Trigger The Storm

by K. J. Dahlen

  Grady glanced at Georgia and at her nod, he turned back to Mountain. “Well, Lyle has half his men at the Ghost bar with him. They are drinking heavily and boasting about how easy taking the town was. There are six men at the diner and four men wandering the streets on foot. Five more on their bikes checking the outskirts of town. Two men down by the dock and there were two wandering the woods earlier. Haven’t seen either of them since.”

  “We don’t have to worry about the two at the docks and Georgia got one man in the woods,” Mountain told him. “We haven’t seen anyone else.”

  Grady nodded toward the town just beyond the tree line. “Lyle went door to door, searching everyone’s houses. When his men came back, they stockpiled the guns and bows in the bar parking lot. Him and his men have run rampant through the whole damn town.”

  “Okay, this is what we’re gonna do…” Mountain got everyone’s attention. “We’re gonna draw out the Reapers one by one if we have to. I don’t want them dead, unless there is no other way, just get them somewhere they can’t get away.”

  “And if we can’t take them alive?” Gage asked.

  Mountain stared at the other man. “Then kill them all. Just do it quietly. We want to isolate Lyle then take him down. We do not want to put any civilians in the path of a bullet.”

  Everyone nodded and disappeared into the darkness, leaving only Georgia, Jason, Grady, Rip and Caine in the woods.

  Seal team six slipped into the rubber boats and paddled out to the oil rigs. The night hid their movements but the moon was still out there. They knew they had to move quickly and quietly in order to avoid detection.

  Captain Donny Hastings glanced over his shoulder and watched as his men went to the other rigs nearby. He knew other SEALS had been dropped closer to the other rigs in the gulf but this cluster of five oil rigs was his to protect.

  As he bumped into the steel structure with his small paddle boat, he instantly looked for a place to store his boat. Now that he arrived, he needed to get hidden and stay alert. With a present danger all around him, he couldn’t ignore the element of surprise.

  If their Intel were correct, they wouldn’t be alone for long. His orders were secret but his mission was to stop an attack in these waters. He’d been briefed on the way here. Shay Montross and his own Colonel Parker Justice told him there was some group of radicals out there hoping to blow up the oil rigs. How they knew this, they didn’t tell him and it wasn’t his place to ask. He was under orders to protect these rigs and stop the bad guys from completing their task.

  While he pushed his inflatable rig into the cross sections of the under carriage of the oil platform above him, he began to hear his men checking in. They were all dressed in wet suits, as they all knew at some point, they would be down in the water. For the most part, the shadows of the rigs would hide them but if they needed to, they would go under the water line.

  Donny glanced over to the nearby rig and saw nothing out of place. His men were trained well, so he knew they were in place. Now, all they needed was the bad guys to show up. When his team had been called up this afternoon, he hadn’t known what to expect. It was like this every time the call went out. That was one of the things he loved about being a SEAL.

  The adrenalin rush when being called in and then given a task that would make a difference. The split seconds to plan a mission and then the thrill of seeing it done. Whether it was storming a stronghold to rescue a diplomat or standing guard in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. His briefing had been short but someone detected a danger in these waters and it was his job to make sure the bad guys didn’t win.

  When they arrived a few hours ago, he made contact with a man Shay called Pappy. According to Intel Shay had shared, Pappy was the go to guy orchestrating not only this mission but another mission as well. Shay told him an MC had taken over a small town nearby and Pappy and his men were taking it back. That part of the mission wasn’t his concern though. His mind was on his part and as they waited, he began to wonder how good their Intel was. The waters around him were not as cold as they could have been but after a while, his body was chilling.

  Every so often, his men would check in and so far, nothing was happening here or with them. Then the shadows moved and he thought he heard the sound of a paddle pushing the water away. He slipped behind the steel structure and gave his men a heads up.

