by Jana Leigh
Mason sat up in bed and tried to clear his head. Where was Thane? He was supposed to be keeping watch, how could someone have snuck in? However, when he reached under the covers for the gun beside him, he turned and looked at the group of guys sitting in front of him.
“Are you kidding me?!” Mason exploded.
“What? Should I not be making them gumbo?” his mother said laughing.
“Food?!” Mason yelled. He was going to find a way to kick his dead friends' asses for this. His mother would never let this go now that they were talking to her and encouraging her, this was a serious FUBAR situation.
“Brother, we had to tell her something that didn’t freak her out,” Dagwood said.
“Freak who out?" his mother asked. “Me?” she snorted and waved the ladle she had in her hand around. “Of course I know you are ghosts, dumbasses, I just never seen a hungry one before, thought it was something new and original. I was gonna call Bea and let her know from now on she had to stock some cookies in her fridge.”
Mason groaned and covered his face. “This is such a sucky time to be popping in and out of shit, man. Where is Thane?”
“LC?” his mom said sounding official, she loved to call his teammates by their call sign, made her think she was hip. “He is out front on the steps talking on the phone. Someone called about a chick named Arden.”
Dagwood stood, “There is a lot you don’t know and just a little bit of time, if you don’t find her—they will and kill them both.”
“Arden? Who is ‘them’? Does she have a boyfriend suddenly?” Mason laughed. He knew that she probably did and it burned him to think of her with another man. But the facts were the facts. Mason slept with his best friend's foster sister the night before they left to go on the last mission. He had been crazy for her for so long, a little beer mixed with her wearing a smoking hot pair of jeans, and finally cornering him in the bathroom, telling him she wanted him turned into a fucking mess.
Mason took a deep breath, there had been three of them from the same state in training. Mason and West Trete grew up together. West’s mother was Bea, his mother’s best friend. And although they hung out from time to time, each were the quarterbacks of the counties two rival football teams. They were constantly in competition, they enlisted at the same time, both had been surprised when they passed the test and made it into the SEALs, then each had been stationed at different bases and hadn’t seen each other in a long time. When they got back together, it was like old times, competing, and razing with other. When Mason met Dag, it was like finding a long lost brother. The three of them hung out, and after the bombing West tried to contact him several times, each time Mason spoke to him it felt strained and he refused to allow his old friend to come and visit. Who would want to see the shell of a man he had become.
Arden's brother had died without Mason being able to talk to him as he planned. It was supposed to be so simple, then Mason was wounded, and his head was screwed up. He had planned to go back to talk to her. With this shit, he didn’t have a choice now, so if she hated him, as long as she was safe, he would be fine.
“He is coming, you have to move. Go to Thane, he will understand,” Dagwood said.
“Fine,” Mason grumbled. “But I am not going to read the damn letter until we are back. It is just gonna have to wait.”
“Go!” Dag yelled as Mason left the room in a huff.
“Now I don’t think you are being a friendly ghost, but before I cast you into the dark abyss, I will give you a chance to explain,” Mason’s mother said and the fallen team members laughed.
“Hey, your son is the one with the problem. I'm giving him something to hold on too. Arden is the key, your guilt is eating you alive man,” Dag scoffed.
“Please, a chick is not going to be able to cure what ails me,” Voodoo snarled.
“Oh, I don’t know. Who is this Arden person we are talking about?” his mother asked.
Great now she would be harping on me to settle down—again.
“Someone Voodoo slept with and was hiding from me 'cause she is my baby sister.” Dagwood laughed when Voodoo turned to him with a shocked expression. It was one of the things he felt guilty about. Never being able to tell his best friend he had fucked up. “Dude, have you not figured out, my sis tells me—everything. She called me the next day and warned me not to kill you. Chill, but you gotta let this shit go, man, she is your future, and you know it too.”
Fuck, Voodoo thought, if he would only have had the balls to tell his friend, at least that guilt would be gone. Now he needed to make sure Arden knew it wasn't her fault, it was all him.
