by Terry Poole
Simple, right?
Not hardly. Kelly had never been a fan of high heat, so he wasn’t looking forward to a hike in a hot sauna-like environment with plants that would either try to hamper their movements or eat them. Then add in all the damn bugs and other things that crawled, slinked, and prowled through the dense jungle.
After confirming the plane’s location, and how near the jump point they were, Kelly returned to the cargo area. Carrying his parachute and helmet strap in one hand, he had to hang onto the overhead straps with the other to keep himself upright with the swaying movement of the plane as he moved over to Brendan. He crouched in front of Brendan, dropping the parachute between his feet.
“Remember, everyone has a specific task to perform. Do not hinder them.” Kelly hesitated. “Brendan, this is your last chance to bail. It’s not going to be like what you see in the movies. It will be hot, nasty, and very, very dangerous. No one will think less of you if you change your mind and stay with the plane.”
Brendan gave a firm shake of his head and as Kelly watched him, both rising to their feet, Brendan expertly checked his own parachute before strapping it onto his shoulders. Earnest confidence shone in Brendan’s face as he looked up at Kelly, who stood there with arms crossed over his chest.
“And you’re sure you know how to use an MC-6 parachute?” he asked, double-checking the straps of the parachute across Brendan’s body.
“Yes. I can do this, Kelly. I swear I won’t get in the way.”
Kelly gave a sharp nod before exhaling. “Fine.” He handed Brendan his helmet.” It’s about to get real. You’ve been warned.” He attached Brendan’s mask but left it hanging half off his face.
Kelly felt G touch his arm as he stepped back. She slid her gaze briefly over to Brendan then back to Kelly giving him a subtle nod.
Message understood. She would keep an eye on Brendan. Kelly tipped his head in grateful acknowledgement before shrugging into his own parachute.
He gripped Brendan’s shoulder once more to get his attention. “Try not to get yourself killed. Nathan wouldn’t be too happy about it…neither would I.”
Brendan gave him a cocky grin and saluted. “Sir. Yes, sir.”
“Asshole,” Kelly said affectionately to him, shaking his head and unable to stop the small smile pulling at his lips.
He slapped Brendan on the arm before turning to the others. They all had their chutes and helmets on and were waiting on his orders, even though they were very familiar with the drill.
“Final checks complete, people?”
At everyone’s affirmative, Kelly shifted around to face the rear of the plane. “Masks up. Deck down,” he called over his shoulder in warning before hitting the release to open the back of the aircraft. It was useless to yell over the noise of the wind buffeting the inside of the plane as the ramp lowered into position. Kelly shoved his helmet onto his head, snapping it and his own mask into place.
A mechanical sounding voice issued from the helmet’s speakers. “Entering drop zone in three. Two. One!”
A green light came on over the open ramp and he charged out the opening into the night sky, trusting the others to follow him. There was always one of those ‘oh shit’ moments in the back of his brain when he leapt from a plane. The trick was, according to Granda, to accept the ‘oh shit’ moment, know you had to face it head-on, and work through it.
Even though the air beat harshly at him, there was something almost peaceful in falling through the sky like a stone. Around him, only dark, below him a few clouds which were a pearlescent bluish gray in the pale light of the quarter moon at his back. The single noise Kelly heard was the sound of his breathing inside the helmet he wore. As he broke through the dark underbelly of the clouds, Kelly reached up and switched on the night vision lenses on his helmet. The adrenaline kicked in as the ground became visible, a shadowy multi-hued green wall steadily rushing up to meet him.
Checking his altitude on the device strapped to his wrist, he calmly pulled the ring on this chest to open his chute. Glancing around him at the others, he was relieved to see everyone had their chutes open and were gracefully gliding down on a controlled path to the drop point. Brendan was staying neatly in formation. Good man. Even though Brendan had forced himself on the mission, he had proven himself very resourceful so far. Kelly hoped it held because he really liked Nathan’s brother and didn’t want anything to happen to him.
