Surviving the Fall

by Brittney Sahin

He had touched base with Trent a couple of times, but the President had yet to lift his order for the strike that was supposed to start within one hour. There was a team back in the States debating possible outcomes and risks. They didn’t want to lose their chance to hit ISIS, but they didn’t want to be responsible for any loss of life at the hands of @Anarchy. Of course, no one truly believed it was possible to hijack the MQ-9 Reaper.

  As for General Frank Warren, he’d been vacationing since his retirement, bouncing all over the globe. To Jake, this presented the possibility that the general was already dead.

  “Reza and his men had to get to Sicily in the same way we did—by plane. And they couldn’t exactly board a commercial airline with hostages.” Alexa was sitting behind the desk, staring at her computer screen. “I’m going to check air traffic controls and see what private jets traveled last night and this morning.”

  “Okay. Good.” He tapped her shoulder as he stepped back from her chair.

  There was a knock on the door, and Alexa lifted her fingers from the keyboard. “Is it Ben?” she whispered, raising a brow and twisting to face the door.

  “It should be.” Jake grabbed his sidearm from the desk and removed the safety. He held the weapon down at his side as he approached the door. Once he checked the peephole, a grin spread across his face. “It’s him.”

  When Jake opened the door, Ben was just as he remembered: tall, well-built, with dark hair and green eyes. He was also sporting a thick, black beard that Jake hadn’t seen on his friend since Iraq. He immediately pulled Ben in for a quick, one-armed hug. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

  “Glad to see you alive and with all of your faculties in order.”

  Jake stepped back to allow him entrance and then locked the door with the sliding chain. “Ben Logan, this is Alexa Ryan.”

  Ben dropped his black duffel bag at his feet and crossed the room to where Alexa was standing. “Good to meet you, ma’am.”

  Alexa smiled. A real smile, Jake thought.

  “Ma’am?” She glanced at Jake for a moment as her lips curved deeper. “Not another guy who calls me ma’am.” She shook Ben’s hand.

  “Oh? Not a fan?” Ben laughed.

  “Makes me feel like an old maid.” She retracted her arm, letting it fall heavy at her side.

  Jake folded his arms over his chest, eyeing the way Ben took note of Alexa. His gaze traveled from her eyes and down so fast that it was almost unnoticeable. But Jake noticed. “You’re far from that,” Ben said with a quick wink. “So.” He faced Jake and rubbed his palms together. “Who do I get to kill?”

  “No one yet.” Alexa scowled. “We’re working on it, though.” She sat back behind her computer. “And even if we do find these bastards in time, don’t go thinking you’re going in like two cowboys in a Western.” She peered at them over her shoulder. “You realize those are only action flicks, right?”

  “Oh, man.” Ben pressed a hand to his chest and arched his shoulders back. “I’m offended. Jake and I, we’re much more dangerous than a bunch of cowboys,” he said in a low, smooth voice.

  “Oh yeah?” She perked a brow and looked away from them.

  “Trust me, sweetheart, these pricks don’t want to mess with us.”

  “Damn man,” Jake said while resting a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “It’s really good to have you here.” He realized he’d made the right decision bringing Ben in.

  “It beats being a bodyguard to some rich prick.” He laughed a little and walked back over to the duffel bag and squatted down. “I got almost everything Alexa needed, plus a few things you might be interested in.” He unzipped the bag and reached for a Glock.

  “Where’d you get the artillery?” Jake asked, eying the contents of the bag.

  “That officer friend of mine at the base hooked me up. This isn’t all, though—we thought it’d be a little suspicious if I brought all the rifles up to the room.”

  Jake glowered. “We?”

  With a mischievous grin, Ben said, “Well, I asked a few private security guys I know in Naples to come help. They have a van parked outside. So, this is just a little sample of what we have to blow these motherf—” he stopped himself, glancing over his shoulder at Alexa, “—these guys out of the water.”

