Whiskey & Roses (The Xander King Series Book 1)

by Bradley Wright

  “This is it,” Xander told the three of them as he pulled canisters of dark green and black face paint from a bag. “If anyone is having second thoughts of any kind, it’s not a problem unless you let us get out there and count on you. Now is the time to pull back if it’s going to happen. We good?”

  Everyone nodded and gave Xander a fist pound to solidify it. Xander motioned for Sam to step forward. When she did he took her face in his hands, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and looked into her eyes. “Sam, I just want to thank you for all you do. You are the engine that runs this machine. If there is ever a moment when you are trapped give me two whoops—whoop whoop—and I will come with the hammer of Thor. You are the eyes. I love you, Sam.”

  He began to paint her face by separating her face into halves. He drew a line in black from the left middle of her forehead, across her nose and down to the right middle of her chin diagonally. He filled in everything to the left of that line with the same black paint. Everything to the right of that line he painted army green. Like she had done it a hundred times, she closed her eyes and let him get the eyelids, too. Her entire face was now a camouflaged green and black. Sam looked like the real badass bitch that she was.

  “I love you, too, Xander. This will be a success,” she replied with confidence. She snatched up the sniper rifle and hit the button dropping the staircase as the cabin door swung open. A warm and muggy waft of air filled the plane. Xander nodded for Sean. Sean walked over and Xander put his hands on his shoulders, with a grin on his face.

  “Brother, here we are. This sure brings back memories doesn’t it?”

  “It sure does, X-man.” Sean grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. “Save the speech, buddy. It’s time to go old school on these motherfuckers.” Xander began to paint his face. Sean continued, “I got a lot a pent-up aggression from sittin’ my ass behind that desk. I didn’t realize how much. I haven’t felt this alive in years. No matter what happens, thank you for this.”

  “No, thank you. There’s no one I’d rather have beside me,” Xander replied.

  “As always, I’ll save your dumb ass when you get yourself in trouble.” Sean smiled.

  “I know you will.” Xander smiled back. Sean readied his equipment at the door beside Sam.

  Kyle walked over to Xander. There was a clear look of fear in his eyes. Xander took him by the shoulders.

  “You all right, my man?”

  “I am scared to death, but, I’m okay.”

  “You know there is no shame in staying behind. You can just make sure the plane—”

  “I’m ready,” Kyle steadied his confidence and looked sternly into Xander’s eyes.

  Pride swelled inside Xander for his friend’s courage. He nodded to Kyle and began to paint his face. “All right. Now listen, at no point do you leave either my or Sam’s flank as we make our way to the boat. Once we get the boat to our anchor point in the water outside of the compound, you will stay there with the sniper rifle, with James, as we swim in and extract Khatib.”

  Xander shot a look at Sam to squelch any words she might have about keeping Khatib alive. She was about to speak, but held her tongue as she knew it was absolutely no use.

  “I will flash a light to the two of you, three times from shore when we are ready for you to bring the boat in and get us. That is it. At no time, no matter what, do you leave the boat, or James. Got it?”

  Kyle looked into Xander’s eyes, his face now covered in war paint. He looked a lot like a badass now himself.

  “Got it.”

  Xander turned the paint on himself as Kyle made sure he had everything in place.

  “Okay, that’s it. Sam, lead us to the boat. Everyone move with stealth, but move with purpose. Even you, fatty.” Xander winked at Sean. Sean flipped him off and his teeth glowed as they came out from the dark face paint in a smile. Xander walked over to the captain in the cockpit.

  “Bob, I can’t thank you enough for this.”

  “Of course, Mr.—Xander.”

  “Listen, if we aren’t back here by 5:35, you fire this bird up and get the hell back to Kentucky. You hear me?”

  “Xander, I can’t leave—”

  “Bob, I’m not asking, that is an order. We will be coming in hot, so fire these engines up at 5:30. You are heading down that runway at 5:35 whether we are on board or not. We have an alternate route if we don’t make it back here in time. You are putting all of us in danger if you stay. Is that clear?” Xander asked, very matter of fact.

