Wolf paused when he reached Trevor and Honor. Without breaking eye contact he spoke, “Are you and Honor okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, thanks to you,” he said. “How did you know where to find us? Where did this team come from?”
“That’s a story for later, Boot,” he replied. “For when the final chapter of this story is written.”
“Well, let hope this has a happy ending,” Trevor said.
“How bad has Snake been hit?” he asked, his gun still trained on Orfali.
“It’s bad,” Trevor said. “Gut shot. If he is still alive he needs to get to a hospital, and soon.”
“The chopper will be here in five minutes,” Wolf replied. “We need to resolve this situation before then.”
As if on cue, Orfali yelled out, “Drop your weapons, or this man dies.”
“That won’t be happening,” Wolf replied.
“You’d really let this man die?” he asked.
“The man you have captive is a former Ranger, a patriot in every sense of the word. He knew what he was getting into,” Wolf replied. “He signed up for this duty. He knows full well you’d never let him or us live through this. You, however, can live through this, Orfali. It’s your choice. Drop your weapon now or die.”
“You forget where I come from,” he replied.
“Think about it, Orfali,” Wolf yelled. “Honor, Bootstrap and I are all alive. When I knew you discovered Snake was a SEAL and not Mr. Carpenter, I called the FBI in Seattle. Mr. Carpenter is already in protective custody, as are four more of your men. They are singing like little birdies, I’m told. Sorry. It’s over. You failed.”
“You lie!” Orfali screamed.
Wolf noticed Orfali positioned his own head behind Paco’s, but when he spoke leaned his head to the side slightly, exposing it for a second or two as he spoke.
In the distance helicopter blades could be heard, getting louder quickly as it approached. The medical chopper was moments away.
“Wouldn’t you rather give up and go to a maximum-security prison for the rest of your life, where all the Neo-Nazis will fight over the privilege of making you their bitch?” Wolf replied. He trained his weapon to the immediate right of Paco’s head.
Orfali leaned his head to the side to speak, “Got to hell, SEAL man. I am prepared to die if necessary.”
Wolf squeezed off a shot when he saw Orfali’s head peeking out from behind Paco’s. The bullet entered Orfali’s left eye and exited through the back of his head, killing him instantly. His body slumped to the ground.
Trevor and Honor ran to Snake’s aid.
“Consider it necessary,” Wolf said to Orfali’s dead body. “Have pleasant stay in hell.”
Paco approached Wolf, more than a little irritated, “You could have killed me. That bullet missed my head by three inches.”
“Relax,” Wolf said. “The key word in your sentence was ‘missed.’ I ‘missed’ you head by three inches. I’ve done this before.”
“How could you bring these punks?” he asked pointing to Alejandro and the other two.
“Those punks just saved all our hides,” Wolf said. “You said yourself they were good with a gun. I knew what I was doing. We were hidden in an elevated position firing on an enemy who had stepped out in the open. These boys know how to handle themselves. I told them the score. They wanted to come. They performed bravely. You need to cut them some slack. You’d be dead right now if they hadn’t come.”
Paco looked at Alejandro and let out a breath of exasperation, then nodded.
“Maybe you are not so useless after all,” he said.
The medical chopper arrived. It landed moments later without incident. EMT’s began to attend to Snake immediately. He still had a pulse, although it was weak.
“Is he going to make it?” Wolf asked one of the EMT’s.
“I don’t know,” came the reply. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”
“You take care of him, you hear?” Trevor admonished.
“We’ll do what we can,” the EMT replied. “Now step back so we can stabilize and prepare him for transport.”
Trevor found Honor again and hugged her as the EMT’s prepared Snake for transport.
“Is this horror over?” she asked.
“I hope so,” he replied. “Wolf, is Mr. Carpenter truly safe?”
“He is,” Wolf said. “I didn’t know for sure that our ruse with Snake posing as Mr. Carpenter was compromised but I called up to Seattle for reinforcements just in case. I knew Barkley had seen Snake. The FBI captured four terrorists who were attempting to take Mr. Carpenter about an hour after I made the call. We are officially out of the woods.”
Honor hugged Wolf, “I can’t thank you enough,” she said.
“None of this explains how you knew where we were,” Trevor said.
“Do you remember that GPS button I gave you and Snake back in Seattle?” Wolf began.
Trevor looked down at the “Levi’s” button on his “Naked and Famous” jeans. The GPS button was there. With all the chaos, he had totally forgotten it.
“When you went rogue on me, I knew I had to do something,” Wolf said.
“I see you’re limping, but how is it you can even move?” Trevor asked. “Your ankle was in horrible shape.”
“It still is. In the hospital, my doc was a former military field medic,” Wolf said. “He served two tours in the line of fire. When I told him what was going on he said he understood. The field dressing and a healthy dose of Oxycodone outside the recommended dosage is all that’s keeping me standing. I will pay the price later but currently I am in a happy place for the moment.”
“Those three?” Trevor asked, pointing at Alejandro and his two buddies.
“I got Alejandro’s number at the arena,” he said. “I was going to try to recruit him into the Navy later. I heard they were good with a gun, so I thought I might see for myself. When I called him, he and the other two jumped all over it.”
Alejandro walked over to Wolf, Trevor and Honor, toting his automatic weapon on his shoulder. He smiled and shook Trevor’s hand.
Wolf slapped him on the shoulder.
Paco approached them, “Snake is critical but he has a fighting chance.”
“That’s great news,” Trevor said. “We could have never pulled this off without him.”
“What about Barkley?” Wolf said. “Is his body out there with the rest?”
