by Bella Juarez
“What a criminal does in his country is none of my affair.”
“It needs to be your affair. Why do you think I turned down the Ambassador of Pakistan when he wanted to dispose of Bakri? I don’t need Bakri; I needed Montenegro. The moles inside the American military aren’t Muslim fanatics. Bakri has been working with Montenegro since the beginning and convinced that criminal to give him a team from his organization that has specialized military training.”
“What do you have planned?”
“I understand Montenegro’s empire is crumbling. Soon he’ll be a liability to the Mexican government. He’s starting to grasp at straws. When the Mexican government decides they’ve washed their hands of him, we’ll take it from there. I’m working on discovering who runs Montenegro’s army.”
The president nodded and said nothing because he knew what was happening with Bakri. The man took detailed notes and kept journals of his activities. Iran’s special service dedicated to stopping American technology had breached Bakri’s electronic devices long ago and had all of the minister’s notes. Colonel Caesar Valdez had a group of men entrenched in a special warfare group in the United States.
The group’s leader had vanished, but Bakri had maintained contact with a secondary leader of the group. Valdez had selected his team to travel with the carrier deploying the new weapons system. The mole and Valdez were awaiting orders from Bakri. Montenegro had to have been intimately familiar with the planning that was problematic for Iran. As soon as Bakri had taken asylum in Iran, Montenegro had wanted to discuss a plan to move forward with the operation. The president had already made the decision that he’d meet with Montenegro.
“Do you have this information?” Secretary Ivanov asked.
“Iran? No, we have no information regarding Montenegro or his men. What you’re telling me now is…interesting.”
“Perhaps now that Minister Bakri is gone, you will consider turning over all of the information in his possession?”
Iran would turn over what they wanted Russia to know, and some of the information would be about Montenegro and his cartel. But the president wasn’t foolish enough to turn everything over. They needed a slight edge in case Russia decided to betray Iran, too.
“I will check with the Ayatollah and the council, but I don’t see any reason why we can’t work together.”
Chapter 31
Main Post Chapel
Fort Huachuca, Arizona
December 18, 2010/1845 Zulu
Rio closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She’d never been so nervous in all of her life. With all that had happened over the last six weeks, this day had arrived in the blink of an eye. Alone in this room, so many things ran through her head as she reviewed all of the life-changing events that had happened in less than six months. Danny had turned her stable, orderly, lonely life upside down when he came home on leave in June. She never thought she’d ever get married and had almost given up on Danny ever coming around to see her as more than just a friend. The perfect prankster had tricked her out of her self-imposed exile from men and into a passionate love affair that made her tremble every time they kissed. With his return, her career had changed, and her small circle of friends had exploded in number.
The door to the bride’s room opened, and her mother and brother stepped inside. Her mom cupped her face and kissed her. While they had never been as close as she’d been to her father, her mother at least stepped up and helped her new posse, Anna, Irene, and Amy, with her wedding while she maintained a busy career and helped Danny recover. Most of all, Irene had helped Rio and her mother transition into a less combative relationship. Her mother was happy because, in her eyes, Rio had an office job and was finally settling down, and Rio didn’t dare tell her any different.
Davey took her into his arms and as he held her close said, “You’re not a tomboy anymore, Lil’ bit.”
“We’ll let Mom think that,” she whispered back.
Her brother released her and smiled. It was good to see him happy again and a little more stable.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“I think I’ve been ready since tenth grade.”
Her mom adjusted her veil. “You two were always meant to be, honey.” Rio looked at her brother who shook his head. “I’m so happy for you.”
Anna and Amy had loosely French braided her long hair along the sides and had twisted the braids around the back of her neck, then put pearl-and-crystal studded pins into the braids and attached them to let her veil run down her back instead of covering her face. Her ivory taffeta dress was covered in lace with small crystal and pearl beads. A small chapel train flowed down her back and lace covered her arms.
“It was too bad we couldn’t invite all of our friends,” her mother said as the music started.
Rio and Davey exchanged glances because they didn’t want their mother going crazy with the guest list. The base wasn’t easily accessible to just anyone. Most of the people she and Danny knew and wanted at the wedding could get on the base. She’d discussed the problem with Irene and Davey, and both of them had suggested the base chapel and a reception at the Officers’ Club.
“Time to go,” Davey said, tucking her arm into his.
Mrs. Jensen had been seated, and they walked out of the small room and started down the aisle. Rio caught her first glimpse of Danny in over twenty-four hours, and he was breathtaking in his service dress uniform. Whenever she saw him in uniform, he’d always been in camouflage utilities, but now he looked every inch a commanding Naval officer. She stole a glance at her brother who was no less striking in his Marine dress blues. Danny smiled when they caught each other’s eye, and she couldn’t help but smile too because she was sure he’d have a smartass comment when her brother finally handed her off.
When they arrived at the altar, Davey kissed her, and as he placed her right hand in Danny’s, he murmured, “Take care of her, man. She’s all I’ve got left.”
“Always.” Danny took both of her hands, bent forward, and kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful, babe,” he whispered.
