by Beth Abbott
“JT told me that I had to report to you.” Logan pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down. “It seems I have to convince you that I’m fit to be part of this operation.”
Did that mean he was going to tell her about his past? It sure looked that way.
Hannah was more than a little surprised that Logan might be prepared to talk to her about whatever it was that was triggering his PTSD.
“I see.” She sat back. “Then why don’t you start by explaining the attitude you displayed the other day? Because that’s causing me a lot of concern.”
“I understand that.” Logan nodded. “It was an unguarded reaction, in what I considered was a safe environment. I can assure you I wouldn’t be so foolish out in the field.”
“Fancy words.” Hannah shrugged. “You’re not convincing me yet, Logan. How about explaining where the anger came from?”
Logan stared at Hannah, his facial expression pinched.
“I was part of a top-secret mission a few years ago in Afghanistan. I can’t tell you much about what our objectives were, but suffice to say, we were reliant on some locals to get our team into the heart of the insurgents’ camp.” He seemed to be reciting the words from an oft-repeated script. “We were betrayed by the people who were supposed to be helping us, and most of my team was wiped out.”
“I see.” Hannah nodded. “And you’re saying that this caused your behaviour the other day? I don’t see the connection.”
“The locals who betrayed us were women.” Logan looked down. “Cold, callous, heartless women, with absolutely no conscience whatsoever. We’d been doing everything we could to protect those women and their kids from the Taliban, and they betrayed us without blinking. When I saw the picture of Nikita Federova, her expression reminded me of one of those women, and I had a momentary lapse of concentration. It won’t happen again, as I’m aware of the risk and I’ll be ready for it.”
Hannah watched Logan’s body language and tried to read his expression.
She was pretty good at reading people normally, and she had to admit, Logan was giving off the right signals. She found herself believing in his sincerity, but what if this was just a line he was feeding her.
“Look, I know I’ve not given you any reason to think well of me.” Logan shrugged. “And I know I can be somewhat… dour at times.”
“Dour?” Hannah grinned.
Logan chuckled, and the sound was surprisingly rich and deep, like a fine baritone.
“Ok, then, I can be a miserable bastard at times.” He conceded. “Does that sound closer?”
Hannah didn’t even bother to hide her thoughts.
“It’s definitely on the right track.” She nodded.
“Yeah, well, I can still function well enough, even when I’m being a miserable bastard.” Logan grunted. “It doesn’t affect my ability to do my job properly, and contrary to what I might have given you to believe, I am a professional. My opinion of Nikita Federova, right or wrong, won’t get in the way of my doing my job.”
Hannah had to admit that once Logan started to talk, his words had a sincerity that had her believing him.
“Ok, so if I let you go on the operation, and you fuck up and one of your team-mates gets killed, who’s to blame? Me for believing you, or you, for claiming you were fit for duty?” Hannah watched Logan’s reaction carefully.
Logan stared her down.
“I can’t promise you that nobody will get hurt or killed, as you and I both know that missions like this come with no guarantee of safety.” Logan shrugged. “But if something goes wrong, I can promise you it won’t be because of anything I’ve said or done, and it certainly won’t have anything to do with my reaction to Nikita Federova.”
Weighing up the Logan of a few days ago, with the man in front of her now, Hannah was finding it harder to dispute his argument that his reaction had been a momentary lapse, and one he would be alert to in future.
“What about the woman and child I saw you with the other day?” Hannah asked. “You declared that you had no romantic entanglements and no children, which was why you were able to drop everything and leave at a moment’s notice.”
Logan stared at her, his brows drawn into a frown.
“I have no romantic entanglements, and I don’t have any children.” He said quietly. “The woman you saw me with was the widow of my best friend, one of the guys killed on that fateful mission. The boy is my godson. They were down from Scotland for a few days to see the sights and take in a few west-end shows. It was my treat, because I knew I was going to be away for a little while. Unfortunately, the timing was fucked up, as I wasn’t expecting this operation to start so soon. Totally my fault, but I didn’t want to put them off, so I’ve been meeting them for lunch before they go and see a matinee, and then joining up with them later for dinner.”
