Whiskey & Roses (The Xander King Series Book 1)

by Bradley Wright

  “How did you—”

  “Samantha Harrison. You can’t get anything by her. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

  “But she wasn’t even at the King’s Ransom launch party.” Sarah was trying to regain her composure, but Xander had zapped it.

  “No, but she has full access to my phone, to make sure no one is tapping it. Kyle took a picture of me and Natalie Rockwell, and a beautiful blonde just happened to be in the background. A beauty like that is hard to forget, especially out of all the ugly sons of bitches that are your peers at the CIA. Sam recognized you immediately.”

  “Shit.”

  Sarah had no other words. This isn’t how she ever thought this would go. Now, here she is, on the phone with him and she is floundering. An absolute mess.

  “Listen, I know you are just doing your job, Sarah. But I need you to send Director Manning a very clear message. Can you do that?”

  “Xander, just give me a minute to explain—”

  “I really don’t have a minute. As you could clearly see, I’m quite busy. Tell Director Manning to back off and to stop sending people to follow me. I made it very clear to him that I have zero interest in working with the CIA, the FBI, or any other acronym associated with the United States government.”

  Sarah knew she had to speak quickly, so she got right to it.

  “Director Manning knows you are killing people.”

  That ought to get his attention.

  “Sarah, I appreciate that, I really do, but if I had anything to worry about from Director Manning knowing about my dealings, he would have made it known six months ago when he stumbled upon my handiwork in Texas.”

  Sarah was losing him. She needed to get his attention, gain his confidence.

  “Xander, we think we know who killed your parents.”

  Xander didn’t hesitate. “Once again, Sarah, you are a step behind. Hang around Lexington for a bit; the Bourbon trail is a blast, but if you’re more of a wine girl, head over to Jean Farris. Order the Tempest Reserve, you’ll love it. Better yet, wait till I get back and I’ll take you there myself. We can share a Brown Betty milk shake: King’s Ransom bourbon, Godiva chocolate liqueur, and vanilla ice cream. It’s outstanding.”

  The blip that was Xander’s jet finally disappeared from the sky altogether in front of her. Even though Sarah knew Xander was politely, but ever so condescendingly, telling her to “f” off, she couldn’t help but wonder how amazing that little trip to the winery with him might be.

  “Just call me when you land, handsome. I’ll be right here.” She played back at him.

  “Great, now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got some important things to take care of.”

  “Xander, don’t go in there alone. Come back, let the CIA help you with this.”

  “Good-bye, gorgeous.”

  Sarah’s phone beeped that she had dropped the call. She immediately scrolled to Director Manning’s number.

  The phone rang only once.

  “Sarah, did you talk to him about what we know?”

  “He’s two steps ahead of us, sir. He knows we’ve been watching him and apparently he already knows the intel we gathered about his parents’ possible killer.”

  “That’s impossible. No one on his team has access to those files.”

  “Tell that to Xander. His G6 just took off for Russia just a couple of minutes ago.”

  “SHIT!” Manning screamed through the phone. Then, silence.

  Sarah knew Manning would be pissed. This was his one shot at bringing Xander into the fold. She was just as surprised as Manning that Xander had somehow found out about Vitalii Dragov. It still wasn’t clear that it was he who’d murdered Xander’s parents, but there was too much evidence to not take a closer look. Apparently Xander felt the same way.

  Sarah steeled herself for what Manning might scream next. Fortunately she found him to be very calm.

  “Get a team together yesterday and get to Moscow. I need you there before the end of the day. We’ve got to stop Xander before he starts the next world war.”

  Sarah agreed and ended the call. She really couldn’t believe Xander actually knew about Dragov. Samantha must really be as good as he says she is. Either way, she knew Xander was in trouble. Dragov is the Russian Mafia.

  Sarah ran her fingers through her hair and turned on the radio. She needed a second to cool down. She wondered if, since Xander knew about Dragov, he now also knew his father had dealings with him, and she wondered how Xander was taking such unsavory news. Oil was just one of the many streams of revenue Dragov had dallied in to achieve the over $8 billion his outfit was reportedly worth. Billion, with a b. The only way she could help Xander now was to get to Moscow.

