Cadence of Love

by Willow Brooke

  "Joker, one to the left," Vice's voice came over loud and clear. Joker and Hulk stopped dead in their tracks, waiting.

  As they were hunkered down beside the truck, they could see boots on the other side as they peered underneath. There was a faint sound of a zipper, then the familiar splatter of water hitting the sand. They waited.

  "One taking a leak, hold," Vice warned, watching through her scope. She watched as the guard finished and zipped his pants, turning to head back to his post. "Clear," she whispered to inform Joker and Hulk they could move.

  There were guards stationed as lookouts in each corner of the compound, and everyone they saw walking around was strapped to the hilt. Fuckers had grenades on their belts and Old Russian automatic rifles slung over their shoulders. Their plan needed to be executed flawlessly. There wasn’t a single millimeter room for error. Dom, Maverick, and Rock, the incognito trio, waited until word came over their earpieces that Hulk and Joker completed their part of the assignment and bunkered down near the front entrance.

  “We have located the weapons cache. It is right in the center of this third world ghetto. There were only two voices we heard coming from the inside. Everything else is set and ready,” Hulk updated the team.

  “Good job. Okay, let's shake and bake, boys!” Dom gave the call to Vice. “Vice, you’re up. Take out the guards on the count of five and wait for the light show. Drop anyone you can.”

  “Roger, LT.” The faint clicking of Vice’s sniper rifle cocking was heard in their ears. Damn, she was good at her job because they barely heard the click.

  The men watched as one by one the guards at the corners of the compound started to drop. Man, Vice was one of the best snipers around. One of the guards had turned in Vice's direction as his partner dropped beside him, but before he knew what hit, Vice nailed him dead center in the forehead. Since the guard wore only a thin cloth hat instead of a helmet, they couldn't see the blood splatter but watched a wad of something blow from the back of his head, knowing it had to be his skull.

  “Hulk, smash.”

  “Roger that.” With the simple press of the remote, explosion after explosion went off in a chain reaction as the whole place went up in a great ball of fire. Debris shot into the air, raining flaming chunks of metal, wood, and other demolished items over the area. The ground shook under their feet as the buildings were reduced into nothing more than a blazing junk heap. Cars went straight into the air only to crash back to the ground, leaving all of their vehicles destroyed. The only building left standing was the weapons cache. Before everything could land back on the ground, chaos exploded. Gunfire sounded like popcorn from every direction. “Move out!” Dom gave the signal and the three of them moved into the fight, fanning out and sweeping a path in every direction. Bullets hit the ground around them as they picked the guards apart. A bullet hit right at Maverick's boot just missing it. He felt the presence of someone and turned to his left just in time to see the man coming at him with a knife. Before he moved the man was upon him, hitting him right in the middle of Maverick's chest. Can't believe I ever bitched about the heaviness of the chest plate, he thought as the knife was stopped on impact. He grabbed the man's wrist and reached for his own survival knife. As he pulled it from it sheath, in one upward motion his knife entered right below the man’s ribs. Pulling the man to him with one hand, shoving and twisting the knife upward with the other, he dug in for ultimate damage. Once he felt the man go weak, he pulled the knife out, releasing the man to fall on the ground dead. One quick look around to check on his buddies, and he moved on without a second glance to the blood stained body on the ground. Romeo and Kodiak started eliminating bodies as they piled out of the gates. Just as accurate a shot as Vice was, it didn't take the men long to have a line of bodies left lying in their wake. When they looked around they still caught sight of Vice's handy work as men seemed to drop in the middle of running forward toward the mayhem.

  Hulk and Joker were on the other side of the compound taking care of the few that were still standing. Which weren't many after the charges they had set exploded. Whoever came through to clean up the mess after they pulled out would never be able to identify some of the bodies unless they could find all the pieces. Not only had debris fallen from the sky, but flaming body parts were raining down from the heavens when the huts had exploded with men inside.

  Between the team, and after what felt like hours, the entire compound was cleared of people in less than five minutes. Just as planned, the call came in over their earpiece. It was Joker.

  “We have a special guest on the Price is Right tonight. Come on down and see what we have won!”

  “Roger that. We are in route,” Dom answered.

  Maverick snickered, shaking his head. “I think they found our man.”

  “Let’s go have a chit-chat, shall we?” Rock walked with the others, taking down four stragglers along the way, dropping them, and never missing a beat as they moved onward. They searched and cleared every area as they made it to the hostage location. When they walked up, Leland laughed.

  Tied to the building with his arms and legs spread like a star fish was a very pissed off looking haji. On his forehead in bright red sharpie was a dot in the middle and the words ‘Men Rule Girls Drool’ above it. He was a bit battered and bruised, but was still rambling threats in Arabic despite the ‘attitude adjustment’ the boys had just given.

  “Hey, Vice, I think our friend has a little message for you,” Leland called over the mic. A few seconds later, a chip from the building came off and the shot had hit just below the man's balls, missing, but leaving a hole in the fabric of his pants. Their hostage yelled, thrashing against his restraints. The boys grinned at each other.

  “Okay, now let’s get down to business. Hulk, would you care to do the honors?”