“And you and the woman…?” Hannah had to check.
“Have known each other since we started school together when we were five years old.” Logan finished her sentence for her. “They lived in the same street as me, and all our dads worked in the same factory, so we grew up in each other’s houses.”
“And she won’t have any problem with you going away like this?” Hannah asked, curiously.
“We speak once a month, sometimes twice, and I visit at Christmas, Easter, and the boy’s birthday, if I’m not overseas.” Logan shrugged. “Other than that, we’re not in each other’s pockets.”
Hannah stared at him, biting her lip as she considered everything he’d said.
“Ok. You’re in. But don’t be mistaken into thinking you’re not on a very short leash.” She warned. “I can’t afford to have a loose cannon in the Guardians, and any more ‘lapses of concentration’ and you’re out. Understood?”
“Fair enough.” Logan stood up. “Did you want to get back to the team briefing now? We’re five minutes late.”
“Sure.” Hannah stood up to follow him. “And I suggest that you spend the rest of the day convincing your team-mates that I haven’t gone completely bat-shit crazy for keeping you on the team.”
Logan grinned at Hannah as he held the door open for her to precede him.
“Lassie, they already think of you as bat-shit crazy anyway. I wouldn’t try and convince them otherwise.”
Chapter 24 – Hollywood
Hollywood sat at the conference table, staring at the door.
He’d been uncomfortable about the whole mess between JT and Hannah and had genuinely considered walking away if she wasn’t going to be part of the team.
He’d been involved in several operations where she’d been their ‘eyes in the sky’, and he’d really noticed the difference when she wasn’t around to have their backs, especially during the last few months with the Marines, when he’d been back on routine ops. Having Hannah as back-up had been like having the most secure safety blanket wrapped around your shoulders. She seemed almost capable of seeing through walls and around corners, and you really missed her when she wasn’t there.
Plus, as an added bonus, she’d been around military guys for more than a decade, so she understood their world almost as well as he did.
He glanced down at his tablet and flicked the power button to shut the screen off. There was nothing on that gadget that he hadn’t read a hundred times and committed to memory. For some reason, this operation meant a whole lot to him, and he felt a deep commitment to the task of rescuing all those women.
Ok, so he was well-known with his buddies for being popular with the ladies. But what most of his former team-mates didn’t appreciate, was that he was known among the ladies for being quite a gentleman.
He didn’t make any pretence that he was interested in women for a long-term relationship, but thankfully there were enough women in the world of a similar mind, that he didn’t end up in a situation where he was stuck getting rid of a clinging female.
Moreover, Hollywood was known, among the women, at least, for being a considerate and extremely thorough lover. He’d long ago c
oncluded that for him, a great deal of the pleasure with sex was knowing that you’d given the woman at least a couple of screaming orgasms, that left her with a smile of satisfaction on her face.
Something else that most of his team wouldn’t have realised was that apart from the women Hollywood looked at as potential pleasure partners, he also had a fondness for women generally, brought on in no small part from having been raised by the best single mom on the planet.
It was a standing joke that Hollywood hadn’t left home ‘officially’ until his late thirties.
That wasn’t entirely true, though, as he’d actually bought his mom’s house from her more than ten years before, so it would free her up from having to hold down two jobs to pay her mortgage. Technically, that meant that it was his mom who lived with him.
What the guys also didn’t know, was that during every free weekend he’d had home from the Marines, he’d actually converted the big barn on their land into a second house, with huge rooms and high ceilings, big leather and oak furniture, and a bespoke kitchen and bathrooms.
One of these days he was going to have to invite his buddies back to his place for the weekend to show off his real home, so he could spend at least an hour pissing himself laughing as they picked themselves up from the floor when the shock wore off.