  Pulling the night vision goggles on, he waited and watched the waters around him. Ten minutes later, he saw the blurry outline of a small boat holding three men. Adjusting the vision specter of his night vision, the blurriness of what he was looking at disappeared and he was seeing the heat vision of the three men coming toward him.

  As they got closer to the rig, he could hear them talking. Their words were barely above a whisper and that told Donny they were being careful. His eyes scouted the area and found several other boats heading toward the other rigs nearby. Rapidly counting the men in the boats, he knew they were up against at least dozen men. He tapped the mic in his ear to let his men know how many men were in his area. He listened to the soft taps as the other men acknowledged. All told, they were faced with twelve men determined to cause trouble.

  That matched his squad man for man and once they were underwater, he knew his men would move where they were needed the most. The rigs stood tall and silent high above him. Some of the rigs were empty but there were men on at least five out of the eight rigs in this area. Doing the math in his head, Donny knew there were four dozen lives in his hands at the moment and he was prepared not to lose any of them.

  Slowly moving around the column, he watched and waited to see what the three men in the boat would do. Their words were spoken in the language of their homeland and Donny recognized the dialect. It helped that he knew the language, so he knew what they were saying. It was exactly what he’d been told. They were talking about where to place the bombs they carried. Each team was carrying enough fire power to not only take out the rigs, but start a spill that would pump thousands of gallons of crude oil into the waters.

  Donny’s lips tightened as he listened. Then he heard a splash as one of the men slipped into the water. Another splash as man two fell backwards and disappeared under the waterline. He waited for the third man to slip into the water. When he heard that familiar sound, Donny lifted the mouthpiece to his lips and slid noiselessly under the water.

  His eyes instantly adjusted to the total darkness around him. His visor had night vision built in and he quickly found and followed the heat signature of the three men he followed.

  Donny felt surprised to find the other men hadn’t searched the area around them. They were so concentrated on their task, they took no notice of him at all. He followed them deeper, as they followed the rigs steel construction to the base of the Gulf.

  From where he was watching, the men seemed to be searching for the pipeline that carried the oil up from under the seabed. One of the men went closer while the other two began swimming toward the steel structure of the rig itself.

  Tonight was a watch and learn lesson. Shay had charged him with finding out if what they knew was correct. The threat had been found and it was his job to discover it was real. Donny knew now the threat was real. He waited and listened as one by one, his men confirmed what was happening to their rigs.

  As he waited, he noticed the swirl of displaced water to his left. Slowly turning his head, he saw two more divers closing in on his position. Then he smiled as he noted the men were his. He pointed toward the men he was watching and his men nodded.

  Then without thinking about it, he ordered his men to close in and take them down. He quietly gave the order over the mic and hand tossed the signal that told the other two men, he wanted the men they were watching taken at all costs.

  Donny and his men got very close to the other men before they realized there was danger nearby. The next few minutes got a bit crazy as the water was stirred up while he and his men fought to overcome the others. When the bubbles cleared, Donny wasn’
t surprised to see his men victorious.

  His men were trained SEALS while the men they were up against were not. They gave them a run for their money but in the end, the SEALS were just better.

  He grabbed one of the defeated men by his tank and hauled him up to the waterline. As they broke into the night air, Donny glanced around. His men were popping up everywhere. He knew the rig next to this one was empty and he started swimming over to it. Dragging the body behind him, he swiftly climbed the steps to the platform above him. One by one, his men joined him, laying out the bodies of the men they’d taken down.

  Donny ripped the mouthpiece and night vision goggles off his head. Taking several deep breaths, he searched his men for injuries. Seeing none, he moved closer to one of the terrorists and knelt down beside him. Searching the man, he laid out everything the man carried.

  His other men did the same and before long, they had a pile of weapons and a small stash of high powered bombs the terrorists hadn’t been able to plant.

  Donny gazed at his men. “Are any of them still alive?”

  One by one, his men shook their heads. Donny nodded then reached inside his wet suit for his waterproof phone. He had to call Shay and let him know what he found. But before he did that, he made contact with the three men they’d left behind to watch their backs.