  Hopefully, she wouldn’t be too late.

  It’s Time to Get Serious

  “Xander,” Sam whispered as she tapped him on the shoulder, waking him, “we are an hour out from Lebanon. I just spoke with James and everything is set for us at the airfield. He is in an abandoned hangar where we will be able to park the jet, undetected, except by the controller on duty that we bought.”

  Xander sat up and took a swig from his water bottle. “So, we are just supposed to trust that this Lebanese flight controller is just going to keep quiet that an American G6 jet flew into an abandoned airfield and paid to make sure no one else knew about it? He’s gonna keep that a secret?”

  “Half a million dollars says he will,” Sam said with confidence.

  “Wow, you surprise me. Risk assessment being your forté and all, I can’t believe you would leave a hanging chad like this. I’m afraid you are putting far too much faith in your boy James.”

  “Xander, for the last time, I’ll ask you, have I ever let you down?”

  “No, but I know you realize the gravity of this situation. If this unknown decides to leak info to the wrong people, we will be hunted down like dogs. And they won’t stop at just me. You know that.”

  “I do, but what shall we do? Kill the flight controller? That doesn’t seem like your style.”

  “No, you’re right, it’s not…Maybe James can put a tail on him for a few weeks, just to ease our minds?”

  “That we can do,” Sam assured him.

  “Well, now that that is settled,” Kyle broke in, “I wanna know what we are going to do to celebrate after we rid the world of these sons of bitches?”

  Xander smiled. “I’m glad you said that, K. Sam’s so damn serious all the time.” Xander looked at Sam and gave her a playful wink. “Speaking of rubbing off on me. It has been a while since I’ve played a game of poker.”

  Kyle perked up in his seat. “I think I like where this is going!”

  “And I don’t mean just any old game of poker, either. We are going to take a break from this shit after tonight and you and I are going to Vegas and finding the biggest no-limit private game in town.”

  “X, Vegas sounds amazing! But I can’t afford high-roller,” Kyle said, dejected.

  “Seriously? You think I’m gonna drag you around the world, risking your life, and give you nothing in return?”

  “You know I would do it for free.”

  “Well, hell,” Sean chimed in, “I won’t! I don’t play poker but I sure have a mighty big appetite for fast cars!”

  “Fast cars, huh?” Xander raised his eyebrow.

  “You know I’m just playin’, X-man. I’ll take a box of Davidoff cigars and some of your whiskey and we can call it even.”

  “Cheap date, huh? I like it,” said Xander.

  “I hate to be the bitch that you all already think me to be, but it’s time to get serious,” Sam jumped in.

  “Awe, Sam…We would be happy to have you in Vegas,” Xander assured her.

  “We would?” Kyle seemed surprised.

  “Yeah, we’ll give her a hundred bucks for the penny slots and tickets to Donny and Marie.” He laughed, full of sarcasm.

  “Ha. Ha.” Sam fake laughed. “I get it, I’m the boring one. I’ll have you know I left a few fract
ured hearts in my younger years.”

  “How long ago was that?” Kyle asked. “Thirty years ago?”

  “Again, you all are just too funny, aren’t you? I’m only thirty-eight, you ahs-hole.”

  The guys laughed as Sam had a hard time swallowing their sense of humor. Though Xander laughed at her, he was sure she wasn’t kidding about breaking hearts. She was a beautiful woman. She had just been hardened by the years of suffocating herself with the madness of this world. It had certainly changed her. It was a wonder it hadn’t really taken its toll on Xander. It probably would have but Xander had too much of his family in him, all of them so fun-loving and goofy. There was never much that would ever bring them down. From a very early age, Xander had always chosen to see the positive side of life. He had no use for negativity. Of course he knew bad things happened, it surrounded every move he made and drove the very things that were a lot of his life. The bad things—the bad people. He often thought his positive outlook was the driving force behind why he dabbled in all the negativity. The only way you could ever spend your life dispelling the monsters of the world was to have the brazen positive belief that one person can actually make a difference. And he knew he had made a difference, a big difference, regardless of motive.

