Thane and two of the FBI agents were going to the house while the others were checking to see if they could locate where the hacking signals were coming from. They all wore ear wicks so they could communicate, which was a good thing considering what happened as they approached the house.
Thane looked up and down the sidewalk, making sure there were no threats before they pulled up the police tape and walked into the courtyard of the mansion. The place is enormous, and an eyesore, thought Thane. He could not imagine the down to earth sweet woman Arden was growing up here. It didn’t fit, which is probably why she left.
“We are going in, status?” Thane said quietly.
“Two targets, one on the phone while the other has binoculars trained on you. Approaching from the back,” West whispered. They needed answers, and hopefully these two men were going to finally give them the man they needed to make all of this go away. West and Mason had talked before he left; they wanted Arden to have peace from the past. Her parents were not what they seemed, and West was going to find out what they were hiding.
Thane listened and heard his friend move. Maybe they would actually get some answers. That was his last thought as an explosion ripped through the property and flung Thane and the other men back across the street.
West heard and felt the explosion a block away. The doors to the car they were approaching were flung open. No one had time to react, it was as if they knew West and the others were coming because they opened fire before either of them had a chance to react.
West felt the first bullet enter his hip, spinning him to the side, and the second tore through his back. Fuck, West thought and fell to the ground, his last thought before losing consciousness was of Mason and Arden, they needed to be protected.
Chapter Six
Jessie and Drake watched as the man across the street in the driver seat talked on the phone and stared at them intently. Jesse refused to break eye contact with the asshole that looked like he was trying to intimidate them. Grant stood to his left and Jabo stood to Drake's right, both with shotguns looking menacing.
The SEAL wished for a minute that the men in the SUV would be able to see who was really protecting Brin. He could feel his fallen teammates as they stood behind them for back up. He could almost picture Mark’s menacing face daring the strangers to make a move. He felt himself relax, they were here, and they would let him know what needed to be done.
“Never let them see you blink,” Mark whispered in his ear and Jessie wanted to shake his head. It was something they used to say to each other. “Nothing will happen to Brin and Marcus, I will make sure of it. They have another plan anyway.”
Jessie felt relief at his dead friend’s words, but if his friend would actually have been standing there next to him, he would have felt so much better. Then he could bitch slap him for being cryptic. But fuck it, none of that was ever going to happen. However, he drew strength from the fact they were watching his six though.
“He is making a point,” Jessie said. “Letting us know they know where we are.”
“Maybe we should make our point,” Jabo said and Jessie heard the click of a round being loaded. “You know, we don’t fuck around with no one.”
“I think he is getting that,” Drake smirked as the man narrowed his eyes and said something into the phone.
“The passenger is reaching for something,” Grant said and lifted his gun in defense.
“Hang on,” Jessie said when the driver hung up the phone and started the SUV. They could see the passenger throw something out of the window on the side, and as the SUV pulled away, the driver motioned with his hand like a gun and pulled the trigger. He spun away as he was laughing.
“Fucker,” Jessie said and walked across the road and looked down. There was a picture of Brin and the baby coming out of the hospital, there was a red circle drawn around Brin’s face. “We need to get everyone out of here, Brin and the baby are on lockdown until we leave. Jabo, we need to ask for some help.”
Grant looked over Jessie's shoulder grimly. “Damn it,” Grant said and looked at Jabo. “We need more than help, call in the boys.”
Jabo laughed and whistled loudly over his shoulder. “Hell, ya boys, call my brothers.”
Jessie turned and looked at Grant with a confused look on his face. “Brothers?”
“Never met a more crazy bunch of men,” Grant admitted. “We will be covered until the morning.”
Jessie looked toward Drake, then rolled his eyes to the sky and shook his head. Where the fuck were they?
Thane’s ears were ringing, he rolled on the ground trying to think enough to take stock of his body, did he have any injuries? He shook his head, it had to have been a trap…West, he thought and began yelling into his microphone.
“WEST!” Thane yelled and rolled to the side and saw the debris surrounding him that was on fire. The men he had been walking with were moaning and rolling as well. Shit, he could hear popping noises in his ear, and wondered for a second if he was hearing things because it sounded like gunfire.
“West?!” he yelled again. When his friend didn’t answer, Thane knew something was wrong.
Thane struggled to get up off the ground and heard sirens in the distance, someone must have called it in already, but then an explosion this big would have been felt for quite a few blocks. He looked at the burning building and shook his head before staggering in the direction that West was. He had to get to him.
It seemed to take hours for him to reach the end of the corner, though he was sure it was only a few seconds but when he rounded the corner and saw the men lying in the street, Thane yelled in frustration.
“No!” he screamed in agony. I will not lose another one, he thought and ran for the first man.