  “It would be my pleasure, LT.” He walked over and unsheathed his survival knife, running his finger along the blade. He slowly walked over to stand in front of the man, staring silently. After an intimidating long silence, he asked the insurgent what his name was, translating in first Arabic, then Pashto and lastly Dari. Instead of answering, the man lodged a wad of spit at him. Thankfully it missed, landing on his boot. He looked down at the wet spot then back up to the source, he reared back and then brought his fist forward, landing a kidney punch hard enough there was no doubt if he was still alive, he would be pissing blood for a week.

  “I don’t think he likes you.” Dom walked up and stood shoulder to shoulder with Hulk, leaving Leland and Brody to cover them on the small chance there were still survivors. “Let me try,” Dom asked the same question, only this time with the tip of Hulk’s knife poking into his throat. Still the douche bag didn’t answer. Hulk moved his knife down and dug the sharp edge into the skin of his arm, filleting it back like a slab of fish. It wasn’t until Hulk had skinned his arm like a deer in a four-inch section that he talked. He told them his name was Sartaj Bin Abdul. Their questioning continued, revealing he was not the king pin they had hoped for. He would clam up, then another tactic was used. Finally they got a lead after six busted out teeth, another shot that had to have nicked a nut because they watched a wet spot form on his pants, and a skinless Afghani arm. Ismal Omhar Azizi was the name given, and it rang a bell. Dom had uncovered transmitted messages from this man to an unknown source over the past few months. From what he gathered, this guy was their guest of honor’s boss. Now, for a location. “Where is he?” He didn’t speak…taking on another bout of blows and punches. After Dom shoved a fist against his ribs, snapping a few by the loud crack sound that echoed around them, he answered. Between coughs and spews of blood, he gave them a vague location. A few more words were said to the rebel before they readied to leave.

  “I don’t think he is going to give us any more, Hulk. Let’s head out. The four men stepped away, then stopped dead in their tracks by chatty Cathy. Threats and slander slurred past his lips in an annoying yell.

  “What the fuck? Now he wants to get
social?” Brody turned and looked at him, instantly getting pissed at the blood-smeared grin the man had. “You all are going to die! America will be destroyed! Allah has declared Jihad, and you imbeciles will all pay,” he said in the foreign tongue.

  Brody shook his head and caught up with the others. The man yelled louder, insistent on taunting them. Yeah, you fucktard, shit happens but you will never know if someone succeeds, Brody thought, as he raised his hand in the air and held out a small remote, tapping the button without missing a step. The weapons cache exploded. All of the ammo and firearms inside it magnified the blast, radiating out in a huge circle. They didn’t even look back. The group kept walking, meeting up with Romeo and Kodiak at the gates on the way to get Vice. Everyone was quiet until they were safely loaded back on their truck. As they rode back, the radio cranked Queen’s “We are the Champions”, and everyone howled out the lyrics, laughing and pumping with adrenaline from their success, loving when a plan came together.

  ****

  That evening when they got back to camp, their whole morale was soaring. Wesley cranked up the redneck rigged grill, slapping fresh steaks on that they had managed to get from one of the soldiers on the military base in Kandahar, only a few miles away. He propped his foot up on a cooler of cold beer the guy had managed to get sent from home. It was funny what all kinds of contraband the soldiers were able to get shipped from home. Alcohol was a major no-no, but was on the top of the list for wives and girlfriends to send over. All of their weapons had been cleaned and stored, and the truck unpacked. It was finally downtime, and gave them all a chance to unwind and recharge.

  A line had formed on the far side of their tent, waiting on a chance to shower and get cleaned up. The makeshift contraption was the destination spot of the century. It had been a full week since they had been able to refill their water supply, leaving them on drinking rations only. A huge container, or water buffalo as it was called, had been hung with a spout attached and a tarp connected with rope that offered just enough privacy it wasn’t a primetime show. Brody pulled the rope, letting the sun warmed water soak him enough that soap would lather. The fresh clean scent was refreshing, revitalizing him from the inside as well as the out.

  “Hurry the fuck up, Maverick. Save some water for the rest of us,” Alex complained.

  “Oh stuff a cock in it, Vice. Don’t think you are getting extra to shave your legs and shit. Woman or not, you can suck it up until we get home. I will even be a gentleman and buy you a pair of dog clippers to get through those weaves under your arms.”

  “Asshole.”

  ****

  After everyone had gotten a turn to clean up, they all sat around the grill and kicked back. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits. Dom stood and quieted them, getting their attention. “Okay, team…you did a great job out there. Because of your accuracy, we made it out without any injuries. Tomorrow, we are going to hunt down this Ismail Omhar Azizi fucker and put a stop to their operation. Tonight…we celebrate.” He raised his beer in the air in a toast. The rest did the same, cheering with the familiar Army ‘Hooah’.

