The Honor Anthology

by Emily Snow

  Charlie Boy found his voice first. “Just so you know, B.B., my momma is not a bitch. Pops, on the other hand, was an altogether different story.”

  A couple of the guys shook their heads. B.B. simply rolled her eyes.

  “Shit, mine was.”

  “No, surprise there, Hounder. It explains a lot.”

  Sharp played with a knife that she kept spinning on the conference table.

  The room grew quiet as everyone waited for Hounder to respond.

  “What? It’s the truth. All of us know it. We were all well-trained on how to use firearms, but that first shot fired is one of the most unnerving shots you will ever shoot. That one and the one that is aimed at someone you know. Don’t ask. I’m not sharing that story. Plus, I think Ghost might be ready to blow his top if we don’t stop and focus.”

  Brian stood and nodded to Trig. The light in the room dimmed so that the walls on either side of the table and the main wall became projectors.

  “Impressive.” Trig’s voice vibrated the airwaves when he finally spoke.

  A couple people nodded, but kept silent as Brian began.

  “As you all well know, our mission is to get a special package back. Against my better judgment, a member of our team is also close to the package. We’ve been shooting the breeze, buying time to come at this without any casualties. Our window is soon closing because things have escalated.”

  Sam’s hand shook and Trig moved to sit closer. His proximity seemed to calm her shaking hand.

  Brian ran over the basics of the op and the most important information. Sarcastic remarks and jokes abounded as usual. It was the way of the team before these missions to calm the nerves. The intensity of things always caused the crew to let off some steam beforehand.

  Sam drummed impatient fingers on the table. After yet another joking comment was made, Sam looked to have grown even more impatient. Suddenly, she was in motion in the next second. Isabelle was up and following directly behind her with a gesture to let him know she’ll handle it. Brian conceded and pretended to entertain the rest of the troop’s banter. He knew Isa’s comm was still on so he would hear everything the two women were going to say.

  He could hear Isa’s slightly winded voice as she tried to catch up with Sam. It was bad that he was a little peeved at the fact that the reason for her breathlessness had nothing to do with him. It didn’t stop his pants from beginning to tent at the very thought of other reasons she could be breathless. He checked himself and focused on the conversation between the two women.

  “Taps? Sam? Where are you going?”

  He could hear the clicks of Isa’s heels as she followed after the other woman.

  “Look. I have a little girl that is scared out of her damn mind and probably wondering why in the hell her mother hasn’t saved her from whoever in the fuck has her. This doesn’t seem like a priority for this team. They are far too playful in there. I can’t take it. I need my … I want my … I just want her home.”

  The catch in Sam’s voice had Brian wanting to turn the connection to Isa’s comm off, but he needed to know where Sam’s head was at before they continued with the next phase of the mission.

  “Oh honey, do you trust Brian? Do you think that he would ever make light of a situation as dire as this? Remember, he’s a father too. Our little Iris Belle is home with our mothers with armed guards surrounding the house. He doesn’t think I know that he’s had a man or four on us all of these years; four years to be exact.”

  He heard Sam sniff then clear her throat.

  “Sometimes I forget that Ghost is a father as well. He keeps that part of his life well protected.”

  “There’s a reason for that. She’s our entire world and I don’t think either of us would survive if something were to happen to her. It’s the very reason he’s working this team as hard as he is. Think about it. Where do you think Wellsie and Proph are? They are hunting down leads. Charlie Boy is researching even as we are exchanging barbs. There’s something not right about this and it’s bugging Brian. It’s the only reason he hasn’t moved on it.”

  “I hadn’t even noticed two of the team members were missing or the fact that Charlie did seem preoccupied. Brian has been unusually quiet.”

  He heard their footfalls begin to return.

  “That’s because he’s being updated with information via the comms. He won’t move until the unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach goes away.”

  “That old gut instinct I’ve heard so much about?”

  “Yes. Your father trusted it. It saved his life. I believe you should too.”

  “My father wouldn’t have trusted this situation to anyone else but the best. He adores my little girl. This reaction is probably the reason that Brian didn’t want me on this op.”

  “He understands the reaction. The concern is if you’ll let it rule you or not.”

  “I won’t be the reason my little girl doesn’t come home.”

  They walked back into the conference room as Prophet uploaded the specs and other information to his system. Wellsie and Charlie Boy checked it moments later. It was time and Brian now understood why things didn’t feel right. He’d just learned the real reason this shit was happening. His later goal would be figuring out how to break the news to Sam. For now, the focus was her little girl.

  Standing, he began to issue orders.

  “Trig & Sharp, you’re up top. Proph’s intel says security sweeps from the top down. Sam and Hounder will come in from the ground floor entrances. B.B. and I will enter from the top. Main panels of electricity are split between the main floor and the top level. Isa is meeting with one of the main contacts as we speak. We’ll be in constant communication. Hounder will give the a-okay to move in. Once the signal is given, we will converge, pick up the package, and take the bastard into custody. Clear?”

  “Clear.”

  “Good.”

  “Set.”

  All of those were responses from the team members. Otherwise, they nodded.