  There of course was no alternate route.

  “Yes sir,” Bob said confidently, “crystal.”

  Xander nodded, gave him a pat on the shoulder, and turned back to the cabin. He motioned to his team and everyone followed Sam down the plane’s eight steps and out into the night. The jet engine gave a whine as Bob pulled it forward and toward the open hangar about a football field in front of him. The four of them were encompassed by the darkness. It was all they could do to see the couple of feet in front of them to make sure they were all together. The bright moon that Xander had noticed from the plane earlier was now camouflaged by a patch of clouds that somberly hovered over them. In a light jog they followed closely behind Sam, unsure when even the broken pavement below them would end. They noticed in the darkness, about two hundred feet in front of them, a glow from a flashlight.

  “It’s James,” Sam whisper-yelled back to them.

  Sean was behind Sam, then Kyle, then Xander. Xander looked back over his shoulder and saw his jet come to a stop inside the hangar. A hint of worry for Bob hit his stomach, but Bob was ex-military so he knew he could handle himself if anything were to go wrong. Xander looked forward and almost tripped over Kyle as they came to a stop to meet up with James.

  “Xander,” Sam announced. “This is James—”

  “Why are we stopping? Let’s move!” Xander ignored her introduction. Sam didn’t say another word, instead, she turned toward the trees in front of her. James lagged back to jog beside Xander.

  “Listen,” James started, “I know you—”

  “Unless this is about this mission, save it. I appreciate all your help. Let’s stay focused,” Xander interrupted him.

  “No, of course,” James said as they jogged. They had reached the grass and were now just steps away from the tree line. Just enough light from the moon peeked though the clouds now, and Xander could make out some pines swaying to the right in the breeze that had kicked up. The hum of that wind and their footsteps were the only sounds in the night. “I just want you to know it’s an honor, sir. Sam has told me all about your service.”

  Xander gave no response and they all continued to jog forward as they entered the woods. Fallen branches snapped beneath their feet and the wind whispered through the trees above them as they moved methodically together in a straight line. Or what seemed to be a straight line. Xander imagined Kyle's mind was playing tricks on him already by this point. Darkness is a scary thing, regardless of the fact that you are tromping through foreign soil on your way to war. The first few times Xander went on missions like this, he could hardly feel his feet as they moved, the fear was so intense. It’s a lonely feeling being in a situation where you know there is no cavalry that will be coming if something goes wrong. It’s especially lonely when the closest experience you had to this was playing paintball in Ben Carter’s backyard. This was certainly no whimsical backyard game, and Kyle's gun was most certainly not filled with paintballs. This was, however, very similar to a Black Ops mission. The powers that be gave you a mission to carry out, and once you left, it was as if you never existed. If trouble found you, there was no backup. And if God forbid you were captured, well, that was that. The government just pressed a button and you were a ghost. All records erased.

  In front of them, the denseness of the trees seemed to be lessening, and the moonlight looked as if it marked an opening. At the front of the line, Xander could make out Sam’s shadow. She stopped abruptly and threw her fist in the air. Everyone bu
t Kyle knew this meant stop, but he stumbled to the ground as he tripped over Sean’s feet. He landed on a bed of tree limbs and the snap of the branches under his weight popped and echoed into the still of the night. The beach lay ahead of them, and the reason Sam stopped so abruptly turned toward the tree line as they heard Kyle crash to the ground.

