by Tamika Brown
Calen came to the realization that he and his men had been set up. The only thing that added up to him. It was as if they knew they were coming. But how could that be? They were special ops; no one would know their mission.
They didn’t even know it until the briefing.
He pushed reasons and assumptions out of his mind as his men began to question what happened and whether or not the mission had been completed.
“I don’t know what happened. I missed it the first time we went through. All I knew was my gut was churning. It didn’t seem right to me. They knew we were coming,” he said more to himself than to his men.
At Calen’s statement, his men visibly stiffened. They knew the implications, the consequences for such an accusation, but they trusted him and his gut feelings. He had never steered them wrong before. They could rest assured Calen would take this up with his commander and get to the bottom of it.
“Welcome home, Calen,” he said to himself.
9
Calen
As soon as the plane hit the ground, Calen barked orders to his men while striding to his commander’s office.
He found him in the control room, talking on the red phone. The president had already been informed of what happened during the mission.
Reluctantly, the Sergeant Major hung up the phone and turned to Calen.
“What the hell happened out there?” His request for answers came out more of a demand than asking a simple question.
Calen just simply said, “We were set up.”
The Sergeant Major stared at Calen just as his men had moments earlier. “Do you know what you’re saying? Do you have proof Calen?” He pumped Calen for more information.
“No, no proof, but what else could it be,” he asked in frustration.
Calen recapped what happened from the beginning. “Everything went as planned. We entered the compound, took out the guards.” He got a distant look as recalled the action. “Now, looking back on it, it was all too easy.”
“What do you mean,” Russell prompted.
“For the ambassador to have so few guards, considering his importance. It was too easy to find him and to take them out.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
He was tired. He had that uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach throughout the whole mission. His gut told him something wasn’t right. Now, Calen knew why.
“That’s when I heard the ticking. Faint at first, but the closer we got to the room we believed held the second target, the louder it got. When I realized I what it was, I yelled for everyone to hightail it out of there,” he concluded.
Sergeant Major Russell took a deep breath to take it all in. “You know if what you’re saying is true, Calen, then we have a leak in the unit.”
“Not in my unit, sir, but perhaps someone who knows our inner workings. This was not one of my men’s doing,” he said emphatically.
“Regardless.” Russell paced, then took the seat directly across from Calen. “A leak should be dealt with one way or another. We have to make a plan first. Can you handle it?”
“Of course.” Anger coursed through Calen’s blood. “Whoever it was tried to kill me and my men. They won’t get away with it.”
Finally, Sergeant Major Russell stood. “Make a list of men, no more than three you absolutely trust and would be perfect for an investigative team within the unit, and get it to me in the morning.”
Calen saluted and went off to his men.
When he approached all seven of his men, those he would lay his life down for and those who would do the same for him, they appealed to him for clarity on what was going on.
“What’s happening? What did Russell say?” came all at once.
Of course, Calen couldn’t tell them about the investigative team Russell had asked him to form.
Calen held up his hand to stop the questions. “I let Russell know of our suspicions, and he assured me the matter would be dealt with. I told him I believed we were set up, and from what I divulged, he agreed. Someone leaked our mission.”
“He couldn’t possibly think it was one of us does he,” David Bryce said, Calen’s oldest friend in the unit. His best friend, for that matter.
“Hell, no,” he blasted. “I told him there was no way, and he thought better of it. But trust me, whoever did this is gonna wish they were dead.”
This seemed to satisfy his most trusted men. They nodded, agreeing and encouraging him to continue.
“We have to plan this out carefully.” He caught each man’s eyes. These were his brothers. They had been through many life-or-death situations with the enemy, but someone who knew them was threatening them… new territory for all of them. “You speak to no one about our suspicions. As far as we are concerned, this mission went as planned. No one was hurt, we got our target, and that’s all that matters. We all in agreement then?”
All the men nodded in confirmation. If any of them disagreed, they didn’t show or voice it.
“Good. I’ll let you know when the plan is finalized and when I know more. You’re dismissed.” With that, he went off to contemplate whom he was going to put on the investigative team the Sergeant Major wanted him to assemble.
He reached his assigned housing on base and was grateful to finally be home. He didn’t realize how tired he was until he walked across the threshold. The past hours leading up until now had been grueling.
He meandered to the kitchen, not even bothering to unbutton his gear and went straight for the stale beer in the fridge. He popped the cap and sat down on his couch, staring at the blackness of the television mounted on the wall. He took a swig and let his head dropped back, resting it on the back of the chair.
He already knew who he had in mind for the investigative team Russell wanted him to put together. He sat his beer down, grabbed the pad and pen laying on the coffee table, and jotted down the names before he forgot.
His thoughts went past the ambush and straight to the lovely lady he reluctantly left almost two days ago. He reached over and scooped up the cell phone he left before he went on his flight across seas.
