Xander King BoxSet

by Bradley Wright

  “You all right, my man?”

  “I am scared to death, but I’m okay.”

  “You know there is no shame in staying behind. You can just make sure the plane—”

  “I’m ready.” Kyle steadied his confidence and looked sternly into Xander’s eyes.

  Pride swelled inside Xander for his friend’s courage. He nodded to Kyle and began to paint his face. “All right. Now listen, at no point do you leave either my or Sam’s flank as we make our way to the boat. Once we get the boat to our anchor point in the water outside of the compound, you will stay there with the sniper rifle, with James, as we swim in and extract Khatib.”

  Xander shot a look at Sam to squelch any words she might have about keeping Khatib alive. She was about to speak but held her tongue as she knew it was no use.

  “I will flash a light to the two of you, three times from shore, when we are ready for you to bring the boat in and get us. That is it. At no time, no matter what, do you leave the boat, or James. Got it?”

  Kyle looked into Xander’s eyes, his face now covered in war paint. He looked a lot like a badass now himself. “Got it.”

  Xander turned the paint on himself as Kyle made sure he had everything in place.

  “Okay, that’s it. Sam, lead us to the boat. Everyone move with stealth, but move with purpose. Even you, fatty.” Xander winked at Sean. Sean flipped him off, and as he smiled, his teeth glowed against the dark face paint. Xander walked over to the captain in the cockpit.

  “Bob, I can’t thank you enough for this.”

  “Of course, Mr.—Xander.”

  “Listen, if we aren’t back here by 5:35, you fire this bird up and get the hell back to Kentucky. You hear me?”

  “Xander, I can’t leave—”

  “Bob, I’m not asking, that is an order. We will be coming in hot, so fire these engines up at 5:30. You are heading down that runway at 5:35 whether we are on board or not. We have an alternate route if we don’t make it back here in time. You are putting all of us in danger if you stay. Is that clear?” Xander asked, very matter-of-fact.

  There of course was no alternate route.

  “Yes, sir,” Bob said confidently, “crystal.”

  Xander nodded, gave him a pat on the shoulder, and turned back to the cabin. He motioned to his team, and everyone followed Sam down the plane’s eight steps and out into the night. The jet engine gave a whine as Bob pulled it forward and toward the open hangar about a football field in front of him. The four of them were encompassed by the darkness. It was all they could do to see the couple of feet in front of them to make sure they were all together. The bright moon that Xander had noticed from the plane earlier was now camouflaged by a patch of clouds that somberly hovered over them. In a light jog they followed closely behind Sam, unsure when even the broken pavement below them would end. They noticed in the darkness, about two hundred feet in front of them, a glow from a flashlight.

  “It’s James,” Sam whisper-shouted back to them.

  Sean was behind Sam, then Kyle, then Xander. Xander looked back over his shoulder and saw his jet come to a stop inside the hangar. A hint of worry for Bob hit his stomach, but Bob was ex-military so he knew he could handle himself if anything were to go wrong. Xander looked forward and almost tripped over Kyle as they came to a stop to meet up with James.

  “Xander,” Sam announced. “This is James—”

  “Why are we stopping? Let’s move!” Xander ignored her introduction. Sam didn’t say another word; instead, she turned toward the trees in front of her. James lagged back to jog beside Xander.

  “Listen,” James started, “I know you—”

  “Unless this is about this mission, save it,” Xander interrupted him. “I appreciate all your help. Let’s stay focused.”

  “No, of course,” James said as they jogged. They had reached the grass and were now just steps away from the tree line. Just enough light from the moon peeked through the clouds now, and Xander could make out some pines swaying to the right in the breeze that had kicked up. The hum of that wind and their footsteps were the only sounds in the night. “I just want you to know it’s an honor, sir. Sam has told me all about your service.”

  Xander gave no response, and they all continued to jog forward as they entered the woods. Fallen branches snapped beneath their feet, and the wind whispered through the trees above them as they moved together methodically in a straight line. Or what seemed to be a straight line. Xander imagined Kyle's mind was playing tricks on him already by this point. Darkness is a scary thing, regardless of the fact that you are tromping through foreign soil on your way to war. The first few times Xander went on a mission like this, he could hardly feel his feet as they moved, the fear was so intense. It’s a lonely feeling being in a situation where you know there will be no cavalry coming to save you if something goes wrong. It’s especially lonely when the closest experience you had to this was playing paintball in Ben Carter’s backyard. This was certainly no whimsical backyard game, and Kyle's gun was most certainly not filled with paintballs. This was, however, very similar to a Black Ops mission. The powers that be gave you a mission to carry out, and once you left, it was as if you never existed. If trouble found you, there was no backup. And if, God forbid, you were captured, well, that was that. The government just pressed a button and you were a ghost. All records erased.

  In front of them, the denseness of the trees seemed to be lessening, and the moonlight looked as if it marked an opening. At the front of the line, Xander made out Sam’s shadow. She stopped abruptly and threw her fist in the air. Everyone but Kyle knew this meant stop, so he stumbled to the ground as he tripped over Sean’s feet. He landed on a bed of tree limbs, and the snap of the branches under his weight popped and echoed into the still of the night. The beach lay ahead of them, as did the reason Sam stopped so abruptly.