  “Gear up. Wheels up in five. You have your assignments.”

  Within twenty minutes everyone was making their way to their positions. All were in silent communication until they were inside the building. It was what they’d agreed upon. Once they made their way inside, they would switch to spoken communication. They’d have to in order to keep one another abreast of each other’s progress.

  Brian silently sent up a prayer on behalf of Sam and Ming Ni. He knew what was at stake and how stressed the woman had to be. He moved to the doorway where he was supposed to be. Hearing the click that said he was able to enter with alarms and lights off, he stepped through the door. Once inside, an entirely new plan had to be implemented.

  Survive.

  Survive the death trap, so he could go back to the offices and kick Hounder’s ass. The fucker had led them into a trap. He could hear his team’s voices in the earpiece. Someone said Sam was hit and the person was on the move.

  B.B. called out again, “Sam’s down. In pursuit.”

  Brian did a mental evaluation of the building and the placement of the members of his team. He realized he was the one closest to B.B. and Sam’s location.

  “On it,” he responded.

  His team acknowledged while continuing to battle their way through the surprise attack. Within five minutes, he was standing before a slumped over Sam.

  Brian took a moment to recall the placement of each of the members of his team then proceeded that way.

  Sam was slumped over when Brian finally found her. She’d just started to rouse when he reached her.

  “It was my brother. I can’t … believe … that bastard … kidnapped my daughter, his fucking niece. That fucker. That pathetic, sorry, worthless fucker. I can’t believe he attacked me.”

  Brian quirked his lips as he took the final steps to get to her.

  “Leave it to you to be down and still cussing somebody out.”

  Brian stood above her and gave her a once over.
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  As he moved to kneel, shots rang out. He felt a slight burning sensation on his left and turned to lift his gun. His vision began to blur and his mind became foggy. Still he fired his gun. If he was going down, then he was going down swinging. Next to him, he heard Sam firing off shots.

  “Shit! Ghost has been hit and is going down fast. I’m moving.” She paused. “Fading fast. Hurts like a bitch.”

  Brian had realized she was up and he was down. He was being dragged. Things were becoming hazy. He couldn’t focus. After another moment, he lost the fight. Sam’s scream was the last thing he heard.

  * * *

  Brian walked into his offices like a man on a mission. His guns were still strapped to him, Sig M25 still in hand, and a short, thick woman was quickening her steps to keep up with him. Not far behind her was the raven-haired beauty, Sam. She was fussing that he should still be in the ambulance and not walking through the building, ready to take heads. Both of the doctors had stated the same thing. He didn’t have time for that shit. He was the leader of the team and he had a mission to complete that involved her little girl.

  “Sergeant Major Wallace, if you would … please … allow me … to finish … my …” Her words were cut off as the two of them came to a halt just twenty paces before the door to the conference room. “Examination.”

  Brian heard the rest of the doctor’s statement, but he wasn’t focused on that woman. No. His attention was focused on an entirely different woman. Her blue eyes frosted and a look of concern tainted the rest of her features. Her stance said that she was livid and all of that was aimed in his direction.

  “Lucky,” he stated as the doctor began to finish the stitching she’d started in the bus.

  He’d come to in the back of the bus or ambulance with the doctor stitching up the upper portion of his left arm. Dr. Winters had stated that Sam had her on-call just in case she was hurt or would need assistance with the medical attention the team needed. The second doctor was in the process of telling him that he’d been shot. It was a flesh wound, but the bullet had been laced with a tranquilizer which was the reason he’d dropped so quickly. She’d been telling him the graze wound needed stitches when he began to move.

  “Don’t, B. You will not make light of this situation.”

  The fierceness of her gaze said that she was fighting to keep her emotions in check. He moved forward and took the remaining necessary steps to get to his woman. She’d been worried. It wasn’t something he’d wanted to do. Damn the consequences or what was said. Brian knew he needed to comfort her. Pulling Isa close, he wrapped her up in his big arms. The doc finished her last stitch as he went to enclose her in his warmth.

  The beautifully strong woman that was his heart resisted at first. Her head moved from side to side and her arms had remained folded at her chest for a moment before she wrapped her arms around his body. She took a deep breath at the same time that he did. He knew what she’d been doing because it was something he did every time they were together. They were breathing each other in. It was necessary for the psyches. It let them know that this was real, not some figment of their imagination. The darkness has passed. Brian ran his hands down her back. On his trip back up, he felt the telltale sign of the edge of a bandage.

  “You were hurt, too?” he asked as he pulled back.

  Sam was the one that responded as he stared into the depths of blue that were the eyes of his Isa.

  “She was cut. I patched her up before any major injuries happened. You found someone just as hotheaded and stubborn as you are.”

  He gave his woman a smile before leaning down to kiss her lips. When he pulled back, a lone tear fell down her cheek. Brian kissed that tear away.

  “I’m good,” he stated and she closed her eyes while nodding. “Sam?”

  He knew the doctor would know what he was asking. They’d worked together enough to communicate without saying much.

  “Flesh wound. She’ll heal with only a slight scar to show for it. Mine is, as well. Nothing major, Ghost.”