The familiar tremor of being so close to him went through her, and everyone around them disappeared. This moment was theirs, and the people here were intimate observers of their love and devotion to each other. She didn’t hear the awes when she cupped his face and smiled. While Davey took his seat with their mom, she glanced at Shaq who was Danny’s best man, and he winked with a mischievous smile that reminded her of Danny. Throughout the ceremony, she couldn’t help but steal glances at Danny who was always looking when she did.
They finally got to look at each other when they repeated their simple vows. When he put her ring on her finger, he lifted her hand and kissed it, and her breath caught. At the end of the ceremony, when Danny could finally kiss her, he firmly cupped her face and took her breath away with his kiss. She lost track of where she was until the entire church erupted in cheers.
Letting her come up for air, he rubbed his nose against hers and said, “Can’t get away now, can you?” His comment had been intended to sound mischievous, and as nervous as she was she burst out laughing, and he kissed her again. “Relax, babe. You’re breathtaking.”
They walked out of the church and into the cool December day. He opened the door to the car, taking them to the Officers’ Club. After they climbed inside and the door closed, he lifted her dress above her knee and picked up her leg.
“Danny! What are you doing?”
“Did you grow? ‘Cuz I don’t remember you being this tall,” he said, looking at her raised foot.
“Stop!” she cried, shoving her dress down.
“I want to see these things,” he said, lifting her foot into his lap. “Damn, babe, did you practice walking in these? I’ve never seen you in anything this high.” He studied her five-inch lace platform pumps. Amy had found them, and the only reason she’d consented to buying them was because the lace covered her foot and tied, keeping them secure. “Sexy,” he said, running his fin
ger over her stockings. She slapped his hand when he reached her knee. “Ow!” He pulled his hand away.
“Behave!” she said, dragging her foot off of his lap and pushing her dress down. “And yes, I had to practice walking in these.”
They didn’t look at each other for a minute, and when she finally glanced at him, they both started laughing.
“Why didn’t you practice when I was around?”
“Because you didn’t need that kind of temptation,” she said, leaning over and kissing him.
Thankfully, the O’Club was a short drive from the chapel. When they arrived, Rio was amazed at how beautiful the ballroom looked. It was elegant—perfect. She remembered picking out the flowers and the colors but never imagined it would turn out like what she’d just stepped into. She recalled telling Anna and Irene that she wanted the table arranged family style in long intimate rows because she wanted to see everyone. The tables had been arranged in a huge U-shape with the bride’s table in the apex center. The white and red flowers had been arranged in topiaries in several places on the tables. The ivory linens, crystal glasses, and gold plates with cutlery sparkled and shined with the tiny lights that danced above. The dim chandeliers cast a romantic glow in the room. She recalled seeing this ballroom bare and never imagined it could transform the way it had.
“Wow!” Danny said as they entered the room. He swept her up into his arms. “Want to dance, Cinderella?”
“I don’t know.” She put her arms around his neck. “Are you my prince?”
“Baby, I’ll be a barking dog if you want, as long as you take me home with you tonight.”
“You’re not a prince; you’re the court clown,” she said with a giggle.
“Maybe, but I’ll bet I can make you scream once I get this dress off of you, sweet thing. That’s something that stuffy-assed prince will never do for you,” he said, running his hands along her back over the row of small buttons. “Jesus, Rio! I didn’t bring my diving knife along. How the hell am I getting this thing off you? I’ll be an old man before I get these undone.”
“You two need to get over by the door and greet your guests,” her mother said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Danny said formally as he tucked Rio’s arm into his. “Mrs. Gamez, this way.”
Danny had insisted that they personally thank everyone for coming and for being there for them during various times in their lives. She was happy to do it, and seeing everyone who attended made her feel especially grateful. Of the 150 people they’d invited, it looked as if everyone had come to celebrate with them. When Danny had given her his guest list, it surprised her to see some of the names and ranks on it. She knew that not all of these people had time to come. As they stood greeting people, she could’ve sworn that she’d never seen so many special operations badges and insignias in one place at one time. There were some very important people here, and all of them seemed to be down to earth. She was meeting Davey’s commander when Danny grabbed her elbow.
“Babe, this is Admiral and Mrs. Campbell,” Danny said.
Turning, she greeted a tall man and a woman who looked as if they’d stepped out of a fashion magazine. She peered a little closer at the woman because she’d seen her somewhere before.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Gamez, and I think it’s also Petty Officer Gamez? Do I have that right?” the admiral asked, shaking her hand.
Danny visibly shivered. “That’s all kinds of wrong, sir. Petty Officer and Gamez don’t go together. It sounds like an Article 15 gone real bad.”
Mrs. Campbell laughed at the comment and gave her congratulations. The admiral and Danny joked for a moment before Campbell went inside and joined Captain O’Malley, Gavin, and JJ. The newlyweds went through the rest of the evening walking around and talking with people. Halfway through the reception as a DJ played music, a few of her fellow CBP agents that had comprised her team, Danny, Davey, and some of her new teammates from Special Warfare Group 5 all gathered in the center of the dance floor and sang along to “Rio” by Duran Duran. She guessed that Danny had instigated the whole thing but found out it had actually been Shaq. Now she understood what had been behind that devilish smile at the church. At the end of the night, an exhausted, happy Rio found herself sitting at their table talking and laughing with JJ and Irene when Captain O’Malley and Admiral Campbell appeared.