  Two men with submachine guns were inspecting the speedboat that awaited them. They turned their attention and their automatic weapons toward the sound they heard coming from the thick tree-covered darkness in front of them. Xander held Kyle on the ground so no other sound could be made. The others lowered themselves to a crouching position and awaited Xander’s order. Xander looked up at Sam, got her attention, and motioned to his left shoulder. With that, she slid the sniper rifle from her shoulder and took it in her hands. Xander picked up a hand-size rock that sat beside Kyle's left leg. Sam, knowing what was coming next, turned back toward the men and found them in the scope of the silenced rifle. She took a deep breath and waited. Xander chucked the rock about twenty-five yards to their left. Upon landing, it made a large crash through some pine branches, and the two men whipped their heads, and guns, toward the sound of the rock. Two squeezes later and bullets rocketed the fifty yards to the side of their heads and ended the threat with two bloody smacks. Sam threw the rifle back over her shoulder and motioned the team forward as the two dead men dropped in a heap to the sand. Xander gave Kyle a hand, pulling him to his feet, and they followed Sam to the edge of the tree line.

  “S-sorry,” Kyle whispered.

  Xander ignored the apology as they came to a halt when they reached the sand. The clouds had moved on, and the light of the moon glowed across a long stretch of beach surrounded by trees. They could hear the soothing sounds of waves crashing as Sam once again took a knee and pulled her rifle. She peered through the scope, looking for signs of movement. She noticed a military-style jeep at the edge of the eastern tree line. It looked empty. The two men must have been called to check out the mysterious boat on the beach. This meant someone else could very well be watching. They were many, many miles from Khatib’s compound, so his being alerted to any of this was not likely. They were, however, getting ready to step right across the border into Syria as soon as they set foot on that beach.

  “Looks clear,” Sam whispered. “However, we must hurry. Someone will be along shortly if they aren’t already here. Straight to the boat now, then straight into the water. I’ll cover.”r />
  Xander motioned everyone forward, and as Sam held position, the four men took to the beach toward the modified speedboat. The steady breeze and the waves beating against the sand were the only sounds. Countless stars dotted the dark sky, and the men tromped their way through the thick sand to the boat. Xander circled the all-black speedboat, ensuring they were alone by its side. As he crossed the back, he noticed the modified engine and supposed it would be more than enough to give them the speed they needed to get to the compound and back in good time.

  “Whoop whoop!” Sam called from the trees. Just as two shots rang out from the direction of the abandoned jeep, Xander whirled around the side of the boat and yanked Kyle down to the sand by his collar.

  “This is it. Stay behind the boat and make sure you know where your bullets are headed.” Xander told Kyle in a rush as they sprang back to their feet. Several more shots rang out of the darkness. Sean fired back from the left side of the boat, but it was like shooting into a cave. They were sitting ducks out in the moonlight.

  “Keep laying down cover fire!” Xander yelled to Sean, Kyle, and James as he bolted back across the open beach toward Sam in the trees.

  Hammer of Thor.

  Xander’s feet sank into the sand with each forceful stride he took. Bullets were screaming by him now, and one came so close he could actually feel its buzz as it screamed past his head. The buzz of the bullets raised the hair on the back of his neck as he continued to lumber through the thick and unyielding beach. The guys were firing into the darkness that surrounded the jeep, and finally Xander dove into the cover of the pines. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Kyle was cowered down behind the back of the boat waiting for the gunfire to stop. There was no time to feel for his friend. The gunfire continued, and Xander worked his way through the trees toward Sam. He knew the two of them would be able to flank the gunman and end this standoff.

  “That’s far enough.” The sound of a man’s voice with a thick Middle Eastern accent cut through the gunfire, sending a shiver down Xander’s spine. He dove down behind a tree, and as he rolled to one knee, he could faintly make out two figures standing in the shadows. He didn’t have to see to understand that someone was holding a gun to Sam’s head. The whock whock of gunfire continued behind them.

  “Step out slowly with your hands in the air, or the woman dies,” the shadowed man threatened. As dire as this situation seemed, it wasn’t the first time the two of them had been in this spot. And the experience of the last time it happened had prepared them for this one. Xander stepped out from behind the tree, slowly, hands high in the air.

  “Whooop!” shot out of Sam’s mouth as she dropped to her ass onto the ground. Before the gunman could react, Xander pulled his pistol from his hip like he was in an old Western showdown and put two bullets somewhere around the torso area of the only figure left standing. After a moment, he was standing no more. Xander went to Sam and pulled her up from the dirt.

  “You okay?”

  “Never better. I told you that would bloody work.”

  “Indeed you did, Sammy. Let’s take out the rest of these assholes. We’re falling behind schedule.”