  Xander slid open the window shade and peered out into the blackness beyond the light flashing at the tip of the wing. He looked out beyond the back of the plane and saw a full moon blasting its light for all to see.

  This was a problem.

  The element of surprise would be everything tonight, and with a moon that bright it would be hard to sneak up on anyone.

  I hope it clouds up when we land.

  Xander closed the window shade, sat back in his chair, and closed his eyes. Like a star athlete preparing for the big game, Xander visualized how the entire mission would go, in great detail in his head. He went over everything from how the wind would effect his bullets to how cold the water would be when he fell backward from the boat in his wet suit and scuba gear. There would be surprises along the way; this was without question, however, just as his philosophy was in life, so it was in combat.

  It’s not what happens to you that defines you, it’s how you react to it.

  No one was better at reacting to surprises in the field than Xander. He knew it, Sean knew it from experience, and Sam had seen it many times herself. That is why they all said he was the best. That theory had never been tested more so than it would be tonight.

  “All right, it’s time to get in our wet suits,” Sam broke the silence. “All of your tactical gear, including your weapons, are waterproof, and will work for you regardless of what situation you find yourself in tonight. Listen, this is very important, if ever there is a moment, even for a split second, that you are unsure, look to Xander. Do not deviate from our plotted plan at any point, no matter what, unless instructed by Xander and Xander alone. In the event that something happens to him, I will become point and lead us through the mission. Is that clear?” Sam made sure she got a definitive response from both Kyle and Sean.

  “Boy, you sure picked a feisty one here, brother,” Sean said to Xander. “I’m not sure she knows who I am.”

  “I assure you she does. It’s you that doesn’t understand who she is,” Xander stated clearly. Sam felt a sense of pride. She knew Xander respected her and her skills, but it wasn’t often she heard him announce it with that amount of sincerity.

  Sean put his hands in the air as if to say, whatever you say, boss, and let Sam finish.

  Sam went on as she handed them earpieces. “We will be in constant communication; these are also waterproof. However, do not talk over these unless it is an absolute emergency. Any distraction could result in the worst for any of us. Make sense?”

  Everyone nodded.

  Sam continued to make sure everyone was on the same page. The nose of the jet pitched downward and they began their descent into Lebanon and into the unknown. In the midnight hour, Xander’s biggest concern remained for his greenhorn friend. Kyle's experience hadn’t so much as included a fistfight, much less full on combat. He knew Sean would be fine; he’d seen his fair share of the worst of the world. Though it had been a while, Xander knew Sean’s training in the SEALs would inevitably kick in. Xander still couldn’t fight the chill of nervousness that crept down his spine. He tried to shake it as he slid on his wetsuit but it wasn’t going away. He wasn’t used to a feeling of imminent pending doom weighing on him. And he didn’t much care for the feeling, either.

  Instead of opting to change in the bathroom, away from the glaring eyes of men, Sam slipped out of her clothes to her underwear to get into her wet suit. Xander wasn’t sure why he hadn’t noticed before, but Sam had a fantastic body. Very well-toned muscle, but ample curves in the right places so it could never be mistaken that she was anything but a woman.

  Xander laughed to himself as he pulled the cord to zip the back of his suit.

  Sean couldn’t help himself. “Damn, woman, I ain’t seen a body like that in a long time. Thirty-eight? The hell you say, you sure you ain’t twenty-eight?”

  Sam just laughed as Sean struggled to pull the wet suit over his little desk-job-gut.

  “Maybe I should have secured a larger size for your suit?”

  “Ha. Ha. Yuk it up. I see how it is. I offer you a compliment and you rag on me. See if I take a bullet for ya now,” Sean joked.

