by Kimball Lee
“Well that took long enough,” Alice-Anne said when Cade and Hadley returned with the tequila. “And there you are, Pedro. Come on over here and meet Hadley’s friend Skyler.
“I know you somehow, where did you come from?” Sky said the moment she saw the young man with his tosseled dark hair and wide green eyes. She knew him, there was no mistaking it… somehow.
“You look just like my mother,” Pedro whispered and his brow knitted as tears sprang to his eyes and he tried to make sense of this vision of a girl. “What’s this all about, Alice-Anne, I don’t understand, is she a relative of my mother’s?”
You could have heard a pin drop in the room as Pedro and Skyler sank down into a pair of leather chairs and stared at each other. Cade handed the bottle of tequila to his mother and suggested that Reef and Hadley take a seat and that they might want to take care with the exchange of information since Pedro was a fugitive from his own life.
“Whoa! Those two are brother and sister without a doubt, so I’m just gonna say goodnight and the rest of you enjoy your evening in the twilight zone!” Traeger said, as he left them with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders.
“Who is your mother?” Skyler asked Pedro, she was sitting on the edge of her seat holding her breath and she was both thrilled and afraid that she knew the answer.
“I don’t know if I should say. I don’t want any bad shit to happen to my mom. She risked her life, you know, when she sent me here, it was a dangerous move for her to make. I was water skiing off the coast of Cabo… oh fuck, I probably shouldn’t have said the name of a place. Anyway don’t repeat that please— so anyway, I cut my thigh on the boat propeller and at the hospital they gave me a transfusion. My father, or my mother’s husband I should say, he always kinda had his doubts about me so he must’ve told the doctor to keep it quiet and do a DNA test. The results proved I’m not his biological son. He went insane and said he wanted me dead. Thank God he’s afraid of my mom so she had the men who are loyal to her smuggle me out of the country and they brought me here. My mom is unbelievable, you know, like, charismatic. People look up to her and trust her, mostly they fear her husband and wish he was dead. But I don’t know what has happened to her now…” Pedro said and his wide green eyes shone with the tears he was desperately trying to hold back.
“Your mother sent you here from Mexico? That’s where you’re from? Is your mother’s name Lizzie?” Sky felt the cold all the way to her bones suddenly and maybe all the way to her soul. This boy was her brother, she knew it with absolute certainty and their mother must love him enough to risk her life to save him. Lizzie loved this boy as she had never loved Skyler or Beau, but why? And if Lizzie was so incredible why had JP been killed when he went to look for her? There were so many questions….
“My father calls her Elizabetta, but Lizzie is what everyone else calls her. How did you know that? Do you know my mother, do you know if she is still alive?” he asked standing up quickly and towering over Sky and then leaning down to face her with his hands planted firmly on the arms of the chair where she sat.
“No, but I have an idea who she is or… was. Look at me Pedro, look at our eyes. They’re her eyes aren’t they? My mother’s name is Lizzie, I don’t know much about her except that she had blonde hair and green eyes and she loved to surf. She was in some trouble here in California when she was pregnant with me so she ran to Mexico and sent me to my father as soon as I was born. I think your mother is our mother. But who is your father?”
“A soldier he said, a brave and brilliant man, the love of her life. He came to protect my mother’s husband but he fell in love with my mother. When her husband caught them together he had the man tortured and left for dead. My mother didn’t want him to die so she bribed some men to take him far away and tell him she didn’t love him, to forget about her. He didn’t know she was pregnant and she never knew what happened to him. She said he was a man with no past, an American, and in Mexico he was a stranger in a strange land. He had no identity, he was a ghost.”
“I see it now,” Hadley said, covering her face with her hands and shaking her head in disbelief. “Your eyes are like Skyler’s but your face… you’re my Uncle Christopher’s son.”
