick flipped Toad a finger, turned to the side and propped against a stack of crates. The mutters of Mozart and Bruiser were lost in the noise of the hold.
"Look, we're all on edge here," Wolf finally piped up. "The mission was a Charlie Foxtrot. Just about everything that could go wrong did. Even with taking out Fedora's lieutenant, it feels like a failure because we lost brothers. The question now is how do we let this affect us? Do we break down and let them get in our heads or do we take this as a rallying call to take the bastard out once and for all? Right here, right now, we take the fight back to him. We don't let our loss become their motivation. You've seen the bullshit video he posted. He's gloating over this. I say we get our heads out of our asses and put the anger where it belongs - on him and not each other."
Toad blew out a breath. "I may have taken a tiny step over the line. Sorry, Bro."
Hick choked out a laugh. "Ya think?" Slowly the fury melted out of him. "Yeah, alright," he agreed. Facing Toad, he lifted his chin. "Me too. I'm just a little on edge about the mission, and then things with Annabeth have taken a turn. I haven't said anything because we're still trying to figure everything out. Either way, I shouldn't have let my temper get away from me."
"Yeah, me either," Toad returned.
"Are you going to kiss and make up now?" Benny asked flatly.
Everyone laughed. "If they do, I'm kicking their asses out of this plane without a chute," Railroad grumped then crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. "We get enough of that lovey-dovey crap when Olivia and Bruiser are in the same room."
Mozart stood and glanced over at Benny. "How about you? Your side okay?"
"Yeah, just a scratch. I'm fine."
The big man nodded and gathered his supplies. Storing them in their bag, he returned to his seat and relaxed.
Static crackled from the speaker mounted on the ceiling overhead. "U.S. airspace," the pilot clipped.
Cell phones were dug out and turned on. Everyone had seen the propaganda released by al-Bashir and knew wives, girlfriends and family would be worried sick about them. Because of the engine noise vibrating through the space, privacy was at a premium. However, each man did as he could to damp the clatter somewhat.
Hick turned and cupped his hand around the mouthpiece of the phone. It only rang once before he heard the most beautiful voice in the world.
"Levi? Oh, thank God. Are you alright? I saw the video, and it about scared the life out of me. Where are you? Is everyone okay?"
He couldn't help but smile even though she was rambling. She was so damn cute. It didn't escape his notice that she had called him by his given name. She tended to do that when she was upset or worried.
"Slow down, Georgia. Yeah, I'm alright. We're a little beat up, but the team made it through."
"They said there were some casualties."
He blew out a breath. "We lost four brothers from another team."
"Oh my! I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, me too. "
"But you're alright?"
He heard the trepidation in her voice and hurried to reassure her. "Yes." He didn't like withholding the truth from her, but he knew she would freak out right now. It would be better to wait until they were alone before he told her about his wound. He didn't want her upset when there was nothing he could do right now to calm her.
She obviously didn't buy it. Annabeth paused a few moments. "I want to Skype."
Hick blinked slowly. "Skype? Now? Right now? Why? I'm not home yet."
Her voice took on an exasperated tone. "Yes, now, so you can strip, and I can see for myself you aren't hurt."
He choked. Behind him, Hick heard someone snort. Turning his head, he saw Toad watching him. "You do it, I swear to God, I'm filming it and putting it on YouTube."
Ignoring him, he turned back to the conversation. "That wouldn't be a good idea, Georgia. The stripping part is definitely not a good idea right now."
"Is it because you're hiding something?"
"No, honey, it's because I'm on an airplane with ten guys who wouldn't appreciate me showing my Sunday best."
"You got that shit right!" Finch yelled out
Railroad joined in. "He strips, out he goes."
"Sorry. You'll have to take my word I'm okay."
Toad leaned in and shouted, "Yeah, besides the bullet hole isn't very big. He's had worse."
"Bullet hole? You got shot?" Annabeth screeched.
Putting his hand over his mouthpiece, he glared at Toad. "Thanks a lot, brother."
"Anytime," he smirked then winked. Dropping back into his seat, Toad pulled out his cell and began playing a game.