  Sam gave him a wink. The captain gave them the five-minute heads-up and they began equipping themselves with the weapons they’d carried on the plane in large black duffel bags. Xander strapped a knife to his right lower leg with a black Velcro sheath. He followed that with a utility belt that held two Glock 19 pistols, two explosive fragmentation grenades, then one smoke and one flash grenade around his waist. With having to put on scuba gear, there wasn’t room for his trusty shoulder holster. Twenty-four bullets and a knife would have to do until he could pick up a dead man’s rifle. Of course, he had the sniper rifle and a couple of submachine guns they would be leaving on the boat. Kyle was proficient enough now with the machine guns to protect himself on the boat. The silenced sniper rifle would come in handy taking out the visible guards before they swam their way in to shore from the boat. This might be the only time the brightness of the moon could help—picking out the guards in the scope. Everyone else finished strapping on their equipment, all the same setup as Xander. The captain discreetly lit up the seat belt sign.

  It was time.

  Hammer of Thor

  Everyone took their seats and buckled in. The reality of the moment began to settle in for Kyle. What was he doing? How had he possibly agreed to this? He wasn’t Xander. He didn’t have the years of training and combat that he had. Panic began to swell inside of him. He knew Xander was good. I mean, he took out eleven gunmen at one time without a plan. Hell, he was asleep. He would take care of him. Kyle tried to keep his face solemn, but it sure felt like it had burning panic written all over it. He looked over at Xander. Not a care in the world showed on his face.

  What the hell? Even Sean looks nervous. What the hell was Xander made of? How could he not be afraid?

  “Hey, you okay?” Xander had unbuckled and come over and kneeled beside him. Kyle jumped a little when Xander touched his arm.

  “Jesus, you scared me. Not gonna lie, I’m a little on edge.”

  Xander put his hand on Kyle's shoulder. “Listen, that is natural. If you don’t want to do this, you know I understand. Just stay back with the plane till we get back.”

  “No, no I—I’ll be fine. Just teach me how to control this…this panic. Tell me how to focus it.”

  Xander knew there was no way to tell Kyle how to control it. It was just something you had to learn through experience. However, he could see that Kyle was in the early stages of freaking-the-fuck-out, so he had to give him something.

  “Here’s what I do…Remember when you were a kid and you were walking from the on-deck circle to the batter’s box?”

  “Yeah, okay
…”

  “Remember how nervous and scared you were when the pitcher was throwing straight gas?”

  “Okay,” Kyle played along.

  “Close your eyes,” Xander told him, “feel yourself stepping one foot out of the batter’s box and taking a long, deep breath. Then, feel yourself step back in with confidence and when the pitcher throws that fastball right down the middle, you swing and knock it out of the park. Feel what that feels like to overcome that fear, that nervousness.”

  Kyle's eyes popped open. “Xander, do you not remember me in Little League? I was absolutely terrible at baseball.”

  Xander smiled and laughed. “I know, but don’t you feel better?”

  Kyle took a second, and actually, he did. He felt a lot better. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head. Xander gave him one last pat on the back and got back to his seat.

  “All right, as soon as the plane lands we’re gonna huddle by the door,” Xander prepared them. “As soon as the plane stops and we finish getting our gear together we are immediately going to head for the beach, half a mile through a wooded area that separates it from the airfield. Our boat will be waiting there. It will be run up on the beach. We’ll push it into the water and be on our way. That is step one, and that is all we will worry about between now and then. Sam, if James isn’t ready, we will be leaving him.”

  “He’ll be ready.”

  The captain had shut off the exterior lights of the plane miles ago and he navigated the winged metal tube through the air solely on his instruments. The feeble lights of the airfield off in the distance in front of him were all he had to go on. It was a warm night and the air was calm. Xander checked out the window and the ocean steadily rose up toward them, closer and closer and closer until a flash of land popped into view and the scratch of rubber on the broken pavement screamed up through the bottom of the plane. Xander nodded and they all unbuckled their belts and made their way to the jet’s door. The G6 taxied toward a small light at the end of the airfield parking lot just off the runway. The light was hanging down over an old and tattered rolling vinyl hangar door, about the size of two of Xander’s jet. The hangar door began to slowly roll upward, and before the jet’s nose made it into the cast of the light, the captain brought the plane to a stop in full dark.