Chapter Four
“No fucking way, this is not happening,” Jack said as he, Atticus and Holden walked toward the Master Chief who waited for them aboard the aircraft carrier. “We won’t come out of this alive if that crazy motherfucker is in charge. I thought we’d seen the last of Master Chief Burt Galloway after BUDS training and it’s common knowledge that he has a major death wish for Atticus.”
“At ease men,” the Master Chief grumbled, pacing in front of the three young SEALs who in his opinion were too fucking full of piss and vinegar and arrogance and bravado to suit him. They weren’t old school Navy; they were part of the new military with all their politically correct connections and government guaranteed rights. He was about to show them his kind of combat, the gritty ‘better than dirty sex’ kind of warfare that tested the size of a man’s balls. “Hale, Bly, Thomas, I can see the joy written on your piss-ant faces, glad to know you missed me. Some cocksucker with a bad sense of humor has put you in charge of this mission, Hale, but if you think that means I’ll follow your lead or kiss your ass, think again. I am thirty days shy of retirement and this is what I draw as my final assignment? As far as I’m concerned you can all suck my dick. The helo leaves in half an hour and here’s the worst news— I’m the copilot and the door gunner. Better hope I take pity on you boys because I might just decide to take a nap instead of covering your asses. And fuck, this ain’t the newest helo they’re letting us use so don’t get your hopes up as to the reliability of the fire power on board. Grab your gear assholes and let the fun begin.”
The helicopter was better than expected, a late model Seahawk that had a full arsenal and the ability to get in and out the strike zone cleanly with little chance of leaving a radar footprint. Master Chief Galloway was a good bullshit artist and his bark was probably worse than his bite, but Atticus was uneasy with him as the sole door gunner onboard. Atticus, Holden and Jack would deploy together, repelling into the jungle while the helo hovered and then waited several miles inland for the signal to retrieve them. The main pilot was an unknown, he was Navy but whether he would show allegiance to Atticus or the Master Chief if the situation got dicey was anyone’s guess. If Master Chief Galloway refused to fire on the enemy during an extraction the team would be seriously SOL— SHIT OUTTA LUCK.
“Listen up,” Atticus said, motioning for Holden and Jack to huddle around him when the helicopter lifted off from the deck of the carrier and shot across the dark Caribbean Sea under a moonless sky. The stars had yet to blink on in the heavens and the world outside the craft was so perfectly black it was impossible to tell up from down. “Our pilot is Lieutenant Ramos, he’s gonna get us in with no problem and out on my command. I talked to the ranking officer on the flight deck and he vouched for him, says he’s as good as it gets. Okay, we got this but it’s not a walk in the park, stay alert, vigilance counts. This is what I got from Intel— the bad news is that the General has a couple dozen teenaged trigger-happy wanna-be soldiers guarding the property. The good news is there’s a party going on at the General’s place tonight so there should be plenty of bikini-clad diversions for the boys with assault rifles. Better yet, the General thinks of our target, Ivy Archer, as his personal trophy so she’s likely to be unrestrained when he parades her around for his comrades to admire.”
“Six minutes!” The pilot shouted and Atticus nodded and held up six fingers to be sure Holden and Jack understood.
“Alright,” Atticus said as they snapped their helmets in place and pulled down their night-vision goggles. “The most heavily guarded area on the property is the open side that faces the water. So we drop at the edge of the jungle and it’s a twenty minute hike to the house. We scale the wall and get a visual. Holden you find your vantage point on the wall and pick off the targ
ets who are threats, switch to thermal and take out anyone inside the house who’s in an upright position.”
“So if they’re fucking or some chick is on her knees giving head it somebody’s lucky night in more ways than one?” Holden asked and they all smiled nervously.
“That’s right, unless you see the flash of a weapon. There are no good guys tonight, if we kill them all look at it as a fair kill, period.”
“Two minutes out!” The pilot shouted as the helo began its swift descent.