Damn, he wanted to call her, but he didn’t know if he should or not. He’d had little time to focus on her, but now, the adrenaline rush of hours before had dissipated, she consumed him.
Her laughter, the way she whispered in his ear as they laid in each other’s arms, filled his thoughts. He wanted to hear her voice, if not just to let it wash over him and take away the stress settling in his shoulders and back from the weariness of what had taken place on their mission.
Calen almost put the phone back down. He shouldn’t call her, not with all that was going on, but that’s why he must call. He felt as though she was the only stable and sane thing in his world right now, and he missed her.
“Fuck it,” he said and scrolled through his contacts for her name.
SHAYLA
Shayla decided she would use this opportunity to take the Banks by storm. She would go power shopping. It’s what she always did after a break up or a date with a guy she really figured would be perfect for her that went nowhere.
She was pretty sure this would keep her mind off Calen. She was confused about whether or not to be angry with him, but she knew he was military. These were things she was going to have to get used to in their relationship.
“Ha, relationship. You’ve known him for a few weeks and already talking relationship,” she said. “So much for getting him off your mind.”
It was almost lunchtime, and she was famished.
Naturally, after trekking and shopping around the Banks, she would end back where their whirl-wind-of-a-romance began, the Breakwater Restaurant. She was drawn to it. She supposed it was because she missed him; she somehow felt a connection to him there.
Against his warning, she’d tried calling him earlier, but his phone went straight to voicemail. Just as well since she really didn’t know what to say to him. “Oh, I was just calling to take back the I love you.”
Yeah, right.
She convinced herself she scared him off. If anything would send a man running for his life, it was those three words, and like an idiot, she said them to a man who was possibly the best thing that ever happened to her.
In the middle of her reverie, her phone rang. At first, she planned to let the voicemail catch it, but reconsidered. When she glimpsed the screen, she immediately hit the talk button. It was Calen.
“Hello, hello?” she answered softly.
Silence filled the line before he audibly swallowed.
“Hey, how are you?” he finally pushed out.
Unsure how to answer that, an awkward silence stretched between them. Was she supposed to blurt that she still loved him? Or take the words back in the hope he’d forget she ever made such a huge blunder? Or should she be angry he left the way he did?
He broke through the ice first. “I… I just wanted to let you know I was okay. I know I should’ve called when I got back, but I left my phone at home.”
“I’m glad you called. I was worried about you. It seemed serious,” she prodded, but he didn’t divulge.
“So, how was the rest of your vacation? When do you go back to Denver?”
She sighed. “The vacation’s been lonely, but I went to the beach today. It was so relaxing with the sun beaming down and the sound of the waves crashing. I enjoyed myself,” she said. “I even went back to the museum where we met. Had to since my time there was interrupted by a crazy stalker.” She chuckled.
Her mind filled with their first night together. How handsome he was at the bar, how perfectly his body fit against hers, the way their bodies moved together on the dance floor.
As if remembering the same things, he laughed huskily. “Even if we didn’t start out well, I’m glad I was your stalker, as you put it. And I’m glad you found ways to enjoy yourself,” he said. “I was worried when I left. I didn’t expect how emotional it would be.”
She was silent for a few moments before she offered, “Did you expect anything else from someone who loves you?”
Her heart pounded with fear. Instead of doing the safe thing, she again put her heart on the line and held her breath as she waited for his response.
His breath hitched, but his next words weren’t what she’d hoped. “You don’t know how bad I want to tell you what happened to us last night. But I can’t. All of my missions are classified.”
Joy and disappointment rolled through her. He didn’t say the words, but his obvious trust in her gave her hope. She waited, wondering if he would say more, but a page sounded in the background. While distant, she clearly made out that Calen needed to report to the main offices.
His voice turned rough with unspoken emotion. “Shayla, I’m sorry I have to go?
“Yeah,” she said with a sigh as sadness took hold once more. “I heard.”
“I’ll call you when I can. Shay, I wanted to tell you, I… I loved spending time with you.”
Disappointment flooded in. He wouldn’t say it… or couldn’t. No matter.
“Bye.” And with that, Calen hung up the phone.
She disconnected the phone, asked for her check, and headed to her car.
She thought she would be happy to hear from him. She was for a little while, but she could sense something was wrong. He was troubled, and she wanted him to tell her. She believed, for a second, he was about to tell her he loved her. Or maybe, it was wishful thinking on her part, though. She didn’t know.
He didn’t even try to talk with her about it, which put her in a sullen mood. She wanted him to love her the way she loved him. For Shayla to give her heart away was something special and unexpected for her. She never wanted to explore a relationship with someone else before. But she understood love was something to be cultivated, even if it was at first sight.
They were still getting to know one another, exploring each other and their feelings when his job called him away.