Hick considered a little lie but knew eventually she would see the wound. Bracing himself, he nodded absently. "Yeah, I got shot." He hurried to pacify her. "But it's a small place on the top of my shoulder. It's just a flesh wound. Doc checked it out and said I'll be fine. I'm not even going to get any recovery time off. Look, if you need to Skype to see for yourself, I can do that, but I'm not stripping. I'll save that for when we are alone."
"Hick," she breathed softly.
He could hear the hitch in her voice and knew she was close to tears. "Hey, hey, hey. It's ok, honey, I promise you. I told you I was coming home to you and I meant it. The Phoenix thing is this weekend. Think about it - just a few days and I'll be there. Okay?"
"Yeah, okay," she agreed reluctantly. "That cabin you're getting for us better have room service because we're not leaving until they have to come looking for us."
"If it doesn't I'll make sure to have it stocked for us. We won't have to leave. That okay?"
"Perfect."
"Alright, honey, I'm going to go now. I just wanted you to know I was okay and that I was thinking about you. I'll talk to you tonight."
"Okay. I love you."
"Me too."
He disconnected the call and slid his cell into one of the pockets of his BDU. Just talking to Georgia was enough to bring him out of his funk.
"Yep, you're right," Toad called out from his seat.
"I'm right about what?"
"Your relationship has changed."
"You're just jealous."
Toad lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Maybe."
Hick frowned. That didn't sound like Toad. He was the carefree one. Was he thinking about finally shedding those wandering shoes?
"You okay?" Hick asked.
In reply, Toad grunted and kept his eyes on his game.
Chapter 13
The Maker arrived and went straight to work. Each device had a specific purpose and must be created according to rigorous specifications. The process will take several hours to complete. A last-minute addition to the order had the Maker frowning. The kill switch was imperative and would be added in at a hefty premium. Like most western jackals, money spoke loudly. Their greed overshadowed everything.
27 hours
"In conclusion, I know this is the first time for many of you to attend a convention of this size, and you are understandably nervous. However, please remember the other authors and artists behind those doors downstairs are all people too. They had their first attendance once. They sat in those same chairs and felt the giant goose sized butterflies in their stomachs. They survived, and you will survive too. You all have your
packets of information that includes the table charts and event lists. Nothing is mandatory, just go when you want, if you want, but I encourage you to network as much as possible. This is an awesome opportunity for you to meet not only your peers but also cover artists, models, publishers, editors and an assortment of other professionals who can help you on your way. Just stay away from the artist's relations people. I need to pay my bills. Are there any questions?"
Annabeth's eyes twinkled mischievously as she added the last part. In reward, several of the seven authors she currently represented in the classroom chuckled. In the back corner, Andrew Stinger rolled his eyes and stood to his feet. Turning abruptly, he disappeared out the door. She frowned. Well, that was true about all of her clients except for him. Even though she believed in his work as she did all her clients, she would be more than happy to see him wander off to another agent. His mood swings were getting on her nerves. Maybe it was the disastrous date they had gone on. Up until that point, he had been charming, but the appeal was over. The prince had turned into a frog. Either way, she wouldn't be sad to see him go.
"Alright then. Thank you all for trusting me to be your representative and remember there will be a reception Monday evening. The information is in the packet you have. Everyone have a great time, and you have my number on speed dial. I'm here to help you. However I can."
Everyone stood and started to make their way toward the door. Annabeth picked up her satchel and purse, took a big breath and pasted a smile on her face. Here we go, old girl, let's get this show on the road.
"Annabeth!"
She whirled around and came face to face with Joselyn. With a squeal, she threw her hands out dropped her bags and hugged her friend tightly. "Jos! I saw you sneak in during the talk. You've been through my spiel before; you didn't have to come."
Joselyn let her friend go and stepped back. "Of course I had to come. You've been there with me every step of my career with your support, how could I ever do less?"
In response, Annabeth smiled and took a step back. "Pffft. As if you could ever be a burden. I would love to have another dozen clients like you." She peeked over Jos's shoulder and grinned. "Hey River. You're looking as hunky as always. Are you ready to hit a few covers yet? I can get you a contract just like that." She grinned as she snapped her fingers. "I like the beard. The silver fox is very 'in' right now. The ladies love that distinguished, sexy, mature look."
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Rescuing Annabeth (Kindle Worlds) (Team Cerberus Book 2) Page 9