“Jack, Holden’s the sniper, he’ll clear the way and you can do your medic shit when we get back on board. Until we have the situation under control and the girl is secured, you’re right up there with me, I go left, you go right. We both lead in, get the girl, eliminate the opposition and get out clean. I signal the helo and they land right on the beach and we are gone before they have time to scratch their nuts. Let’s go,” he said and they each grabbed a rope and jumped into the night while Master Chief watched and secretly wished he was one of them.
*
It had gone smoothly up until the last minute, that’s when the shit hit the fan. Holden had taken out five gunmen as soon as he was set up on the wall and thanks to its suppressor there was not a sound or flash from his SR-25 sniper rifle. Intel had been right, the girl was not bound although the General held onto her arm and kept her close to his side as he showed her off to his guests. She was dressed in a microscopic see-through dress and she teetered on high heeled sandals as if she were drunk or drugged, which Atticus had expected.
Jack and Atticus circled the beach house eliminating hostiles when they happened upon them. His first kill registered in Atticus’s brain when the bullet struck a soldier squarely between the eyes and the young man dropped with a dull thud. He pushed the scene to the back of his mind and continued to sweep across the lawn speaking quietly into his mouthpiece. He ordered Jack and Holden to keep on task and continue to kill any person who might alert the General to their presence. Holden kept Ivy in his sights and reported that she was being forced to drink shots of tequila. That was good, Atticus said, a woman who is drinking heavily will have to visit the restroom sooner or later.
“The General is handing the girl off to a young woman, this is it gentlemen, the bathroom run,” Atticus said into his mic and he and Jack entered the house from opposite sides and swept through the interior rooms, rifles at the ready. Voices came from the kitchen, catering staff most likely so they avoided the area and switched to thermal on their goggles and located Ivy and the unknown woman. Ivy was bending over the bathroom sink splashing water on her face when she saw two masked men in the mirror. Her eyes flew open wide in horror and she opened her mouth to scream but Atticus silenced her with one large gloved hand. Jack silenced and subdued the second woman with a quick application of duct tape to her mouth and flex-cuffs on her wrists and then he jabbed a needle filled with sedative into her arm and she went out like a light.
“We’re an American SEAL team here to get you out. I’m going to take my hand off your mouth Ivy, can I do that without you screaming?” Atticus asked, removing his helmet and tossing it aside so she could see he was one of the good guys. She nodded her head vigorously and her eyes lost some of the cloudy drunken glazed look. “Let’s go, we need to be quiet and quick,” he told her and tears gushed down her cheeks and she wrapped her thin arms around his neck.
“My sister sent you?” she whispered as she stared up into his face and felt her head clear as she clung to him transfixed by the most unbelievable blue eyes she had ever seen in her life.
“Yes,” he said and he untangled himself from her arms and held a finger to his lips warning her to not to speak. He took her hand and she held it tightly as they made their way out of the house and met up with Holden at the gate in the wall. “Blow it, our ride will be here in five, we’re going out with a bang not a whimper.”
“You got it,” Holden said and motioned for them to take cover before he clicked a device that looked like a garage door opener and the hinges on the metal gate exploded and it fell backwards into a smoking heap. “Go!” he shouted, waving them out the gaping hole as gunfire and shouting erupted from inside and outside the wall.
The helicopter touched down on the sand a hundred yards from the wall and the four of them ran toward it as the air around them was filled with zinging bullets. Ivy stumbled and Atticus broke his stride to lift and carry her. As he bent down he felt a hot iron pierce his shoulder and then rip into his neck. Ivy began to scream as his blood spurted out with every beat of his heart and covered them both.
“Get her to safety!” he yelled, holding a hand against the wound in his neck, pushing her toward Jack and motioning for them to get to the helo.
“Fuck, FUCK!” Holden shouted and tore off his helmet, clamped his gloved hand to the gushing artery in his brother’s neck and slipped his free arm around him so that they staggered toward the helicopter.