“He’s not here,” Paco said, shaking his head. “I count five of Orfali’s men, dead. That means Barkley and one of them fled. It won’t take long to round up Orfali’s man. When the shooting started, Barkley took off like a scared rabbit, not that I blame him. I’d chase him down now but he knows this area even better than I do. But don’t worry, Barkley is like a bad penny. He’ll turn up soon enough.”
“Paco, I can’t thank you enough,” Trevor said. “None of this would have gone well without you. If I can ever do anything to repay you…”
Paco raised his hand, “We’re brothers, man. What now?”
“You take Alejandro and the boys and get out of here before the authorities arrive,” Wolf said. “You need to be gone before anyone sees you. You were never here, you understand?”
Paco nodded.
Wolf turned to Alejandro. He nodded as well.
“What about you?” Paco said.
“We saved Honor,” Wolf said. “That’s what we came for. No one will like it that we did this on our own but Bootstrap and I will deal with the consequences.”
“I’ll stay,” Paco said.
“No,” Wolf insisted. “You have a record. If they find you or these boys here, you’re going to jail and they’ll throw away the key. Take off. You’ve done your job. No one will know you were here.”
“You take off, too,” Trevor said to Wolf. “No one needs to know you were here. I don’t mind taking the heat.”
“It’s not happening,” Wolf said. “We’ll face the music--- and we’ll do it together.”
> Epilogue
The next week went by in a blur. Snake Jackson’s condition was touch and go, but his surgery went well. After two full days on the critical list, Trevor and Wolf were relieved to hear that the doctors believed he had taken positive turn and was expected to pull through.
Because the shootout occurred in such a remote location, so far away from the Seattle news supercenter, the FBI was able to downplay a great deal of media attention. Much of the mess was simply brushed under the carpet. One Tacoma media outlet even reported speculation that there was a shooting disturbance between two rival gangs in the Pines.
The FBI placed Emmett “Baby” Barkley on its most wanted list for his involvement with terrorists and a nationwide manhunt was currently in process. To date, the Feds had no leads on his whereabouts.
Wolf and Trevor were placed on administrative leave with pay while an investigation by the CIA and Homeland Security unfolded. Commander Hurt had been apprised of the situation. Given that Trevor’s and Wolf’s actions never placed Chris Carpenter or his actual ledger in danger of falling into enemy hands, Hurt believed that the CIA would pound its chest but in the end, would not pursue an extensive investigation. It was the CIA, after all, who had been unable to identify its own security leaks, which enabled Orfali to detect when and where they were mobilizing. If too much went public, that information would get out and embarrass the agency.
Wolf and Trevor were also subject to military investigation, but both men knew Commander Hurt had their backs. Given the unique circumstances, Hurt said he anticipated both men would be restored to active duty with the month.
The very best news for the CIA, was that the equipment confiscated from Orfali’s set up was providing clues that would undoubtedly lead to closing the security breach forever.
The FBI was in a similar boat as the CIA. They were more interested in avoiding embarrassing publicity than getting involved in a full-blown investigation that would unavoidably become public. Under their watch, a terrorist organization swooped into Washington State undetected, set up surveillance on Honor Carpenter well after their own protection had been dropped.
Paco, Alejandro, Juan, and Francisco slipped off into the night quietly before the authorities arrived. Paco led them all to his truck and they avoided the incoming authorities. Wolf and Trevor said nothing about their presence or involvement, nor did anyone bring up the fight club in any context whatsoever. The FBI put a great deal of pressure on Trevor and Wolf to give up the names of the men who helped them, but they would not relent.
Honor, Trevor, Wolf, and Caroline rented adjoining cabins just outside of Olympia. They had been ordered to not leave the area while the investigation was in process.
Trevor found and repaired the motorcycle he had “borrowed” to chase Barkley. He returned it to his rightful owner, who was more gracious about the whole thing than Trevor expected.
Wolf and Caroline decided to head to Tacoma for dinner at a restaurant they’d heard of, Katie Downs. They urged Trevor and Honor to go with them. The couple declined, saying they were going to make a quiet dinner and stream a movie at home.
Trevor and Honor made a salad and a lasagna from a recipe they copied from a website. They opened a bottle of 14 Hands Red Blend and ate quietly. After dinner, they made love before heading to the couch, naked, with a blanket to warm them as they streamed a movie.
“Do you think the nightmare is over?” she asked.
“Orfali and his men are dead,” he said. “The Syrian government has been denying all associations once again. Your dad is fine. His technology is safe from our enemies. You and he will be under FBI protection again, but this time, all the loose ends have been eliminated. Yeah, I think the nightmare is over.”
“What about you and Wolf? Your careers?” she asked.
“Commander Hurt has our six,” he replied. “I’m sure there will be some disciplinary action but it will be okay. I’d be more worried if the CIA hadn’t recovered all Orfali’s equipment. They’ll be able to use that equipment to identify the communications breach. In the end, we did a good thing. I think we’ll be okay.”
“And if it isn’t okay?” she said.
“Then I will start renovating my lodge sooner than I expected,” he said. “I’ll ask Wolf to be my partner, a full third.”
“A third?” she inquired.
“Yep,” he said. “Me and you for a third, Wolf and Caroline for a third, and…”
“Snake?” she interjected.
“We wouldn’t be here without him,” he said.
“You really are the best ever,” she said, pulling the blanket back and climbing on top of him. She kissed his neck and moved her hips until she felt him stiffen. She stroked his face and allowed her hands to roam down his neck across his pectorals.
“What about the movie?” he asked, as he entered her.
“With everything we’ve just been through, what movie storyline would hold our attention,” she replied.
“True,” he said. “Very true.”
The End
(See next page for link to more work by this author)
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Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Fighting for Honor (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 12