Dagwood and Voodoo were partners, since the first day of training for Team TEN they had been drawn to each other. Just like the rest of the team, as they paired off, nothing was said aloud on whom they were partnering with—it just was.
So, when the pair of SEALs was called for a special assignment, it wasn’t a great surprise. Voodoo shook his head as he watched his best friend packing for the trip. Most would assume you would take necessities, just as they were taught. Of course, his partner packed the minimum amount those and with the extra room he dry-packed his sandwich, which was always a sub, and snacks. It was kinda sad, Voodoo thought as he put the small doll his mother gave him in the waist of his pants. It was to ward off bad auras and seemed to work, so to humor his mother of course, he continued to use it.
“Strike Two,” the officer called out into the hanger where their team worked out of, gathered, hell—lived in.
Slapping the back of his friend’s head, he growled, “Move it, Dag.”
His partner grunted a response but slung his bag over his shoulders and followed. The officer led them down the corridor back toward the main building for the briefing. Something was up with this mission—Voodoo could feel it.
“Briefing in ten,” the officer said and then closed the door behind him as he exited the small room.
“Dang, I am hungry, had to leave the other sub, now what I am going to do?” Dagwood grumbled.
Voodoo laughed and shook his head, “Bro, you eat way fucking too much.”
“Huh?” Dag said and feigned shock. “I am a growing boy.”
“Right, if you grow anymore, we won't fit in the chopper, man. As it is, your head hits the ceiling anyway. Riding for hours hearing only ‘thunk…thunk…thunk’, is fuckin' annoying, man.” Voodoo laughed.
Dag rose, bowed his chest out, and said, “You wanna shot at the champion?”
He stood and grinned evilly, “Champion my ass, all those carbs are slowing you down. Boyscout kicked your ass last week in the five-mile trek. I think the rubber tube around your waist is catching up.”
They circled each other in the small room, this is what they did before a mission to release some of the stress. All of them did it, the Commander hated when the whole team went out together since it usually meant new furniture needed to be ordered.
Before they could actually begin their wrestling the Commander and LC walked in. LC smiled and nodded while the Commander frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Settle down, boys, we don’t have time for this shit,” the Commander said.
Dag and Voodoo nodded but grinned, they would finish in the hanger before they got on the helo. Settling back in their chairs, the duo waited while the Commander pulled a file out of his briefcase.
“We need info and we need it fast. This is the target, and we need his schedule, his associates, hell, even his underwear preference. He is on the Terrorist Most Wanted, listed as Number five. We are sending Team SEVEN in a week, so you have five days to give us what we need. During that time, I expect you will follow strict protocol,” the leader warned. Voodoo and Dagwood nodded, then Dagwood winked at Voodoo.
They were the wildcards of the bunch. It wasn’t hard to see, especially since they both thought outside the box when they were doing a mission. Something the others had a problem with, but this duo was known as the best of the best when it came to
surveillance. Though most would think they would stand out—Dagwood with his bulk and height, and Voodoo with his dark brooding good looks, but they did it amazingly well. They had never been discovered on a mission of reconnaissance.
“Here is what we know…” LC started the details of the briefing and both men snapped to attention.
Sand, he was so sick of the sand, it was in all of his sandwiches, which was just freaking wrong. The smoothness of the spread and the processed meat was taken away from the experience. Shrugging his shoulder, he held up the small binoculars and checked to see where the Target was. If Dagwood actually had feelings about his assignments, this guy would rank up with the most disgusting and vile men he ever had to watch.
The way he treated women, as if they were a piece of meat only put on this world to take his punishment and torture. Shit, it looked like the guy couldn’t get a hard-on if there wasn't pain involved. Dagwood wanted this guy caught, so did Voodoo, especially after last night.
“Dude, we need to call in an air strike, the Target is planning an attack on US Embassies tomorrow. They are giving the final go head tonight, we ran out of time,” Voodoo said quietly into his comm device.