The target area was a small clearing surrounded by rocky ground, which would effectively hide them. Kelly was the first one down and quickly climbed out of his harness, gathering up his chute and folding it into a compact bundle. Once down on the ground, the rest of the team quickly followed suit. Frodo collected the two extra packs the plane dropped on its second pass and the chutes were stuffed neatly into one of them.
G approached Brendan, placing a gentle hand on his chest. “Mon cher, this is as far as you can go. You do not have the training or experience to continue from here,” she told him, regret in her voice. “You must remain and safeguard the equipment we cannot take with us.”
“I expected as much. Please be careful, ma belle ange. I want you to come back to me.”
The sizzling look G gave Brendan at his words, should have left the man dissolved in a puddle of goo at her feet. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and she melted into him giving him a slow sensual kiss on the lips. He angled his head and took the kiss deeper, pulling a low moan from G that had the rest of the team groaning and muttering about the two of them ‘getting a room’. When G broke the kiss, both she and Brendan were flushed and breathing hard. Brendan’s gaze smoldered with promise as his arms tightened around her.
“Ah mon amour, I will be very careful. I want many more of these.” G touched Brendan’s lips with her fingertips. “And much, much more,” she murmured huskily. Brendan sucked in a ragged breath as she pressed her body closer.
“Let’s go, G,” Kelly said as he walked past the couple, dropping a heavy pack with a thud at her feet. As much as he was thrilled for the pair, he was impatient to free his own love. “Sun will be up soon.”
“Oui, Kelly.” G stroked Brendan’s cheek as she stepped out of his embrace.
“Remember, mon cher, do not sit on the ground. This is a jungle and there are things that want to be your friend and trust me when I tell you that it would not be wise for them to get close to you. Use the specialized cot in this pack and wait for us. You must stay safe for me too.”
Brendan nodded, picked up the pack, and moved out of the way to set it up.
G was the tactical genius of the group. She signaled them to crowd around her before pulling a folded-up paper from her pocket and spreading it out on the ground. She flicked on a soft flashlight and aimed it at the paper so they could all see it. Dawn was beginning to paint the sky in pinks and yellows but it was still not enough light. The nearby jungle would shelter the glow of the flashlight from being overseen by anyone.
It was an aerial picture of the compound. Next, she unfolded a map.
“I’ve studied the intel of the Varga estate so graciously provided to us by Cookie.” G waved at Cookie who gave an exaggerated bow. “You have all had time to study this map. They have basement cells on the far side of the compound. Infrared scans revealed one person in the cell nearest to the stairs, so we can safely assume that Nathan is being housed there. Varga will want him someplace secure.” She tapped her finger on both papers indicating the location.
“Now obviously, we cannot take the only road because the vegetation has been cleared on either side of it for several meters.”
Frodo stroked his chin. “Clever. They’d see us coming from miles away. We’d be sitting ducks.”
“Oui, Frodo. I know how much you hate the jungle but I am sorry to say that we have no choice but to march in on this route.” She placed her finger on the picture, moving it in a rough line from their location to the compound.
“The vehicles are all housed here.” G pointed to a s
quare on the opposite side of Nathan’s prison and in the front of the compound. “Frodo, I feel that this is the best location for you to set up your sniper rifle. It’s the highest point in the area and perfect for your nest. There are two towers here and here. Remove the watchers, if there are any. I don’t need to tell you to take out as many targets as you can before we go in. Manny, while Frodo has his fun, you can take out the fuel reserve tanks here, the vehicles and the front walls.”
Both men nodded their agreement.
“Kelly, you and Cookie take the side closest to Nathan, here and here. You will have to move quickly once Manny begins. Moose and I will take the opposite side, here and here. We will have to disable the electrical fencing before we can enter. Manny, you will need to keep the exit route free of hostiles. We will be coming out the front doors or what will be left of them. Frodo will keep us covered from the nest.”
G lifted her head to face Moose. “Moose, how close do you need to be to scramble their devices?”