  Tapping the mic in his ear, he called out to the men on the banks of the land in the distance. “Paulie, we got them, how do things on your end look?”

  A disjoined voice came back. “Everything here is quiet. They came up in a van then everyone got out and went in the water. We’ve been watching the road and no one else has approached. We searched the van while it was empty and found some explosives and extra weapons but it’s been quiet here.” Paul Simson paused then asked, “How did it go on your end?”

  “Twelve men down but none of us. We captured a small arsenal here too. I’m going to call the Colonel and let him know. We may have to come back tonight to repeat in case there are more of these bastards waiting in the wings.”

  “Got ya. We’ll be here when you get here.” Paul signed off and the mic went dead.

  Donny knew his men would keep watch for any trouble. He dialed Shay’s number and reported in.

  “Well was the Intel correct?” Shay asked impatiently.

  “Yeah, it was,” Donny admitted. “We gathered at site one and took down a dozen terrorists.”

  “Did you recover anything we can use to track these bastards?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet sir.” Donny replied. “We did recover their first set of bombs. Whoever gave the Intel for this mission was spot on. These bastards were planning to blow up the rigs.”

  “Damn it all to hell.” Shay growled. He was quiet for a moment then said, “Come on in. Get some rest and be ready to go back out tonight in case they bring in another group. We aren’t sure how many men are behind this, so we have to be prepared.”

  “I’m going to leave a couple of men behind to track any one coming to check on the men who came out here tonight,” Donny informed him. “I’d like to know how big their forces are.”

  “Yeah, me too. I’d also like to know how to take them out,” Shay grumbled. “I’ll try to get more info from Pappy and pass it along to you if I do.”

  “What do you want us to do with the bodies?” Donny asked as he stared down at the twelve dead men at his feet. “As much as I want to leave them here, I’m afraid with the heat today the stink alone, will alert anyone in the area that they’re here.”

  “Is there any way you can sink the bodies and throw them in the water?” Shay asked. “Let the sharks have them.”

  “We could but that would alert the sharks to our presence as well,” Donny pointed out. “I don’t want to be a late night snack for any water demon.”

  “Good point.” Shay snorted.

  “Cap?” one of his men called out. When Donny turned to him, the other man informed him, “There’s a generator here and a freezer unit. We could store the bodies here without risking letting anyone knowing.”

  Donny grinned. “We got it covered at least for now,” he informed Shay.

  “Good, then get it done and get the hell out of there. The sun will be up before long and I don’t want anyone to know you were there,” Shay commanded. “I’m gonna call Pappy and see if they have any more news on this.”

  “Keep me in the loop.” Donny ended the call and got busy transferring the bodies to the freezer while his men got the generator going to keep them cold.

  The sky was beginning to light up the sky by the time he and his men started back to the shore. When they met up with the crew he’d left to watch their backs, Donny passed over the bombs they recovered.

  Paulie Jamison whistled softly. “What the hell Cap?” He shook his head. “What are we looking at here?”

  Donny looked around the group of men facing him. He knew he had to tell them something. “Well, Pappy and an Intel officer by the name of Shay Montross got a call about a possible act of terrorism here on American soil. Those men we fought tonight are part of a group from the Middle East called the Bleu Vipers. They are willing to do whatever they can to disrupt our lives and bring down the government. This was the first step they have planned. If they would have gotten those bombs planted, they would have set them off and dumped millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf. We all remember how one spill almost ruined these waters, can you imagine what would have happened if they’d have gotten more than one of those rigs to blow?”

  “Yeah,” Paulie answered. “They would have turned the Gulf into a sewer of crude oil while dead animals appeared from Texas to Florida and everywhere in between.”

  Donny nodded. “Shay is going to follow up on his end but he wants us to come back tonight and watch over the rigs.”

  “What are the other steps this group plans to try?” Dino Minnella asked.