Shit, Dagwood sat up and looked around the building the Target was in. “You sure, man?”
“Yeah, just tapped into a line in the building,” Voodoo said and then paused. Dagwood knew better than to say anything, it meant Voodoo was very close to the Target. Shit, he wondered if he knew Morse code for 'Clusterfuck' that he could send the Commander.
“In the building, you need to call in Status change to RED,” Voodoo said in his ear wick. Dagwood nodded like his friend could see him. He listened while Voodoo gave him the info and then told him to Standby, while he called in the Stat change.
It only took moments for the response they needed. Dagwood told his friend what the JOC told him. “We need to remain close to Paint the car with the laser. When is he leaving?”
“One hour,” Voodoo whispered.
“Shit, okay, we will get transpo,” Dagwood said.
Voodoo faded into the hallway and monitored what was going on through the link he established and the bug he had thrown in the tray of food as it went by. He could listen to everything that was being planned, the only thing he didn’t have was eyes on Target. He would get it though, he had to confirm. Shit, he needed to do that before they left so he could guarantee who was in the car. Sliding back out, he glided stealthily to the kitchen. Listening the whole way while dodging the personnel from the building.
During the briefing, LC told them the tip came from an anonymous source inside a Middle Eastern Embassy, in San Diego. They had no clue who was sending the info because the sender was encrypted, and they had been unable to break it yet. It was not the first time they received tips from this person and so far, they had been spot on.
It was easy to find the uniform he wanted, slipping into the closet he changed and then changed his appearance yet again so no one would realize he was the worker who had previously been in the Breaker Box a few minutes ago. He pulled his hair down from the cap and added glasses before sliding out of the small room and walking with purpose to the office the asshole was in.
He paused briefly and knocked gently. “Come,” he heard someone say both through the door and in his ear wick. Shit, his commander would be pissed if he knew he was this close to the Target. If they recognized he didn’t belong here, it could screw everything the fuck up. Keeping his head down he nodded and walked to the tray. Looking through his hair, he knew his commander would be thrilled. Not only was Number 5 on the Most Wanted List in the room, but so was Number 9. They apparently were working together. Two birds, one stone—nice.
Voodoo cleaned up the coffee tray and quickly hid another bug, added and then walked out. None of the men had paid attention to him. Figures, they were self-absorbed and thought they were untouchable.
Dumping the cart in another room, Voodoo changed again, and then moved back into the spot he was in before. He listened and then tapped his ear wick, they were going to be leaving in fifteen. As he waited, Voodoo listened but moved to the back entrance, hoping his partner was a few minutes early and already there and waiting. He needed to get the Laser Painter out of his bag.
“Stat?” Voodoo whispered and slipped out of the door.
“Left.” Dagwood and he moved quickly around the corner of the building and stopped. "Really. Fucking scooters?”
“We will flank him, these babies are fast,” Dagwood argued. “You paint one side and I paint the other.”
“Fine, let's get moving they are coming out of the underground garage in five minutes,” Voodoo said.
The duo moved quickly and efficiently as they got into position. Voodoo was across the street while Dagwood went up a few blocks and waited. They needed to make contact with the air support, they were on their way so Dagwood was guiding them to where they were.
Finally, the black SUV with tinted windows pulled out, and then another and another. Shit, three SUV’s, it didn’t matter they were all targeted now. He hit his earpiece to let Dag know there were three cars. He heard his friend swear and relay the information.
They moved and Voodoo waited a few seconds and pulled out as well. He had attached his Laser Painter to the handlebars as Dagwood had done as well. All they had to do was turned the small device to keep it on the car. As they moved Dag fell into line on the other side, they flanked the caravan and kept the laser on the middle SUV.
Voodoo had finally linked into the JOC and his partner’s communication so he could listen. Now that he was out of contact with the bug, there had been no interference.
“ETA?” Dag asked.
