by Lea Hart
“Is that the U.S. base?”
“Yes, it’s located on the Northeastern side of Brussels about five minutes from NATO headquarters. The team flew into Chieves Air Base on Tuesday night and then drove up yesterday.”
“Why did they come into an airbase so far away?”
“HRT comes in fully equipped and generally the only place they can land is military bases.”
“Is the team fully self-sufficient when they arrive?”
“Absolutely. From the moment the 888 code is sent out to the team members to landing anywhere in the United States is between four and six hours. The effort and coordination necessary to move fifty men and their equipment cross country on short-notice are astounding. From the moment the call goes out, the front office is dealing with headquarters, trying to reconstruct details of the situation, and intelligence is identifying known threats, while the logistics unit lines up resources, and operators load their gear.
“The team is almost wholly self-sufficient, so gear includes everything from a bolt to a gizmo to an article of clothing necessary to maintain operators and support staff for at least five days. HRT carries its own vehicles, tents, weapons, food, ammunition, medical supplies, communication equipment, generators, climate-appropriate clothing, logistical equipment, and a thousand things that don’t fit into any particular category. The trick is to move it all from the Quantico compound to virtually any spot on Earth in time to resolve the crisis.”
“How much do you miss it?”
Sam pushed his empty salad plate away and shrugged. “Less and less each day. The transition from Tier One to a desk job has been as challenging as you might imagine and there were days the loss choked me. Not only because I’d lost part of a limb, but because I lost my identity. For over ten years, I was part of a small group of men who were the best of the best and having that ripped out of my hands wasn’t easy. But…I’ve made it to the other side and it seems I’ve been blessed with something that makes my future brighter than I could’ve imagined.”
“Sammy, you don’t have to say things like that.”
“I want to, Lucky.” He leaned forward and took her hand. “I was an unmitigated ass for close to a year and I figure it’s going to take me at least that long to make it up to you. I didn’t think I deserved someone as incredible you, so I sabotaged it before I ever gave us a chance.”
“And now?”
“You’re mine and I’ll make sure you know how very fortunate I feel for that to be the case.” Watching her face flush and her eyes moisten told him she got it. Clearing his throat, he stood and opened the warmer that was beneath the table and pulled out their food. Setting both dishes in the middle, he lifted the covers off. “Looks good.”
Lucky looked up and took his hand. “It sure does.”
“Don’t be giving me your sexy eyes until after we’ve eaten because I need to fuel up for round two.”
She pulled both plates toward her and wrapped her arms around them. “No fuel for you.”
Chuckling, he unwrapped her hands and pulled one closer. “Now, Lucky, I thought you were fearless.”
“I am, but not when it comes to you and your sexy moves.”
Cutting into the fish, he took a bite and then smiled. “It’s going to happen either way, so I think it’s best you embrace the inevitability of your surrender.”
Holding her wine glass up, she grinned. “Fill it up because it’s going to take a lot more than chicken for me to embrace that.”
He filled her glass and then winked. “Get used to it because you are my blue Crayon, the one I never have enough of, the one I use to color my world.”
“Oh, Sammy…”
“It’s true, Lucky. You’re the one I’ve been waiting for.”
Pressing her hand against her chest, a tear slipped down her cheek. “Same.”
“I love you Lucky and plan on showing you exactly what that means for the next sixty years or so.”
Standing, she moved to him, crawled into his lap, and hugged him tightly. “I love you, Sammy.”
Kissing her head, he knew a sentence that took less than three seconds to utter had just changed his life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Friday, September 29th
Lucky looked around the restaurant and spotted Grif in the corner. Walking toward him, she noticed he looked happier than he had in days. “Good morning.”
“Morning.”
She took a seat across from him and then filled her cup with coffee from the carafe on the table. “Are you staying for the op or flying home?”
“I’ve got an afternoon flight.”
“Something or someone at home you're anxious to get back to?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“Do tell, man of mystery.” The waiter approached and they placed their orders and, when he left, she leaned forward and put her face in her hands. “You haven’t smiled like that in a while.”
“I had an overdue conversation and it illuminated some things that have me feeling a whole lot better.”
Sitting back, she picked up her coffee cup and drank half of it down. “Please, be more cryptic.”
“Turns out, she’s just as freaked out as me and, despite our crippling fear of settling down, we’re going to give it a try.”
Lucky clapped her hands and almost started tearing up. “Grif, it happened for you.”
He waved his hands in front of his face and snorted. “Please, don’t make any grand predictions that will jinx whatever it is that might be occurring.”
Looking from side to side, she then put her fingers to her lips and twisted them. “Not a peep out of me.”
“If only that were possible.”
“Where does she live, what does she do, how old is she, and where did you two meet?”
“Chicago, art teacher, twenty-eight, and at a coffee shop close to my loft.”
Screaming silently, she clapped her hands again. “This means you’ll eventually take the job at SAI because you’re not going to be want to be separated from your lady love.”