He shrugged his large shoulders. “Best range is one hundred meters or less. Once I get everything up and running, I can leave Frodo to babysit it. He won’t have to do anything.”
“Good. Set it up and join me as soon as you can. Manny will take three shots with his toys and then we’ll go in.”
Kelly saw Moose nod at her out of the corner of his eyes. He couldn’t seem to tear himself away from the map and photo. G cleared her throat and Kelly glanced up at her. She caught and held Kelly’s gaze for several seconds, before cocking her head and raising an eyebrow at him.
Damn it. He should have known G would figure out what he was planning. Of course, she would, it was the logical thing to do. Not the smartest but definitely the most logical and really, his only choice.
Kelly ignored the thin-lipped frown she gave him. “This sounds good, G.” Hoping he gave nothing away, he turned to Cookie with false casualness. “Anything you want to add to this, Boss?”
The man’s eyes were narrowed as he scrutinized Kelly for a moment, before giving the rest of the group a smile. “Nope. Carry on.”
“Suit up. Anyone not have bug lotion?” Kelly asked, holding out a bottle.
“Hell yeah, give it here.” Moose held out his hand for lotion.
As Kelly handed the bottle off, he noticed that Brendan sported a frustrated grimace on his face. He held the instructions to the survival cot in one hand and a bar in the right, twisting the bar around, obviously trying to figure out where it fit. So, finally something Brendan couldn’t do.
Kelly walked over to him, took the pipe from Brendan’s hands, bent over, and calmly inserted it in the right slot. He stood and tried not to laugh at Brendan’s disgusted expression.
Kelly clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Brendan. Stronger men than you have turned to drinking after trying to assemble one of these bloody things.”
“This thing is diabolical. Why would you use it?”
“Because it gets you off the ground and covers you so you can’t be seen from the air.”
“It’s a pain in the ass.”
“Not arguing that.”
The two of them worked in silence. Kelly caught Brendan glancing repeatedly over at G. She and Frodo were discussing something over the map. Kelly shifted closer to Brendan and bumped shoulders with him.
“So.” Kelly tipped his head toward G and Frodo. “You and G, huh?”
Brendan looked over at her again, his face softening. “Yeah. She’s pretty amazing, isn’t she? Smart, funny and fiery as hell.” He swallowed hard. “And so beautiful, she makes my teeth ache.”
Kelly knew Brendan was a good man and the fact that he’d mentioned G’s personality before her stunning appearance cemented his high opinion of him. “I think you two will be good for each other.”
Meeting Kelly’s gaze, Brendan raised his eyebrows. “Things between us have moved so quickly but it’s like the moment I saw her, I knew she was the ‘one’. Are you okay with that?”
“Absolutely. That’s what happened the first time I met Nathan when we were teenagers.” Kelly’s smile became soft as he remembered. “One kiss and I knew he was the ‘one’ for me. Even though we were forced apart, I never got over him, and I am so thankful that my brother, Finn, asked for my help selling Nathan’s parents’ house. When I saw him standing there…”
Kelly shook his head bringing himself back to the present. “Enough sappiness for now.” He grumbled and then slapped Brendan playfully on the back as he rose to his feet over the completed cot. Grinning, Brendan also stood and surveyed the cot with the tent-like contraption attached to the top of it.
“Help me move this thing closer to the edge of the clearing. The jungle will give you a little shade.”
Once Kelly was satisfied with the position of the cot/tent, he pulled back one of the flaps. “Okay, in you go. Once you are settled, I’m going to hand you two packs that will be staying with you.”
“No problem,” Brendan replied, climbing into the tent and taking the packs from Kelly as he gave them over one at a time. The first was full but nowhere near the size or weight of the second one.
“What the heck is in this? Rocks?”
“Let’s just hope you don’t have to find out.” Kelly held out his hand. A small flesh-colored device sat in his palm and Brendan gave him a curious glance.