  “You brought more men?” Alexa pushed back in the chair and faced them again, concern pulling at her face. “We didn’t discuss that. And they’re civilians?” She stood and approached the bag and kneeled down to study what Ben brought.

  “Listen.” Ben stood erect, his eyes catching Alexa’s for a brief moment on his way up. He braced his hips with his palms. He didn’t have to be in uniform to look like a Marine. His confidence and posture, and the glint of darkness behind his eyes said it all. Seeing Ben standing there like that was a harsh reminder of what they had gone through in the Middle East together, and the lives they lost. Jake’s pulse quickened at the thought, and he wet his lips, turning away for a moment, trying to slow his heart.

  “We need a little back-up, don’t you think?” Ben finished.

  “Oh, so you really aren’t as bad as you said, yeah?” Alexa half-joked.

  Jake faced the two and noticed the smirk on her face as she held what looked like a frequency jammer in her hand—a compact black box with eight six-inch antennas attached.

  God, she was stunning. Smart, independent, caring, gorgeous, humorous—his perfect woman. Only, could he truly handle a woman who was always putting herself in danger? Then again, look at what he did. Why should he set a different standard of behavior for her?

  “Jake?” Ben was snapping his fingers in his face. “Do we have a game plan, yet?”

  “We’re working on it,” he answered.

  “Let me go back to the van and update the guys then.”

  “How many men do we have?” Jake asked.

  “Four more plus us,” he answered as Alexa turned back to the computer.

  “Six should be more than enough,” Jake answered. Even if they were five to one—they would be facing about the same odds as they had in the Marines. Sometimes it was ten on one. Sure, they could do this.

  Jake patted Ben on the back and nodded at him. “Thanks again for coming,” he said as Ben started for the door.

  “Oh, and I had to go through Michael to get those NSA and FBI files. I know you wanted him left out of this, but he’s our best resource for that shit.”

  Damn. “What’d he say?”

  Ben smirked. “He said to tell you, ‘Welcome back.’”

  I am back, aren’t I? His mind had taken some crazy vacation—a road trip to Hell—but he was back, right?

  “I’ll be up in a few,” Ben said.

  After he left, there was just the sound of Alexa’s fingertips clacking against the keyboard.

  “There were three private jets that match our flight pattern, and one of them was ours,” Alexa said a few moments later after Jake had once again secured the lock at the door.

  “And the other two?” He came up behind her.

  “Working on it.”

  “Okay, good. We have to assume they managed to bypass customs, which means they might have someone on the inside, as well.” Just then, the hotel phone began to ring. “Should be Trent. Let’s hope the President called off the strike.”

  Jake clutched the phone, released a deep breath, and raised it to his ear. “What’s the news?”

  “Good and bad. First, the good news is that General Frank Warren is alive. He’s on a cruise right now. We’re trying to get a message to his ship.”

  A cruise? Maybe the guy would be safe while at sea. “And the bad news?”

  “The options have been weighed, and it’s been decided to go ahead with the strike. They’re moving the timetable in hopes of throwing off Anarchy’s plans.”

  Trent’s words hit him like a hard blow. Jake felt like he was losing his mind all over again.

  “Don’t say anything, Jake. I fought for you.”

  “Not hard enough for the people
who might die!” Jake balled his free hand at his side, feeling his fingertips pressing hard against his palm as he tried to bite back the hot flash of anger inside him. “When do the drones fly out?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Now,” Trent said after a pause.

  “Jesus.”

  “I’m sorry, Jake. Get to Sigonella and out of harm’s way. Okay? They’re expecting you. We have people on standby to try and stop the hijacking if it comes to it. And I’ve talked to MI6—they’re tracking a good lead over there.”

  “Well, we’re staying put.” Jake shook his head and his eyes met with Alexa’s as he slammed the phone down. He rubbed his palms down his face, releasing a breath. “The strike is on. Frank Warren is alive and safe.”

  “Where is he?”

  “On a cruise.” He approached her, his jaw clenched.

  She angled her head, her eyes becoming thin slits. “What cruise? Where?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She immediately turned back to the computer.