  Two men with submachine guns had been inspecting the speedboat that awaited them. Now, they turned their attention and their automatic weapons toward the sound they heard coming from the thick tree-covered darkness in front of them. Xander held Kyle on the ground so no other sound could be made. Everyone lowered themselves to a crouching position and awaited Xander’s order. Xander looked up at Sam, got her attention, and motioned to his left shoulder. With that, she slid the sniper rifle off of her shoulder and took it in her hands. Xander picked up a hand-size rock that sat beside Kyle's left leg. Sam, knowing what was coming next, turned back toward the men and found them in the scope of the silenced rifle. She took a deep breath and waited. Xander chucked the rock about twenty-five yards to their left. Upon landing, it made a large crash through some pine branches and the two men whipped their heads, and guns, toward the sound of the rock. Two squeezes later and bullets rocketed the fifty yards to the sides of their heads and ended the threat with two bloody smacks. Sam threw the rifle back over her shoulder and motioned the team forward as the now two dead men dropped in a heap down into the sand. Xander gave Kyle a hand, pulling him to his feet, and they followed Sam to the edge of the tree line.

  “S-sorry,” Kyle whispered.

  Xander ignored the apology as they came to a halt at the opening to the sand. The clouds had moved on and the light of the moon glowed across a long stretch of beach that was surrounded by trees. They could hear the soothing sounds of waves coming ashore as Sam once again took a knee and pulled her rifle. She peered through the scope, looking for signs of movement. She noticed a military-style jeep at the edge of the eastern tree line. It looked empty. The two men must have been called to check out the mysterious boat on the beach. This meant someone else could very well be watching. They were many, many miles from Khatib’s compound, so his being alerted to any of this was not likely. They were, however, getting ready to step right across the border into Syria, as soon as they set foot on that beach.

  “Looks clear,” Sam whispered. “However, we must hurry. Someone will be along shortly if they aren’t already here. Straight to the boat now, then straight into the water. I’ll cover.”

  Xander motioned everyone forward, and as Sam held position, the four men took to the beach toward the modified speedboat. The steady breeze and the waves beating against the sand were the only sounds. The stars dotted the dark sky and the men tromped their way through the thick, tan sand to the boat. Xander circled the all-black speedboat, ensuring they were alone by its side. As he crossed the back he noticed the modified engine and supposed it would be more than enough to give them the speed they needed to get to the compound and back in good time.

  “Whoop whoop!” Sam called from the trees. Just as two shots rang out from the direction of the abandoned jeep, Xander whirled around the side of the boat and yanked Kyle down to the sand by his collar.

  “This is it. Stay behind the boat and make sure you know where your bullets are headed.” Xander told Kyle in a rush as they sprang back to their feet. Several more shots rang out of the darkness. Sean fired back from the left side of the boat but it was like shooting inside a cave. They were sitting ducks out in the moonlight.

  “Keep laying down cover fire!” Xander yelled to Sean, Kyle, and James as he bolted back across the open beach toward Sam in the trees.

  Hammer of Thor.

  Xander’s feet sank into the sand with each forceful stride he took. Bullets were screaming by him now and one came so close he could actually feel their buzz as it screamed past the back of his head. The buzz of the bullets raised the hair on the back of his neck as he continued to lumber through the thick and fluffy beach. The guys were firing into the darkness that surrounded the jeep, and finally Xander dove into the cover of the pines. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Kyle was cowered down behind the back of the boat waiting for the gunfire to stop. There was no time to feel for his friend. The gunfire continued and Xander worked his way through the trees toward Sam. He knew the two of them would be able to flank the gunman and end this standoff.

  “That’s far enough,” the sound of a man’s voice in a thick Middle Eastern accent cut through the gunfire, sending a shiver down Xander’s spine. He dove down behind a tree and as he rolled to one knee he could faintly make out two figures standing in the shadows. He didn’t have to actually be able to see to understand that someone was holding a gun to Sam’s head. The whock, whock of gunfire continued behind them.

  “Step out slowly with your hands in the air, or the woman dies,” the shadowed man threatened. As dire as this situation seemed, it wasn’t the first time the two of them had been in this spot. And the experience of the last time it happened had prepared them for this one. Xander stepped out from behind the tree, slowly, hands high in the air.