Lost in her head, she drove back to her villa in a trance.
When she arrived, she rummaged through her purchases to occupy her mind, wishing she hadn’t bought so much. She didn’t know how she would pack it all.
Deciding it could wait for at least an hour, she changed into her swimsuit and headed for the crashing of the waves and the refreshing breeze.
The waves and wind proved to be therapeutic.
Right at that moment, she decided to go for it. This was her one chance to be happy. She’d told Calen her feelings; the ball was now in his court. If he needed time, she would give it to him.
When she returned to the villa, she would make sure to text him her numbers and address in Colorado and let him know to contact her when he was ready.
But for now, she tried to relax and enjoy the few hours left of her vacation.
10
Calen
Calen entered the briefing room where his chosen men waited and slumped into the chair next to Sergeant Major Russell. Standing in front of them were the most reliable and trusted from his group. He had no doubt these men would get the job done. After the hell they went through, they were thankful they only came away with scrapes and bruises. No casualties this time. They would sniff out the one selling out their country.
Sergeant Major Russell turned the briefing over to Calen since these were his men.
Calen began, “I know you may be wondering what you are doing here, and I want to say thank you to each and every one of you for trusting me with your lives. Sergeant Major and I believe we have a mole.”
The men started to chatter. Calen gave them a stern look, and all talk ceased. They knew better.
He continued, “I was asked to put together an investigative team to work on uncovering who almost got us killed.” Anger laced his voice, the same anger reflected in the men’s faces he assembled. “You are the men I believed could handle the job and do it as discreetly as possible. Russell agrees.”
He signaled to at ease and take their seats, so they could get started.
Russell went around the room and gave each man a file folder containing information gathered to help with the investigation.
“We start with the list of potential suspects.” Each one of them pulled out the first piece of paper from their folder. Each of them perused the list of potentials. Many of the names compiled were those they recognized. Some more well-known than others.
Gunnery Sirdarius Page peered up from the sheet. “This has to be everyone who was privy to our mission, sir.”
Calen acknowledged Page’s assumption. “No one is above suspicion. What happened to us is a potential risk to our nation’s security. If we don’t suspect everyone, then there’s no telling what type of information will get out there.”
“So, what do we do with all this?” Lance Corporal Evan Hodge asked. Calen looked down at the list; they were in for a long night.
“Yeah, what does this investigation entail?” The final member of the team, Lance Corporal David Bryce and Calen’s best friend, asked.
Calen understood the confusion for the predicament they were in, but he was confident they would get to the bottom of whoever was trying to kill them.
“For starters, surveillance, then background checks and close scrutiny of anyone with high military clearance. Divide the work up, then let me know what you find. You’ve got three days,” he said.
“So, let’s get started. We have a lot to do and three days to do it,” said Bryce.
The men agreed to the terms and task set before them and immediately got to work. They understood they wouldn’t talk to or report to anyone but Calen. The deadline was tight, but they had a training mission soon. Calen knew his men would come through.
As his men left, Calen gave Sergeant Major Russell a reassuring, indicating his men would get the job done.
BRYCE
After countless interviews, mulling through surveillance tapes, and combing through emails, their first break came at about 2200 hours.
Bryce was reviewing email accounts of the
handful of personnel who had information about their mission. One particular email caught his attention. The email caught his attention because it contained Arabic. A long shot, but worth a look. He skimmed the email only able to pick up a few words in a conversation as a result of his time in the Middle East—which meant he needed someone to translate it.
Page was out wrapping up interviews—he was one of three men who spoke the language fluently—so he called Hodge over to help him out,
Hodge was fluent in about five languages, one of them being Arabic. He was essential to the team. When they entered villages in Iraq or any other predominantly Muslim town or country, Hodge was the liaison between the soldiers and the people. He was able to build a rapport with the people, usually making it easier for the team to move around in the town.
“Hey, Hodge, come here. I need you to look at this for me.” He printed out the message and handed it to Hodge. “What does it say? I can’t pick out the meaning.”
Hodge read the message, first to himself and then aloud. It was all really mundane until he reached the part written in Arabic. His voice went to a small whisper as he read the Arabic to himself. His mouth gaped open. “I can’t believe how stupid someone was.”
“What does it say?” Bryce said looking over Hodge’s shoulder to continue his attempt at reading the printouts.
Hodge held up one finger, indicating he needed a moment, then smirked as he read it to himself. “I can’t believe this. Someone actually thought they’d get away with something like this, and right here at a military base? What kind of mess is that?”
Bryce still looking over his shoulder said, “Hodge, you don’t recognize the name at the top of the account?”
Hodge did a double-take. “Oh, shit. Calen is going to flip when he sees this. You gonna tell him? Because I sure as hell ain’t. Hell, I don’t even want to be around when the shit hits the fan.”