  Donny shrugged. “He didn’t tell me but I’m sure he plans to stop them.”

  “He’d better,” several of the other men grumbled.

  Donny nodded. “Let’s go back and get some sleep. We’re on duty again tonight and I don’t want to miss anything.”

  Chapter Ten

  Caine was sitting up in a tree stand with Georgia watching over the town. Everyone else was where they needed to be to watch over the landscape. The only sounds they could hear were the music and rowdy voices from the north end of the town coming from the Ghost Rider Bar.

  Georgia was staring at the parking lot of the school. Laying there in the dirt was the body of a man. He was still alive as she saw him moving his leg a few minutes ago. She turned tear filled eyes to Caine. “Why would he leave him alive, laying in the dirt like that?”

  Caine shrugged and pulled her into his arms. “Lyle wants you to come for him. He wants to bring you out into the open, so he can kill you.”

  Georgia closed her eyes and shuddered in revulsion. “He really is a bastard isn’t he? I had some hope this nightmare would soon be over, but it isn’t going to be over any time soon is it?” she whispered as she felt his arms wrap around her shaking body.

  “It will be over soon enough,” Caine promised.

  “Not soon enough to save my father,” she whispered as she stared across the space between where she was and where her father laid dying a little more each minute.

  Caine sighed and agreed, “No probably not. But know this, whatever Lyle has done today and in the past, he will pay the ultimate price for his actions.”

  “Too little and defiantly too late.” She grimaced.

  “Oh darlin, it’s never too late to right a wrong,” Caine told her as he kissed the top of her head.

  “Lyle and Greg have hurt so many good people in the last few years,” she whispered. “To them, life means nothing but their own pleasures being satisfied.”

  “What happened at Shadow Lake?” Caine asked curiously. “I know you shot Greg but I don’t know what happened to put you there in the first pla
ce.”

  “When I was fourteen, the Reapers had already been here about a year. My Mom was walking me to school that day, because she was going to do some shopping. She had just turned to go to the store when we heard the cycles coming. She turned around and screamed at me to run into the building and I saw her trying to get to the safety of the park when Greg pulled up to her. She tried to get away from him but he wouldn’t let her go. He grabbed her and I saw her struggling, then I watched him haul her onto his bike and ride off. My mother was screaming the whole time. Someone pulled me into the school and a few minutes later, my Dad showed up and took me home. We waited all night for some kind of word or something that would let us know what happened to her. The police were there along with several neighbors but there was no word until the next day.” She let out a sigh.

  Caine took a hold of her hand and waited for the rest.

  Trembling, she continued, “Greg came roaring back into town, hell bent for leather as he drove up to the hospital parking lot. He didn’t even stop, barely slowed down as he tossed her broken body off his bike. Then without even a glance back, he tore out of town again.” She wiped her tears away. “My mother’s body was broken and bloody. Doc Harris came running out and took her inside. Dad and I followed but they wouldn’t let us see her for the longest time. When they let us go into her room, I remember the doctor telling us there was nothing he could do for her. They had torn her up and let her almost bleed to death inside before they brought her back. An hour later, she was gone. My dad was heartbroken. So was I.” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she remembered that awful day.

  “Why didn’t the law step in and do something?” Caine wanted to know.

  “They tried.” She sighed deeply. “Tom Bailey did try but they beat him almost to death for his troubles. After that, no one stepped up again until my Dad confronted them.”

  “What happened?”

  “They took their time beating him,” she whispered. “With each punch they delivered, they told him every sickening detail of what they’d done to my mother. Then when he begged for death to take him, Greg stopped the beating. He told my Dad that he was going to let him live with the fact that he wasn’t man enough to die when he knew the truth about what they’d done to his wife. He told my dad he was a failure as a provider and a protector and if he’d been a better man, he would have protected his wife better and that it was his fault she was dead.” She shook her head. “If wasn’t true, but Greg made him believe it. That’s why he started drinking so much. Dad thought he failed his wife.”