“We need to talk, guys,” Captain O’Malley said.
Anna and Mrs. Campbell joined them. Mrs. Campbell looked at her husband who shot her a serious but meaningful look.
“Okay, where?” JJ asked, standing.
“I’m sorry, Rio. Dan, I need you,” Captain O’Malley said as Gavin joined them.
“Jack!” Anna said.
“No problem, skipper,” Danny said. He looked at Rio and smiled. Everyone walked away to give them a moment alone. He took her hands and smiled wistfully. “Sorry, babe.”
This was her life now and getting upset or hurt would not do their relationship any good. She’d just married a SEAL and whenever his call to duty came, he’d leave her to go off and fight the bad guys. She had to accept this, deal with it, and hope for the best.
“It’ll be fine. Whatever it is, be careful.” She leaned over and kissed him.
Taking a deep breath and sending up a silent prayer for his safety, she watched her husband and brother walk out of the hall. The loved ones who’d been left behind took seats around Rio. A calm came over her as she watched the doorway where Danny had disappeared. He was doing what he loved. In truth, she understood better than some of the people who now tried to comfort her. Justin looked the most emotional, so she took his hand and tried to comfort him.
“It’ll be fine. Whatever it is, they have to prepare, and that’ll take a little time to do. They’ll be back soon.”
“I worry because I know him. He takes chances he shouldn’t.”
Mrs. Campbell put her arm around the young man and said, “They all do.”
* * * *
The big screen in the conference room showed the riots that had broken out in Tunisia over a fruit and vegetable stand that had been confiscated for not having the proper government licenses. The vendor had set himself on fire in protest, and riots had ensued as a result. This was unusual because President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who’d ruled Tunisia since 1987 severely repressed any sort of political protest, and Tunisia had been considered one of the most stable and prosperous countries in North Africa.
The group had been watching closely since the Washington had set sail heading toward the Mediterranean on deployment because the mission had been changed once they were underway. Advisors to the President of the United States speculated that, due to tensions with Iran, deployment in the Persian Gulf would escalate those tensions, and now, Russia was putting pressure on the United States to back off of the testing.
“Got anything on the chatter going on in the area? Has anyone gotten back to you with the status?” Dixie asked Dan.
“No one’s gotten back to me yet, admiral. But, it’s going crazy; lots of tweets from inside Tunisia by a group called the Muslim Brotherhood,” Dan said.
“When in the hell did we start getting our intel from tweets?” JJ asked as he and Dixie exchanged what-the-fuck glances.
“It’s real time, master chief, people on the ground talking about what’s going on and what they’re seeing,” Shaq said, looking over Facebook. “Check this out.” He clicked on the overhead projector. “Look at these pictures on their Facebook page.”
“I don’t give a shit where you get it, as long as we can assess the threat in that area,” Dixie said.
The SEALs watched the opposite wall and saw the pictures from people in the streets showing the state police attacking people with tear gas to disperse the crowds that were trying to set fire to a police vehicle.
“A couple of these were taken from on top of a building. See here,” Shaq said, circling one of the rooftops that was lower than the vantage point from the pictures. “That’s a lot of comm e
quipment. It’s got to be the state-run press offices.”
“Or some kind of tactical comm. Zoom in a little bit to the right. Are those weapons?” Dan asked.
Dixie peered closer. “I’ll be damned. You’re right, that’s a machine gun nest. Keep monitoring that page, and let me know if they post anything else interesting.”
“Badass, log me in to your laptop here,” Friday said. After a few minutes, he said, “They got videos of all this shit on YouTube. Give me that connection to the projector, Shaq. This is something you won’t see on the six o’clock news.”
“Dan, has SOCCOM or Langley responded yet? What the hell’s taking so long?” Dixie asked.
“What the fuck do we need SOCCOM or Langley for? We’ve all got fucking iPhones!” JJ said, throwing up his hands.
“No, sir, no answer yet, but the shit’s about to hit the fan. The police just shot a protester, and the tweets are saying that the rioters are heading toward the police station to take it down,” Dan said.
“They just posted the pictures on Facebook,” Shaq said.
“I just got off the phone with African Command. They said they briefed the Secretary of Defense a few days ago because chatter inside Tunisia was picking up,” Lieutenant Colonel Thompson said.
“And?” Dixie asked.
“No one ever got back to them, admiral.”
Dixie closed his eyes in disgust. It never failed. Whenever there was a crisis, Washington DC could be the most frustrating place on the planet. While they were assessing the political ramifications, he’d been left helpless to make a decision. He hated the idea that he had a mission commander going into a hot spot without any kind of contingency plan. If anything went wrong with that trip, Dixie and his men would be responsible. It wasn’t the politics of his appointment to the JCS; it was the idea that over six thousand men and women on a ship were already a lightning rod for trouble. They were the ones at risk, and they’d be the first casualties.