  “What is it?” he asked as her fingers moved with deftness over the keys.

  “I want to know what cruise he’s on.”

  “That’s the least of our problems right now. We’ve got a drone hijacking to stop.” Jake crossed his arms and looked over her shoulder as she worked, hacking into God knew what.

  “I have a feeling this is important. It might take some time, though.”

  “Time is something you know we don’t have.” He followed his words with an exaggerated sigh.

  “I know,” she answered, but didn’t pause.

  She had worked for a good ten minutes before she stopped. Her shoulders sagged, and she seemed to wilt in front of him. “He’s on a cruise in the Mediterranean, Jake.” The screen cast a brilliant blue glow over her features. “It was a last-minute booking three weeks ago, and he boarded two nights ago with his wife, daughter, and two grandkids.”

  Jake shifted back in his stance, his body becoming stiff. “You’re telling me the man who made the final call that killed Bekas’s wife and twins is just a few hundred miles away from here—and with his family, no less?”

  “That’s got to be it, Jake. It fits. It’s completely insane, but Bekas has killed everyone else over the years, and he’s been waiting for the perfect moment to strike General Warren. He was patient. And he couldn’t have planned it better with the strike in Libya tonight. Hell, he may have even orchestrated getting General Warren and his family on that cruise liner.”

  “Christ.” Jake started back for the phone. “Can you pinpoint where the ship is right now?”

  “Hang on.”

  Jake was amazed at her skill and speed, still stunned at her genius.

  “It’s one of those out-to-sea nights. I’d estimate it’s about three hours from the nearest port off the coast of Italy.”

  “If I can get ahold of Trent in time, maybe he can get the drones called back to Sigonella. And bring that cruise back to port.” He grabbed the phone and dialed Trent. “In the meantime, try to find out who flew Reza’s plane.”

  “What about the drone?”

  “There’s nothing you can do until it’s been jacked, right?” He held the phone tight, his fingers hovering over the buttons.

  “Right . . .”

  “Let’s get the bastards before that becomes an issue, okay?”

  “You think we can?” she asked as he dialed.

  “You heard Ben, right? Well, now we have you—so, yeah. You’d better believe we can do it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Ben chucked a phone at Jake the second he opened the door to let him in. “Look at it.”

  Alexa rushed to Jake’s side, pressing down on his forearm so she could have a look. On the screen was a Facebook live video of three men with their hands tied and their mouths taped. And they weren’t strangers.

  Xander.

  Seth.

  Randall.

  There was no sound. And no one else.

  All three agents appeared to have been roughed around, with bruises and small cuts showing on their faces. But there were no gaping wounds and nothing in their posture that would indicate they were in any great pain.

  They were staring directly into the camera, an image that would haunt Jake for the rest of his life.

  But they didn’t look defeated. No—these men had known what they had signed up for when they made an oath to their countries. This possibility had always been forefront in their minds.

  Xander’s alive . . . “What the hell is going on?” Alexa’s skin blanched, and her hand covered her heart, pressing against the thin material of her white blouse.

  “Give it a second.” Ben raked a hand through his dark, unruly hair.

  Then the scrolling text appeared at the bottom of the screen.

  These men will die in less than one hour. And others will die, too. Will it be you? The death of innocents can only lead to more loss. #DEADLY CONSEQUENCES.

  “Jesus.” Alexa turned away from the screen, her hands going into prayer position in front of her lips.

  “Did this son of a bitch really hashtag his terrorist attack?” Ben reached into his pocket for another phone. “Shit. It’s already trending.”

  “This is what he wanted—global attention.” Alexa’s head dropped forward.

  “Yeah. It looks like Bekas is sharing the case file of the drone strike against his family.” Jake handed Alexa the phone as images flashed across the screen. He watched over her shoulder as photos from the drone strike appeared briefly then drifted away.

  They were classified documents.

  There was a picture of his wife and daughters before the strike . . . and then after.

  Alexa pressed the phone back into Jake’s hand and hurried to the computer. “They’re still alive, though,” she said stubbornly.