“This little thing is a communications earpiece. It’s tiny, designed to fit inside the ear and be virtually invisible. You’ll be able to listen in with this but do not speak unless it’s an emergency. The internal mike is super sensitive and we can’t have chatter.”
“Got it.”
Kelly showed Brendan how to switch it on and watched as Brendan inserted the earpiece.
“I’m sorry, Brendan, but it’s going to get hot inside that tent real soon, much worse than it already is. There’s four bottles of water in the pack closest to you. Keep hydrated. We should be back in five hours, unless things go FUBAR.”
“Fubar?”
“Fucked up beyond any repair.”
“Oh.”
“Okay, everyone, mic checks,” Kelly ordered, addressing the group. He tapped the earpiece on then inserted it into his ear as far as it would go. “These are advanced issue on a closed net so no one else can listen in.”
Kelly leaned toward the tent. “Brendan, can you hear me?”
A hand sporting a raised thumb stuck out from the rainproof camo tent covering the cot. At a distance, Brendan would be invisible even in broad daylight.
Kelly joined the others in a group as they covered their faces with camouflage paint then put on their Boonie hats and adjusted the chin straps on them. Once he was ready, he loaded a round into the pipe, or in layman’s terms, chambered a bullet into his 9mm. Everyone around him did the same. There was no point in being surprised. Being alert and ready to shoot could and had saved their lives before.
After he slung his semiautomatic rifle over his shoulder, he turned to Moose. “Well, buddy, as the biggest and baddest, you get to lead. Lucky you.”
“Gee, thanks,” Moose answered him with mock sarcasm before pulling his night vision goggles down over his eyes and hefting his large machete. “Stay chill, Pipsqueak.”
Brendan hit the side of the tent from the inside but kept silent even though Kelly was sure Brendan was dying to say something sarcastic to Moose.
Kelly glanced around him to check that everyone had their machetes strapped to their packs so when they separated they could make their way through the jungle to their assigned positions. Each of them had done this rodeo before but it was hard not to check and make sure.
G checked her compass and then pointed to a particular point where the jungle began. Moose led them to edge of the small clearing to the area G indicated. He raised his arm high and began to hack a path for the rest of them to follow. Kelly slid his own goggles into place and proceeded after them.
G occasionally made corrections in the direction they were moving, keeping them on
track. The sun was high enough now that the infrared goggles were not technically needed but the canopy overhead tended to cut much of the light. Besides, they did help with the bugs and allowed them to spot hiding predators.
Kelly was forcefully reminded of why he hated the jungle. The heat was bad enough in the clearing but surrounded by thick foliage it became oppressive like a weight on his chest. The humidity made breathing difficult and every pound of clothes and equipment he carried on his back was like five pounds on his feet as he trudged behind Moose.
For a moment, it felt like Kelly had gone back in time following the DEA task force and the Columbian Jungas agents assigned to him and his team. Their mission—bring the Varga Cartel down by destroying the drug fields and arresting Luis Varga. The last time he’d trudged through this jungle, Kelly had no idea how dramatically his life would change. His shoulder twinged in remembered pain. Once in a while it still flared up, but the bullet wound that Varga’s young son had inflicted upon him was pretty much healed. The other one had been minor and mended quickly.
“Damn plants. Damn bugs. Damn heat,” Moose quietly grumbled over and over as they trudged through the thick and in places, nearly impenetrable foliage.
Manny turned to Frodo and mouthed ‘drama queen’.
“I heard that,” Moose growled without looking back.
Manny glanced at Moose’s back then to Frodo again. ‘How?’ he mouthed. Frodo lifted his shoulders and hands in an ‘I don’t know gesture’.
After roughly an hour, Moose stopped, silently holding up a fist to bring the rest of them to a halt. Without a word, the team sorted their weapons out.
G took Manny’s machine gun while Manny took his two portable launchers from the others adding to the one he already had, making it three he had to carry in. They were one-use weapons and relatively light as these things went.
Divided up into their teams, each prepared to head out to their assigned positions. As the others moved off, G held back signaling Manny to wait a little ways further.