Behind them an army of soldiers were shouting from open truck beds and military vehicles that were approaching from the road to the city and the Master Chief ordered the pilot to get the helo in the air as soon as the girl was inside. Jack lifted Ivy inside the open door as the helicopter powered up to lift off and the Master Chief harshly slung her into a back seat and grabbed Jack’s arm to pull him inside.
“Keep this fucking helo on the ground, you’re not leaving them behind! Do you hear me? Lieutenant Ramos, disregard all orders from the Master Chief, he is not in charge here. I will fucking see you court-marshalled if you leave two men behind, is that clear? Master Chief, retrieve my medical case from the rear of the craft NOW!” Jack was shouting to be heard over the steady drone of the rotors and at the same time he ripped open a side pocket on his pants and opened an emergency first aid kit. He held a thick gauze pad to Atticus’s bleeding neck, taped it in place quickly and together he and Holden maneuvered him into the helo. Atticus was light headed and lying on the floor of the helo in a widening pool of blood but with a concentrated effort he managed to sit up, double his huge fist and hit the Master Chief so hard he fell out of the helo and onto the sand.
Holden and Jack scrambled aboard and watched as the Master Chief dragged himself back into the helicopter with his nose obviously broken and bleeding profusely. Once on board he went wild and began to kick Atticus in the ribs while Jack was working desperately to assess the severity of the second bullet wound. Atticus was too weak to move at that point and each kick of the steel-toed military boots barely registered in his fading consciousness.
The Honduran police and several military units were approaching fast and bullets were peppering the skin of the helicopter. Men were shouting in Spanish and racing toward the helicopter and Holden ordered the pilot to “GO GO GO!”
Ivy was crying and the pilot was praying and Holden was ready to kill the Master Chief and kick him back out on the sand and let the teenaged soldiers deal with him. Instead he grabbed him by the throat and threw him into the copilot’s seat and held his lethal black handgun to the Master Chief’s head deciding in a split-second whether it was worth it to pull the trigger. The helo lifted off suddenly churning up a tornado of sand from the beach and turning sharply so that all onboard except for Atticus braced themselves as it shot out across the water like a bolt from the blue.
“Hey cocksucker, who the fuck do you think you are? You seriously think I’m gonna let you touch my brother and threaten to leave him in fucking Honduras?” Holden said, his breath coming in ragged gasps as his fury mounted and he pushed the gun harder against the Master Chief’s head as he lay cowering in the copilot’s seat. “Who would miss you if I tossed your ruthless ass out of this bird right now? You think anyone in here or on the planet would give a flying fuck if a piece of shit like you disappeared into the ocean?”
“Hey you… girl… Ivy, get over here. Scoot close and let his head rest on your lap and hold this clean pad firmly against the artery while I start an I.V. Holden, for the love of God, I need help here, I’
m losing him!” Jack said and Holden knocked the Master Chief out with the butt of his gun and cursed himself for not shooting the traitorous pussy.
“Fuck, my fucking shoulder hurts like a motherfucker,” Atticus groaned and Jack told him to hang on a second.
“Dude, you are gonna love this. Enjoy the ride, Atticus!” Jack grinned and shot an ampule of morphine into his vein.
Ahhhh, that is sooooo good,” Atticus sighed heavily and a huge smile stretched across his blood-crusted face and Jack grinned up at Holden.
“Yeah, morphine is the drug of choice for men who are bleeding to death,” Jack said and then regretted it when he saw the look of horror on Holden’s face. “I’m kidding, he took a bullet to the shoulder but his carotid artery is barely nicked. He’s holding his own, dude, don’t get all weepy and shit. You’ll freak the girl out. Lieutenant Ramos, put the spurs to this bird and let the carrier know we need an emergency med team standing by stat! Report that we’ve got two gunshot wounds, one bullet is a through-and-through and the second one is lodged two inches from his heart. Tell them the victim is Atticus Hale and we’re gonna need some blood, several units. They need to pull his records, check his blood type and have it ready or round up some donors.”