They might think they knew everything about their former team-mate, but he reckoned he was still capable of surprising them all.
“No Hannah, yet?” JT stepped into the conference room.
“Not yet.” Hollywood muttered, still pissed with the former Captain of Alpha Company. “Are you sure she’s still part of the team?”
JT must have caught the annoyance in Hollywood’s tone, because he turned to face him.
“Actually, I’m certain she’s not part of the team.” JT conceded. “Because, let’s face it… she’s way more than that. Hannah’s the heart of the team. And as of today, she’s also the team leader, so I reckon that definitely makes her more than ‘part’ of the team, don’t you think?”
Hollywood stared at JT, noting that while the guy was barely hiding a grin, his cheeks were also slightly pink. Embarrassment, maybe, at the way he’d treated Hannah previously?
“Sorry I’m late.” Hannah’s voice seemed to come through JT’s body, as her hands gripped his upper arms and she carefully moved him to one side, leaving room so people could step around him to get through the door.
Hollywood watched Logan walk in behind Hannah and looked for any signs of animosity between the two. Thankfully, whatever had passed between them during their conversation at the park had obviously cleared the air, as neither of them looked to be uncomfortable around the other.
Hannah took the seat to the right of the chair at the head of the table, the same one she’d taken for every meeting since they’d first arrived.
“You’re in my seat.” JT waited patiently behind her, as Hannah looked up at him in confusion. “That’s yours.”
Hollywood watched JT nod to the seat at the head of the table, and Hannah blushed as she stood up and moved all her clutter to the top spot.
“Ok, well…” She began, obviously a little embarrassed by all the attention on her. “I’m happy to confirm that the whole team has gotten the green light to go, and you’ll be flying out early tomorrow morning.”
Hollywood glanced around the table, not missing the fact that Logan was staring at his tablet, ignoring the stares from his team-mates. Obviously, he’d convinced Hannah that he was combat ready.
“We’ve had a message from the traffickers’ official contact, and it looks like Federov has lost one of his truck drivers. Without him, they won’t be able to carry the full cargo, so they want to know if any of you is licensed to drive a truck.” She glanced up. “Anybody?”
“What size lorry?” Evan asked. “You need different licenses depending on the size of the vehicle. I can drive smaller ones, but nothing over three and a half tons.”
“You’d need a HGV Class1 license for anything over that weight.” JT confirmed. “You’re talking ‘heavy goods vehicles’ or ‘articulated lorries’ when you get above that size.”
“Actually, you need a C+E license in the UK these days.” Hollywood spoke up, a half smile on his face. “HGV-1 licenses are the old qualification. C+E licenses came in around twenty years ago, for anyone driving the biggest of the LGV’s as they’re now officially known.”
He enjoyed the look of surprise on JT’s face at being contradicted.
“And an American would know that, how?” Hannah frowned at him.
“This American was stuck in the UK on a posting for about six months, maybe three or four years ago, with next to nothing to do apart from training exercises with a special ops team that was always out on operations.” Hollywood shrugged. “I had so much time on my hands I took a few courses to keep me busy. Driving was one of them. I can drive an LGV if I have to, although, I haven’t driven one regularly for a couple of years.”
“You’re telling me you have a valid C+E license?” Hannah was smiling widely. “Let me rephrase that… Please, tell me you have a valid C+E license.”
Hollywood grinned.
“I have a valid C+E license.” He nodded.
“Man, I could almost kiss you!” Hannah flopped back in her seat, her relief evident. “But I won’t, because Danny would be honour-bound to punch you if I did.”
Hollywood chuckled.
“Wouldn’t want that, no, ma’am!” He grinned.