  “Whooop!” shot out of Sam’s mouth as she dropped to her ass onto the ground. Before the gunman could react, Xander pulled his pistol from his hip like he was in an old western showdown and put two bullets somewhere around the torso area of the only figure left standing. After a moment, he was standing no more. Xander went to Sam and pulled her up from the dirt.

  “You okay?”

  “Never better. I told you that would bloody work.”

  “Indeed you did, Sammy. Let’s take out the rest of these assholes. We’re falling behind schedule.”

  Life’s a Beach

  Xander and Sam worked their way around the backside of the jeep. The two gunmen still were not visible, but the small spark the bullets they were shooting made as they left the machine guns indicated their position just on the other side of the vehicle. Sam crouched as she moved around the back of the jeep and Xander scampered toward the front. As he peeked over the hood he could make out two men firing across the beach toward his team. As he raised his gun two more shots entered the fray and their guns ceased firing. When Xander looked up again the moonlight showed Sam in a combat stance with her pistol extended, and the two men lay dead in front of her.

  “You’re going to have to be much quicker than that, Mr. King, if you wish to keep up.”

  Sam was in her element. As much as she loved finding and setting up the assassination missions for Xander, she was, like him, a field agent at heart.

  Xander whistled to the guys and ordered them to hold their fire. The two of them secured the perimeter around the jeep and made sure there would be no more surprises. They made their way across the beach toward the boat, and about halfway there Xander caught wind of a scent that made his stomach drop. He stopped dead in his tracks, about twenty yards from the boat.

  “What is it?” Sam asked. Xander didn’t answer right away. Then the smell hit her as well. “Bollocks, is that—is that gasoline?”

  “Shit! X-man, we got a problem.”

  Sean’s voice traveled from behind the boat with the continuous sounds of the ocean. Xander knew immediately what problem he was speaking of. One of the stray bullets from the two gunmen had punctured the gas tank of the boat. They were lucky it didn’t blow. He walked around to the back and Sean stood staring, dumbfounded at the gasoline that was leaking steadily from the back of the speedboat.

  “Ah for god’s sake! What the bloody hell are we to do now?” James sounded off, seemingly mesmerized by the draining out of the gasoline. Xander wasn’t as enamored and he quickly pulled himself up inside the boat to begin searching for something to plug the hole.

  “Xander?” Kyle called out. Xander didn’t answer as he continued to search the inside of the boat. “Hey, X!” He called out a little louder this time.

  “Not now. We have to stop this leak or this mission is over.”

  “Are the bullets in our machin
e guns bigger than the bullets those guys were shooting?” Kyle asked despite Xander’s plea.

  Xander raised up and the light of the moon showed a confused and frustrated face as he peered down at Kyle. “I told you, I have to…” Then he paused to consider. “You son of a bitch! And you thought you wouldn’t be any help on this mission.” A smile came across Xander’s face.

  “I don’t get it,” said James.

  Xander hopped down out of the boat onto the sand below. “You don’t? MacGyver here just saved this mission.”

  James looked perplexed. Xander gave Kyle a pat on the back as he whirled his machine gun around his shoulder and into his hands. Without saying a word he ejected a bullet into the air and caught it in his hand. He walked over to the hole in the boat where the gunman’s bullet had entered and shoved the tip of his bullet as far into it as he could. He once again took the machine gun into his hands, and using the butt of it like a hammer he gently tapped the back end of the bullet until it wedged itself inside the hole, sealing it, completely stopping the leaking gasoline. He turned back toward the group with a smile on his face and walked over to Kyle for their signature three sideways claps and a fist bump.

  “Ho-ly shit,” rolled out of Sean’s mouth, “you sexy sum bitch! Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “You really think that will hold?” James spoke up.

  “Do we really have a choice?” Xander answered.

  “Of course we do. If we get out there and that thing leaks again, we are dead. All of us.”

  “James, you are absolutely right. You’d better stay here and wait for us to bring Khatib back.”

  “Xander, I—”