It was "Slider", the man from Team TWELVE, Thane groaned when he felt no pulse. Moving quickly, he went to West who was lying on his stomach. At first Thane was sure he was dead, seeing the pool of blood around his body, but he saw a slight rise in his back and Thane turned West to his side slowly, making sure his body was as still as possible.
“West, man, can you hear me?” Thane said desperately. They lost one. They couldn’t lose another.
His friend groaned and whispered, “Arden.”
Damn it, Thane thought. “Hang on, man, help is coming.” He looked around desperately and saw the flurry of activity coming to help, people from houses, and police. They needed to get here quick or West wasn’t going to make it.
“Over here,” Thane called and waited while the EMTs ran for him. “He has been shot twice, once in the back and once in the hip,” he said and held on to West as the men began to assess him.
“We need to get him to hospital, he is losing too much blood,” one of the men said and they quickly got him strapped to the board and were moving. Thane felt like he was in a fog, everything happening around him seemed to run in slow motion. A police officer held out his hand and asked him to explain what happened. Thane shook his head and followed the gurney as it was loaded in the ambulance.
“I am going with him,” Thane said firmly.
The police officer had followed them and argued, “No, you need to answer some questions.”
Thane turned and looked at him, thankfully one of the FBI men came up at that time and said loudly, “Let him go, I will answer all your questions. Thane, I have people meeting you at the hospital for protection.”
Thane only nodded and he jumped into the back of the ambulance and leaned his head against the wall and they screamed away. What the fuck was he going to tell Mason and Arden. Thane had failed once again to protect the men in his unit.
Diego smiled as he hung up the phone. At least one of the missions had gone off without a hitch. They had killed one and injured another in their quest to make sure the documents, and the message was deliver to the other. All in all a good day.
He intended on flushing them out, and he was going to do it this way. Make them come after him, and when they did—Diego and his men wo
uld be waiting. It was brilliant, and if he killed people along the way, it was a bonus. Creating havoc and causing pain was his favorite pastime.
“Sir, your mother wants to know if you are available for a few dinner parties while you are here?” His second in commanded asked from the doorway.
Since his arrival, he had been playing the role of his life. The Americans were so stupid, they allowed him through their borders just because his mother was an Ambassador. His mother, ha, like she was a harmless old woman. What his little brother, and the public failed to see, was the cast iron bitch behind the scenes.
“Tell her I would love to,” Diego laughed. He would love to be wined and dined by the people he was certain he was going to destroy. He wondered if they would be shocked when they discovered that he was the one behind all of this. “And where is my brother?”
“He is in the office of that woman,” his man said.
Diego frowned. The liaison, his brother had been spending way too much time in her office lately. This would never do. First, he needed to deal with this Team TEN, then he would worry about his brother.
They would come to him. Diego laid a nice breadcrumb trail, and soon the players would all be right where he wanted them. In only a matter of days, they should find the little present he left in the hotel in Houston.
All of it would tie right to where he wanted it to, San Diego was going to be a hole in the ground when he was done.
Part Two
Placing the Pieces
"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
Steve Jobs
Chapter Seven
“The transport is coming in hot, tomorrow morning at five a.m. We need to be there ready to go,” Jessie said, hanging up the phone. He had just talked to Alex, then was disconnected when an emergency phone call came in. Alex assured him they would be there tomorrow at five.
“Let’s tell Jabo and the others we need secured transport to the airport. They will also need to protect themselves until this is over because they helped us. Maybe we can call a few of the guys in from TWELVE and see if they can help,” Drake said and rubbed his head. Something was bothering his friend and Jessie knew it.
“What else is going on?” Jessie asked as they walked to the motel lobby. That was where Vince and Bob had set up the headquarters. These people are more organized than the military, Jessie thought.
“It’s Joel, I haven’t been able to get a hold of him for a few days. We have talked off and on. He knows most of what is going on,” Drake admitted.
“He is FBI, and trained. I am sure he can take care of himself. Man, we have to keep our head in the game, something is going down here and I don’t like the vibes I am getting,” Jessie said.
“Yep, I know. We need to get to the island and regroup. From there, we can at least not be in the open like we were. Maybe we can get some answers then,” Drake said.
“They have secured untraceable Sat phones, we should be good,” Jessie said and pushed open the door. Vince was sitting on the desk giving some of the men from town orders of where they were to set up. Jessie waited and listened, he liked the older man, when he was done Jessie smiled and nodded to the door.
“We need to make sure we are ready for the night,” Jessie said. “And we just heard the plane will be here tomorrow at five a.m.”
Vince slapped his hands on his legs and nodded. “We are ready, and I am ready to go.”
“What are you talking about?” Jessie frowned.
“I talked to your Gage, he gave me permission to come along with you. As extra protection,” Vince said.
Jessie frowned, there was no way Gage gave a civilian permission to come with them, and it was too dangerous. Something didn’t add up. “No disrespect, sir, but why did he give you permission.”