“Ok, then there’s just a final few things to run through.” Hannah nodded. “As they now need a driver, I’ve confirmed that you will be split into three teams, one pair with each of the trucks. No surprise that I’m keeping you in your natural pairs, Yuri and Kris, H and Kellen, Logan and Evan. And so that there is a clear chain of command for this operation, the lead in each pair will be Yuri, Hollywood, and Evan. That’s not to say it will necessarily stay that way for future operations, as it’s down to each one of you to impress me if you want to stay on the team. But for this first outing, that’s my decision.”
Hollywood glanced at Kellen who grinned back at him.
“Please tell me I don’t have to call Hollywood ‘Sir’?” Kellen implored Hannah. “He’ll never get over himself.”
Hannah chuckled.
“I don’t think ‘Sir’ is really necessary for this operation, do you?” She grinned. “I can think of a few names that would be more appropriate, but I’ll leave you to sort that out between you. I’m sure you can think of a few of your own.”
Hollywood flipped Kellen off, but he was secretly pleased to be having a measure of responsibility.
“What time is our flight?” Yuri asked. “Are we flying direct to Ankara?”
“No, we’re flying you out to Bucharest on one of Tuck’s planes. From there you’ll take a scheduled flight to Ankara.” JT confirmed. “We didn’t want them to see you all flying straight in from Heathrow. We’ll have cars pick you up at four o’clock tomorrow morning, to take you to a rendezvous point, where a chopper will take you to the airfield.”
“And at the other end?” Yuri was obviously the most organised of the Russian brothers, as he jotted down some notes.
“You’ll be collected from the airport and taken to meet with our official contacts.” Hannah confirmed. “From the moment you touch down, take it as a given that you’re being watched and listened to by one of Federov’s men. He’s deeply suspicious, and trusts nobody, not even his sister.”
“How are you supposed to communicate with us, if we’re being monitored?” Evan asked.
Hannah walked to the window and picked up a box that had been sitting unnoticed on the ledge.
She placed it on the conference table, lifted the lid and started pulling out smaller boxes.
Firstly, she pulled out mobile phones. They weren’t any make he’d ever heard of, but presumably they’d have all the typical bells and whistles.
“These have the highest encryption levels of any ph
ones you’ll find, and while they might look like Chinese knock-offs, they’re supplied by one of the best manufacturers in the business and have security features like you won’t believe.” Hannah smiled. “They also have exclusive apps which I created myself, including a specially designed GPS app that gives details of military and agency safe-houses, shit like that. You’ll never find phones like these for sale on Amazon or ebay!”
While his team-mates looked at their new phones, Hollywood leaned forward to get a better look in the box, to see what else Hannah had brought for them. Watches?
Hannah noticed his interest, and slid a box to each of them, watching each man opened the packaging immediately, eager to see what he was getting.
All six of the watches were different, a few of them gold coloured, and a few were silver or with stainless-steel straps. The one thing they all had in common was that they all looked… well, ‘inexpensive’ was probably the polite word.
“The shop was sold out of Rolex, huh?” Kellen grinned.
“Those are back-ups in case anything happens to your phones. You could buy half a dozen Rolex watches for what one of those cost.” Hannah smiled. “They have all the functions of your average high-spec cell-phone. Plus, they have full GPS capability and send a signal back every thirty seconds, so we can monitor your position, even when you’re below sea level.”
She pulled a watch out of the nearest unclaimed box.
“I know these look like cheap knock-offs you’d buy from any market on the Spanish Costas, but that’s deliberate. The buttons, which you would normally assume would do nothing, actually have a function once you’ve activated them, making each watch one of the most effective pieces of kit you’ll ever come across. Video capability, transmitting and receiving, isolated audio as well, and full internet access anywhere on the globe. They have a one hundred and twenty-eight gig memory, and some of the quickest download speeds you’ll ever come across.” Hannah explained. “Should you need to go through customs and have to put them through the x-ray machine, they have a completely enclosed second casing which renders the inner workings invisible, so that all the x-ray picks up are the workings of the watch. They’re also waterproof to a hundred metres. And that’s a tested fact, not an idle boast on the side of the box.”