  ****

  Alaina scrubbed the counter for the third time, releasing her pent-up anxiety in the form of obsessive cleaning. It had been two weeks since she had last heard from the guys, and it was eating at her. The last conversation she had with Leland, he had said they were going to be ‘busy’ and he would message her as soon as the ‘weather cooled off'. Which, she had learned over the past few months was code talk for shit was getting hot and they found the bad guys. Without any form of communication, she had no idea what the hell was going on. Her mind reeled with different possibilities, ranging from them being injured or dead to being captured as hostages and tortured. She hadn’t slept over a couple hours at a time, and refused to leave the house until she got word. Michael had even made the weekly runs to town for supplies and groceries without argument.

  Elizabeth asked every few hours if she had talked to any of them, which only made it worse. Thankfully, she had been more than happy to go feed the animals and give her a break. Right now she was out feeding and brushing the horses, which gave Alaina at least an hour to get her head straight and settled before dinner time. Her cell phone sat face up on the top of the sugar jar, propped up enough so she could see it from just about any angle in the kitchen. Despite her clear view and the volume being all the way up, she still checked it every few minutes obsessively. Brody and Leland either called or texted her from their computer to tell her to jump on Skype in the past, so her cell stayed plugged into the charger at all times just in case. Her laptop was set up and waiting on the coffee table in the front room, and come bedtime she would move it to her nightstand. Both electronic devices were permanently with her everywhere she went. There had not been a single bathroom trip that her cell wasn’t in her hand.

  Right in the middle of getting dinner out of the oven, “Take my Breath Away” buzzed from her phone. “Oh my God! It’s them!” She threw the hot pan on the stove so abruptly it bumped her forearm, leaving a long red burn. “Ouch! Son of a bitch!” Instead of doctoring the wound, she leapt across the room and dove for the cell, clicking it on the second her fingers could reach. “Hello? Brody? Leland? Oh my God are you guys okay?” There was a heart stopping delay from the other end, making her sink into an instant panic. Finally, the wonderful sound of Brody’s voice met her ears.

  “Hey, baby. Yes, we are all fine, calm down. How are you and Lizzie?” Tears spilled down her cheeks. The overpowering feeling of relief flooded from her, sending her emotions on a roller coaster.

  “We are good, just missing you guys. I have been freaking out because we haven’t heard anything. Did everything go okay? No road blocks or drama?” She knew he would understand the weird questions, and prayed things had been more like Little House on the Prairie and not Desperate House Wives. Drama meant trouble.

  “No, baby. Everything is easy peasy, sweetheart. We have a few more things to wrap up, but plan on being back home before you know it.”

  “Oh that’s great! We miss you all so much. Elizabeth asks every few minutes when you are coming back. I swear it is worse than a car trip and the ‘Are we there yet’. She has four coloring books full of finished pictures for you all.”

  “Awww. Well I can’t wait to see them. Give her a big kiss from us. The team has all been discussing where we are going to take her when we get back. Vice bought a bunch of jewelry off one of the haji for her already and Romeo found a baby doll at a local market, and Kodiak spends his free time whittling on a rubber band gun to give her. Dom wanted to make her a tea set out of old fifty cal casings, but I stopped him. He still doesn’t see the wrong in it.” Brody chuckled.

  Alaina giggled back, loving the genuine thoughtfulness from them all. “They are too great. How is saving the world going?”

  “It is going, one scum bucket at a time, baby.”

  The small silence after choked her. She knew he couldn’t tell her what was going on, but still had hoped for a little elaboration. Instead, she changed the subject. “I love you, Brody. Please get your asses home. Life sucks without you all.”

  “We are trying, baby girl. I love you so much. There isn’t a minute goes by you are not in my thoughts. Just hang in there a little longer, okay?”

  Alaina released a deep sigh. “Okay, baby. I just miss you so much.”

  “We miss you too. Listen, I gotta go. I had to call and let you know we were okay. I knew you would be worried. I will call or message the second I can, okay? Now quit worrying and go shopping or something. You need to get something new to wear for our date when we get home anyway. Oh, and Leland will kill me if I don’t tell you he sends his love and misses you too. You girls are all he talks about.”

  “Okay I guess. Tell him that I love him with all my heart and miss him.”

  “I can’t do that. Half of your heart is mine, love.”

  She snickered. “Sorry. I love you both with all of my heart. Please be careful.” />
  “We will. I love you, baby. Bye.”

  “I love you too. Bye.” The last word was cut off by the ended phone call. Her heart felt like it sunk to her toes. All that mattered was that they were safe, but hearing his voice made her miss them more.

  She slowly walked into the front room and plopped on the couch, leaning her head back. The uptight stress that had her wound so tight finally slacked, letting her out of its tight clutches...for now. When Elizabeth ran in the door and jumped on her lap, she about jumped out of her skin. “What’s for dinner, Mom?”

  “Dinner. Shit. Um, I don’t know yet but let me up and I will go find something to make real fast. Oh, I just talked to Brody. He said they all miss you and love you. I think they are coming home soon too. Why don’t you go get the eggs and feed the chickens while I cook?”

  “They are? Yay! Okay, Momma.” She hopped up and ran out the back door, slamming it on her way out.

  She dug in the freezer, finally deciding on spaghetti. It was easy and brainless. With a huge smile, she hummed a tune and began prepping the meal with a new relaxed pace and a weight lifted off her. Today turned out to be a good day after all.