  The good doctor, Dr. Winters, chuffed and quickly added her two cents.

  “Nothing major means she needed twenty-seven stitches to close up the knife wound to her forearm. That’s nothing major.”

  The doctor’s hazel eyes and light brown skin glistened. The eyes shined with relief that Sam was okay. The brisk pace she had to use to keep up with Brian was the reason for her skin glistening. Her Native American features were more pronounced with the slight sheen. He had the woman by at least two feet. He’d thought Isa was short in comparison to him, but Isa had this little lady by at least half a foot.

  “If you know anything about Sam, then you know that this one …”

  “Doesn’t know the meaning of pain or is one to dial down her need and issue to get the job done, even if it is detrimental to her health.”

  Brian nodded as he laid his forehead on Isa’s before pulling back and kissing her in the same spot. He released her as he responded.

  “Ah. Then you know her well.”

  “I do. We grew up together.”

  Sam clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes.

  “Dakota, this isn’t a normal operation. This is personal. They have my daughter.”

  “No. Not Mi Mi. Sammie, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  The doctor pulled Sam in for a hug. The way Sam clung to the woman let Brian know that she needed that more than she let on. She kind of sagged into the shorter woman until she thought about what she was doing and quickly pulled back. Clearing her throat, she fixed her tank and adjusted her holster before meeting Brian’s watchful eyes.

  “I’m good. Really, I am. Kota is one of my best friends. She has been since grade school. We said we’d become doctors when we grew up and we accomplished that.”

  Brian watched as Sam’s gaze moved to Isa and wouldn’t return to his. She was more affected than she wanted to let on. When he looked to her doctor friend, she nodded as if she could read his mind before she added on to Sam’s rambling statement. Sam didn’t share a lot about herself. When she did, it was because she was unsettled about something. Considering the situation, he was surprised her entire life story hadn’t come out.

  “Only, I elected to do so without binding myself to the U.S. military. Sam has always been the most daring between the two of us. I’m going to go. I expect to be kept up-to-date on the patients’ progress and my niece’s return status.”

  Sam gave the doctor another hug before turning back to face Brian and Isa. With a final squeeze to his woman’s hand, he completely released her and made his way into the conference room.

  “What the fuck happened?”

  “Hounder fucked the wrong girl.”

  “I fucked the right girl!”

  “Get a clue, whore bag. He means you fucked over the wrong girl and she, in turn, sent us on a wild goose chase.”

  “Oh. Well, say that shit then.”

  “This one here is the pick of the litter.”

  “Sharp, retract the claws. Hounder this was your fuck-up, which makes it your fix. All covers on this op have been blown. We have one ace in the fucking hole and it’ll be the performance of her life.”

  Brian’s eyes floated to the doorway where B.B. stood.

  “Are you fucking kidding me, Ghost?”

  “You know how much I hate being the girl. Now, you want me to play the vamped girl on top of everything else.”

  Proph walked in and squeezed by her before speaking. “Last time I checked, you still had all of the goods to play the role.” Before she could respond, he continued. “Lead dog, we’ve got movement and one of the heat signatures. It looks to be a small child in the arms of a much larger one.”

  Brian lifted the coffee table and dropped it back down. Walking out of the room, he took the much needed time it was going to take him to calm down. He’d wanted this shit completed not only for Sam’s sanity, but his own. There were things he wanted to handle. He knew he couldn’t until this thing was right.
Lang and his crew were on the move. It was going to take time for them to settle in. They didn’t have their payday yet, so Ming Ni had time. Plus, there was the entity behind it all. If they were smart, that little girl would know no fear and be brought no harm.

  There was time. Not a lot, but it was there.

  The Down Time – Chapter 6

  Brian felt like the crew needed to decompress after the major fuck-up and Lang attempting to be in the wind. He’d been out “getting air” for about an hour or two. When he returned that night, he sent everyone home. He sent a message to everyone telling them where to meet him the next day.

  Brian had taken first detail to keep Sam occupied. Ming Ni’s father was stationed overseas. She and the little package lived in a two-bedroom apartment. It was just the two of them. She’d said the father Paul Wilder, wasn’t any help anyway; he was just causing her to stress out more. He’d wanted her to join him and get married. Like Isa, her life was elsewhere, but in the states. She was supposedly selfish for choosing not to do the “best thing” for their daughter. With this situation, he blamed her. Brian felt like Sam did too.

  This outside-of-the-office meeting was as much for the rest of the team as it was for her. She needed to see something other than her house and the office. He’d stayed with her the night before, so they drove together.

  As soon as they’d arrived, the team was all business. Proph assured him that he was keeping track of things with the fortress at J.H.C. via a handheld. The man had agreed that the team needed to bounce back because a little girl’s life was at stake and their window to getting her back alive was closing. Brian had told Sam the reason behind meeting at M & M’s Soul Food Restaurant. He was glad to know she was on board.

  “Are you serious? Your shirt does not say ‘Army Rangers: When sky diving isn’t enough, you do it with full gear and enough fire power to fuck up a small country’? That shit’s insane,” Sam quipped as she took a seat.