“Please, stop talking.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Good, at least I succeeded.”
Putting her napkin on her lap, she took a moment to smooth it out. “In all seriousness, I’m very happy for you, Grif, and I hope this turns out to be everything you want.”
“Right now, all I want is for you to quit looking at me with hearts in your eyes and cupids floating around your head. I’m going to take this one step at a time and not get ahead of myself and screw it up.”
“Very mature.”
“Think it will last?”
“Not a chance.” She watched his shrug as a big smile lit up his face. “Maturity is way overrated and sometimes the best thing you can do is run at something with your hair on fire and hope it turns out. Being careful just means you lack guts. I know this because I’ve pretty much made it an art-form over the last several years. I thought if I could control everything, I wouldn’t get hurt, and that’s not how life works. Being careful just gets you a drawer full of folded socks and underwear. Not very satisfying in the end.”
“Are you telling me the Queen of Control is letting go of her iron grip and living on the edge?”
Placing both her hands on the table, she studied her nails. “A little. Seems I’ve found something a lot more interesting to do with my time than folding laundry with precision a general would envy.”
“Next time I see Sam, I’m going to shake his hand because I think he managed a miracle.”
“I think we did it for each other and I hope the same is true for you and…”
“Bea.”
“What a lovely name, Grif.”
“Not sure I deserve her, but I’m not going to let it stand in my way while I find out for sure.”
“Smart move.” A warm basket of croissants was delivered to their table and they each took one. “Thank you for allowing me to come and work on this project.”
“Standard operating procedure for us,” she replied as she broke open the flaky pastry. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for the big takedown tonight?”
“No, I want to get home. You can fill me in on all the highlights when you get back to Chicago.”
“I don’t think I’ll have any because it doesn’t seem like they’re going to let me get close to the action.”
“And here you are, the one who made the party possible.”
“We made it possible.” She ate some of the croissant and then smiled. “We’re a hell of a team and I hope we get to keep working together despite what happens in our personal lives.”
“Not even a question. Sam understands what we are and the last thing he’s going to do is try and clip your wings. He’s no dummy and has already figured out that would be the fastest way to lose you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I know I am.” He dug out the chocolate croissant and ate it in four bites and then looked for another one. “Why don’t they just put all chocolate in the basket?”
“Variety. People seem to want it even if they’re not going to take advantage of it.”
“Does the idea of being with one person for the rest of your life scare you?”
Lifting her coffee cup, she drank some before answering. “No. I’ve been waiting to feel like I do with Sam, so the idea of being with him and only him doesn’t scare me a bit. The thought of losing him does, though.”
“I guess that’s when you know.”
“I guess so,” Lucky replied. “I take that back…I know so.”
***
Sam disconnected the video call with the HRT team and looked around the table. “It’s exactly how I would run the raid if I were in charge.”
“As long as the Federal Police okay the use of the little bird, then I think we couldn’t ask for more,” Theo commented.
“Those tiny teardrop-shaped Boeing helos are the only choice for an impacted suburban area. They’ll be able to fly low enough to make sure any squirters are followed and rounded up,” Sam said as he studied the map of Vazov’s house on Avenue de la Floride.
Julia walked over to the screens and enlarged the aerial view of the neighborhood in Uccle. “The Federal Police are going to hold the perimeter a mile in each direction as the Team enters through the front and back. The wall of windows along the back of the house is going to present a challenge, but it won’t be anything they can’t handle.”
“I think it makes sense to go in tonight and arrest Vazov and not wait until the actual meeting,” Owen said. “Taking the chance of having the armament in play is not worth the risk and we’d likely only get a low-level guy from Besiaj’s group.”
“I agree,” Sam said as he looked at the house specs.
Julia brought up the logistics file for the mission and slid the pages in order. “Let’s go over the timeline one more time, to make sure we have everyone in the right place.”
“Coordinating with this many different entities is challenging because the inevitability of someone stepping on toes is almost guaranteed,” Owen commented as he walked up to Julia. “We’ve got the Federal Police, HRT, FBI, and the minister-president of Brussels all involved, and I hope to hell everybody plays their position and doesn’t decide to be a cowboy.”
“As long as HRT is allowed to run the op they’ve planned, then we should have Vazov in custody before midnight,” Sam said. “After the house is cleared, are the Federal Police joining us to collect evidence?”
“Yes,” Julia answered. “We agreed to process it together and create one database that everyone can share. That way, all the concerned parties can access it as other investigations develop.”
Tipping back in his chair, Sam shook his head. “I’m praying like hell that we discover some clues about why Vazov has been in communication with Yolkin and what exactly it is that has them working together.”
“I would too,” Simon said as he walked into the room.
Sitting up straight, Sam turned around and saw his and Owen’s boss walk into the conference room. Getting to his feet, he straightened his tie and put out his hand. “Didn’t know you were coming, sir.”