Vince snorted and pointed to the wall in the office. Jessie walked a few steps and then stared in shock at the shadow box that hung with pride in the office. He stepped forward and then laughed and turned to Vince. “Retired Brigadier General Vincent Tobol?”
“At your service, no need to salute.” Vince laughed and then said, “I am not shy about pulling rank when it gets me what I want. I refuse to sit by while Tulu and the others are in danger, son,” Vince said and then looked at him seriously. “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I could help. I have a few contacts left that may come in handy.”
Jessie shook his head and nodded then saluted the retired officer. It didn’t matter, the man deserved respect. “Hooyah.”
“I got this covered, I will meet you in the front at three a.m., it will give us enough time to make sure we aren’t followed,” Vince said and Jessie nodded and then looked at Drake who was still in shock apparently. “Dude!”
“Sorry,” Drake said and snapped his hand in a salute. “I gotta ask though, sir, do you still fit in the uniform?”
Jessie laughed and looked at the retired general who was fighting his smile. “Hey, do they make them like that anymore, sir?”
“Wait, do you smell moth balls?” Drake snorted.
“Boys, it is good to be back, now we need a plan,” Vince said and slapped both of the men on the back of the head.
Grant stepped into the room where Brin and the baby were. Jabo had taken Sassy home a few minutes ago and so far, Brin had not said a word to either Jessie or himself. She looked pissed and they weren’t sure at who.
“Hey,” Grant whispered when he saw her rocking Marcus. She must have just finished feeding him because he could see she had still not hooked her bra.
“Just give me a minute,” Brin said and motioned him back out the door. He nodded and silently went out and closed the door. Jessie was walking down the sidewalk toward him and nodded.
“What’s going on?” Jessie said and stopped in front of the door with him.
“Brin was feeding Marcus and laying him down, she asked me to wait out here,” Grant said.
“Why?” Jessie frowned.
The door opened just then and both men turned to see a pissed off woman pointing at them.
“Because I didn’t want our son to hear what complete dumbasses you two are. I cannot believe you stood out in the open with a damn target on your back. What the hell were you thinking playing Rambo. When you saw the danger, you should have come into the room and called the police. I won’t be a party to stupidity. Nor will I become your personal physician so I can sew you up,” Brin said, poking both of their hard chests.
“The police?” Grant said with a snort. “Did you miss the part where everyone and their frickin’ brother was armed to the teeth with weapons. The police were here for God's sake.”
“Then they should have handled that. It should have been them who were standing out in the open, you could have been killed,” Brin shouted. “What about Marcus? He would never have known who you were, either of you.”
Jessie grinned. She spoke to the two of them like they were going to be part of her life…together. He wondered if she even realized she had said that. “By the way, where is Marcus?” Jessie asked, trying to distract her.
“Sleeping. I'm out here because I didn’t want him to hear me yell at you two assholes. He deserves better than that,” Brin snarled. “We need to make a few rules here about how this is going to work.”
“Rules?” Jessie smirked.
“Yes rules, you don’t get to go off half-cocked anymore and just put yourself in danger. What if those crazy assholes would have shot at you?” Brin said, waving her arm around.
“Honey,” Jessie said smoothly.
“Don’t you honey me, you come here and tell me I am in danger and then you just stand there like you are invincible,” Brin roared. “Well no more, if there is a standoff like that again, I expect you will b
e intelligent and let the professionals handle it. You are not in the SEALs anymore, and Grant you are a vet.”
“Hey,” Grant said, feeling as if she had taken his man card or something. He could shoot just like everyone else in this town. In fact, he had great marksmanship. “I will have you know—”
“I don’t care,” Brin said and pointed at them.
Grant looked at Jessie and shook his head, he had no clue where this crazy wonderful woman was going, but he was happy to follow her. Everything, since Jessie had walked back into his life and he found Brin on the side of the road, fit. The whole thing should have sent him running in the other direction, there was no way he should be running toward the situation.
“Now, honey,” Jessie said holding his hands out. “You do realize I am highly trained, the government made sure of it.”
“Oh, so they taught you how to repel bullets?” Brin snorted and glared at them. “Listen, this is just crazy, we have a child to worry about, you can’t go off all willy-nilly thinking you are invincible. We have Marcus to worry about. Think how hurt he would be if something happened to you.”
Jessie looked at the tears gathering in her eyes and knew she was talking about her brother and with how she felt when he was gone. She wanted to protect their son from having to deal with the same thing. Hell he did too, but they had to figure this out. Until they stopped the people who wanted them all dead, they would never be safe. She needed to understand that.
“Brin,” Jessie said and stepped closer. “I know my responsibilities.”
“Do you? Do you really? Are you ready to be a father, someone our son will look up to? Teach him how to catch a ball, be there for his first date, and teach him how to drive. Are you ready for all that?” Brin asked.