  “The Anarchy bastards are going to take out a cruise ship,” Jake said to Ben.

  “With our damn drone?” Ben’s eyes widened.

  “Yeah. The Air Force doesn’t think the Reaper can be hacked, so they aren’t pulling back. They said the air strike is too critical to halt,” Jake answered, disbelief echoing in his words. “But the cruise liner has been notified and it’s heading to the closest port. Of course, the closest port is three hours away.”

  “Anarchy is at least ten kilometers south of us,” Alexa told Ben.

  “Alexa identified the plane that the Anarchy members used to bring Xander and the others to Italy—then she accessed the video footage outside the airline hangar. Two black SUVs pulled away from the hangar shortly after the plane pulled in. She used traffic camera footage to track them until they reached the outskirts of town,” Jake explained. “We don’t know where they are from that point on, though.”

  “Damn, she’s good,” Ben said with a nod.

  Jake came up behind Alexa and studied the screen as she switched over to the Facebook profile used to release the live video. “Can you trace it?”

  “I’m sure he has it rerouted a half a dozen times, if not more. But I’m on it,” she answered.

  “Good. You can give us an updated location while we’re en route.” Ben tapped Jake on the shoulder. “Let’s roll, brother.”

  Alexa looked up, her gaze soft and unfocused, and then she stood. “Wait. You’re leaving?” Jake saw her swallow as her eyes flitted back and forth between the two.

  “We’ll head south, taking the last road you had them on, and then you can call us,” Ben said in a calm voice as if he were explaining that he was about to go have a beer with the boys, and then he tossed her a phone.

  Jake was getting the feeling this was the most intense OP she’d ever been on. And it wasn’t even a regulated mission.

  “Only you can tell us where they’ve gone,” Jake reminded her.

  Ben lifted his wrist and eyed his watch. “You’ll let us know in ten minutes, okay?” He winked at her. “No pressure.”

  But Ben was not as nonchalant as he seemed. Four tours in the Middle E
ast had hardened his heart and given him a live free or die mentality. A couple of Jake’s other buddies had been like that until they had fallen in love. Maybe Ben needed someone to slow him down a little . . .

  Jake glanced over at Alexa, wondering if she would be the one to change him. God, how he wanted to leave so much of himself behind. The loneliness. The nights assailed by memories of the desert. If it wasn’t for his friends, Jake didn’t know how he would have survived the punishment of those memories. But his friends understood—Marine to Marine, veteran to veteran.

  But Alexa had her own painful past. She’d been the only survivor of a mission, just like Jake had. And she’d been betrayed by a man who was supposed to care for her. Alexa could relate to Jake. She could empathize. And maybe they could help pull out of the darkness together. Together, they could rise into the light.

  “Jake?” Ben nudged him in the shoulder with his fist.

  Shit. Of all the times to have his head in the clouds. “Yeah?” He blinked and looked at Alexa.

  “I should go with you,” she said softly. “I can create a Wi-Fi hotspot and work from inside the van.”

  “No.” Jake shook his head and took a step back from her.

  “Why? Because I’m a woman?” Her arms folded across her chest.

  “Guys, we don’t have time for this.” Ben angled his head toward the door. “I have my number programmed in that phone.”

  “Give me a second, will you? I’ll be right out,” Jake said.

  Ben sighed but nodded. “Okay.”

  Once the door closed behind Ben, Jake pressed his hands to Alexa’s shoulders. He could feel the light trembling of her body. “I have no doubt you can handle yourself. But if we can’t stop them, you should be here. If we can’t contain Bekas, it’s up to you and the Air Force to stop that Reaper.”

  Alexa’s lip wedged between her teeth. “And what if there isn’t enough time? They have Jason.” Her shoulders started to arch forward, but he gently pressed them back, needing to see her confident.

  She pulled away from him. “No, I need to be on-site. The best way to stop them is the most obvious, isn’t it?”

  His lips parted as he studied her, but he didn’t know what to say.