“Didn’t want to miss the fun,” he replied as they shook hands.
Owen walked over and went through the same ritual and then said, “Let me introduce you to the Brussels’ team. This is Theo James and Julia Foster and they’ve been great about letting us crash the party here in Belgium.”
“Thank you both for hosting these two; I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”
Theo let out a laugh. “We’ve managed.”
“All the reports I’ve seen suggest we’re well inside Vazov’s network and mining enough intel to keep us all busy for years.”
“Seems so,” Sam replied. “The Trojan that Lucky inserted into his account has allowed the team to access everything he’s got stored electronically.”
“All the different divisions are chomping at the bit to see what’s being uncovered and the Justice Department is evaluating whether it’s going to be a criminal or national security offense. The boundary is a bit blurry, so they’ll have to see what’s revealed.”
“Are they expecting to get their hands on him?” Owen asked.
“Not necessarily, but if he’s not brought up on sufficient charges through the courts here, they may try and get ahold of him and put him through his paces in our courts.”
“There’s always the old-fashioned racketeering and extortion charges,” Owen said. “I heard there was a case in New York last year that was successfully convicted by revealing the use of cyber attack vectors.”
“It’s not easy to prosecute, though, because those in the organizations that are hocking their goods via the internet are often out of reach of our courts. We’ve gotten our hands slapped more than once and have been accused of overreach on international targets,” Simon responded. “Two Ukrainian businessmen had their indictment dismissed for bribery because a federal judge said the case couldn’t be brought in the United States.”
“We live in a world where crime has no borders and the courts have yet to catch up,” Sam added.
Julia’s phone buzzed and she checked it. “Theo, the chief of the Federal Police wants to see us.”
“All right, let’s run over there and make sure we’ve got no last-minute fires,” Theo responded as he picked up his phone and tablet.
“We’re set to leave here at six for Uccle, so we’ll meet you downstairs,” Julia said. “It’s about an hour from here and we’re going to be staging at the European Communications School, which isn’t far from Vazov’s home.”
“Roger that,” Sam replied.
Simon took a chair and looked at Owen and Sam and shook his head. “Congratulations, I have to say, I didn’t see this ending quite this way.”
“Our CI came through and pulled off a miracle,” Sam said as he took a seat opposite his boss. “This will be the second pakhan that Lucky’s helped us take down in less than six months and I think she deserves a big fat thank you from the bureau.”
“I agree; why don’t you have her come over and join me so she can see the team take out the bad guys? She certainly deserves a front-row seat since she’s the one responsible for getting us here.”
“I’ll give her a call and see if she’s interested,” Sam responded.
“I’m sure she will be, and I’d like to have the chance to get to know her.”
Sam picked up his phone and walked out of the conference room. As he dialed Lucky, he wondered what she was going to think of the invite. He knew she wanted to see Vazov taken into custody; he just didn’t know if she’d want to spend a bunch of hours with his boss. The call connected and he was going to have his answer either way.
***
Lucky gave Sam a hug and then smoothed out his tie. “Have fun and be safe.”
> Taking her elbow, he steered her away from the people who were waiting to load into the SUVs headed for Uccle. “Are you sure you’re okay to spend the evening with Simon?”
“Yes, for the tenth time, I’m perfectly happy to hang out with Mr. Harris. He’s very charming and I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about.”
“All right.”
“I can’t wait to see you go all agent and raid Vazov’s house.” She took a quick check of their perimeter and then pulled him down for a quick kiss. “Be safe, Sammy. You’ve made me fall for you and I expect you to come back to me in one piece.”
“Honey, I’m not on the front lines anymore, so you have nothing to worry about.”
“Russian and Albanian mobsters are always worrisome.”
“The most dangerous thing going on tonight is making sure all the people involved don’t get in one another’s way. As long as they let HRT handle the takedown, it should be successful.”
“Do you miss it?”
“Yes and no. I loved being the first guy in the door on things like this and there’s a part of me that wishes I could still do it. But this second act might turn out to be my favorite because I met you. If I were still on the Team, then we never would’ve met, and seeing what we’ve created in just weeks tells me I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Tier One operators don’t last forever, and I’d be close to retirement even if I hadn’t lost part of my leg.” He framed her face with his hands and grinned. “I’m blessed to be the one that gets to love you for the rest of my life and I’m thankful for all the things that made that possible.”
“Sammy, you’re going to make me cry.”
He gave her a quick kiss and then let her go. “I hope you enjoy the show you’ve worked so hard to make possible.”
“I’m sure I will and thank you, Sammy, I promise this will be the last Russian mobster I’m interested in.” Someone called Sam and she let him go. “Go get your fed on and have fun.”
“See you soon.”
She watched him walk toward the group and then waited for Simon Harris, Director of the Chicago Office, to join her. Sure was going to be an interesting evening.