“Two clicks,” the pilot responded.
“Roger that,” Dag said and they remained with the caravan as the pilot counted down his approach, there was one plane, one chance. This was it.
“Flash,” the pilot ordered and they turned the Laser on. “Spotted, clear shot, request permission to take shot.”
Voodoo held his breath as he rode quickly on the scooter. He looked and knew then they were too close, they had not gotten into the open yet, and it would be several blocks before they did. When the pilot took the shot, he and Dag would have to stop quickly. He looked and played it out in his head. Dag was his partner, since they had been together Voodoo always protected him, always made sure he was safe. Finally deciding what he had to do, Voodoo pressed on the accelerator and listened again.
“Eagle Eye Approved,” the JOC said.
Voodoo took a deep breath. He would do what he had to in order to keep Dag safe, as well as accomplish the mission.
“Fox Two,” the pilot called and Voodoo slammed on the brakes, knowing the targeting was complete. He could hear the whistle of the missile. Dagwood had as well, and he knew they were well within the blast range. Dropping his scooter, he ran for his friend. Just as he felt the concussion of the explosion, Voodoo tackled his friend, taking him down and covering Dag’s body. His friend struggled a little but Voodoo held tight as he felt the heat from the gas tanks as they exploded.
“Made the Kill,” Pilot said in his ear wick, letting the JOC know they accomplished their task. Now they had to get the fuck out of there.
“Dag, move it,” Voodoo said as he pushed up off his friend who instantly jumped up and glared at him.
“Really? I didn’t need your protection!” Dagwood yelled as they ran for cover.
“Doesn’t matter you got it. Suck it up, Dag!” Voodoo yelled back.
“Dude, you are not going to be there all the time,” Dagwood said.
“Bet!” Voodoo rounded on his friend and got into his face. “It's my job.”
“Whatever,” Dagwood grumbled.
***
Unfortunately, that was his greatest regret, Voodoo thought. He had failed his friend, and Arden. He hadn't been there for Dag and he hadn’t had the guts to go back and comfort Arden. He was a coward.
Chapter One
Really, did her life have to continue to suck even more each day? Since her best friend and brother died, she had no one to tell her things were going to be all right. That was what Dagwood would do when she would call to bitch about her life; it was a continuing saga with only brief bright moments.
She missed Mason, the asshole had walked away that night with the promise he would call when they got back and talk to her brother with her. He told her he wanted a relationship, he felt a connection with her and wanted to see where it led. Arden had felt the same way and had been over the moon when he agreed with her feelings. They had both fought the attraction since the day they met and now, it was gone. Taken from her without her knowledge. For weeks she had waited for Mason to call and tell her to come to him, for weeks she cried for her brother and Mason. Well fuck him. She knew Dagwood would want her to call Mason and ask for help, but she refused. If she needed help, she had to do it one her own, there was no other choice. Mason made his decision.
Arden sniffed. Damn it, she had gotten herself into something, but she had no idea what. One day she was at work, busily working to get a case off to the courts. In her job, they couldn’t make mistakes like missing a filing. Being a law secretary, it was up to her to keep things running smoothly. What her boss was thinking right now she had no idea. She only hoped she had a job to go back to when this was over.
Okay, think. Dagwood taught her how to evade and protect herself. She had rolled her eyes often enough at him, and now she needed to remember the lectures her best friend gave her. Wait, he gave her a phone number to call if she was in trouble. Some SEAL who worked on a different team, but lived in the area.
Arden dug through her purse. She was in her car, the same place she had been for seven days, driving around the bayous where she could and then camping in the back seat. Thank goodness, she had been smart and gotten an SUV. The salesman tried to sell her something small and cute, but Dagwood had interrupted him and told him to show them the SUVs. It was the first purchase she made when she got her job. It had been so exciting, compared to not having the money to afford anything while she was in college. Hell, Dagwood had supported her through college, telling her that one of them needed to graduate.