  27

  Life’s a Beach

  Xander and Sam worked their way around the back side of the jeep. The two gunmen still were not visible, but the small spark the bullets they were shooting made as they left their machine guns indicated their position just on the other side of the vehicle. Sam crouched as she moved around the back of the jeep, and Xander scampered toward the front. As he peeked over the hood, he spotted two men firing across the beach toward his team. As he raised his gun, two more shots entered the fray and their guns ceased firing. When Xander looked up again, the moonlight showed Sam in a combat stance with her pistol extended, and the two men lay dead in front of her.

  “You’re going to have to be much quicker than that, Mr. King, if you wish to keep up.”

  Sam was in her element. As much as she loved finding and setting up assassination missions for Xander, she was, like he was, a field agent at heart.

  Xander whistled to the guys and ordered them to hold their fire. The two of them secured the perimeter around the jeep and made sure there would be no more surprises. They made their way across the beach toward the boat, and about halfway there Xander caught wind of a scent that made his stomach drop. He stopped dead in his tracks, about twenty yards from the boat.

  “What is it?” Sam asked. Xander didn’t answer right away. Then the smell hit her as well. “Bollocks, is that—is that gasoline?”

  “Shit! X-man, we got a problem.”

  Sean’s voice traveled from behind the boat with the continuous sounds of the ocean. Xander knew immediately what problem he was speaking of. One of the stray bullets from the two gunmen had punctured the gas tank of the boat. They were lucky it didn’t blow. He walked around to the back where Sean stood, dumbfounded, staring at the gasoline that was leaking steadily from the back of the speedboat.

  “Ah, for God’s sake! What the bloody hell are we to do now?” James sounded off, seemingly mesmerized by the draining out of the gasoline. Xander wasn’t as enamored, and he quickly pulled himself up inside the boat to begin searching for something to plug the hole.

  “Xander?” Kyle called out. Xander didn’t answer as he continued to search the inside of the boat. “Hey, X!” He called out a little louder this time.

  “Not now. We have to stop this leak or this mission is over.”

  “Are the bullets in our machine guns bigger than the bullets those guys were shooting?” Kyle asked despite Xander’s plea.

  Xander stood from his crouched position inside the boat, and the light of the moon revealed his confused and frustrated expression as he peered down at Kyle. “I told you, I have to . . .” Then he paused to consider. “You son of a bitch! And you thought you wouldn’t be any help on this mission.” A smile came across Xander’s face.

  “I don’t get it,” James said.

  Xander hopped down out of the boat onto the sand below. “You don’t? MacGyver here just saved this mission.”

  James looked perplexed. Xander gave Kyle a pat on the back as he whirled his machine gun around his shoulder and into his hands. Without saying a word, he ejected a bullet into the air and caught it in his hand. He walked over to the hole in the boat where the gunman’s bullet had entered and shoved the tip of his bullet as far into it as he could. He once again took the machine gun into his hands, and using the butt of it like a hammer he gently tapped the back end of the bullet until it wedged itself inside the hole, sealing it, completely stopping the leaking gasoline. He turned back toward the group with a smile on his face and walked over to Kyle for their signature three sideways claps and fist bump.

  “Ho-ly shit,” rolled out of Sean’s mouth. “You sexy sum bitch! Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “You really think that will hold?” James interjected.

  “Do we really have a choice?” Xander answered.

  “Of course we do. If we get out there and that thing leaks again, we are dead. All of us.”

  “James, you are absolutely right. You’d better stay here and wait for us to bring Khatib back.”

  “Xander, I—”

  “Save it. We are leaving. It’s up to you whether you stay or go.”

  “There is no way you can do this without my gun,” James replied.

  Xander looked around to the others. All of them, including Sam, nodded their commitment to moving on, with or without James and his gun. Xander walked over to James and stood inches from his face, saying nothing. James continued, “Your arrogance will get you killed, or worse, one of your friends killed.”

  Sean stepped over to them.

  “It’ll hold, and if it don’t, oh well . . .” Sean took some sand in his hand and let it fall out through his fingers slowly as he smiled and added, “Life’s a beach, then you die!”

  “James, you seem to be the only one worried about it,” Xander said, holding his
position.

  “No, I am just the only one with balls enough to stand up to your madness, apparently.” James took a step back. Xander took a step forward.

  Sam stepped in.

  “That’s enough! We don’t have time for this! James, are you in or out? Either way, we are going to finish what we came here to do. The bullet will hold. If it doesn’t, we will figure out something else. You of all people, James, should understand how important it is to rid the world of Khatib. Forget Xander’s reasons, remember all the evil you have seen over the years as you have been watching him. Remember? Remember?”

  James didn’t answer; he just held Xander’s gaze.

  “We do need your gun, but we will do this without you if we must,” Sam finished.

  After another brief silence, James turned away from Xander and pulled a roll of duct tape out of his bag. He held the tape up to show them and made a sort of “I told you, you need me” face. As he applied the tape across the back of the bullet, Xander shouldered his gun.

  “Okay . . . all right. Way to be a part of the solution instead of a part of the problem.”

  “Let’s git this bad boy in the water!” Sean bellowed as he walked around to the nose of the boat and began to push. Everyone else pitched in.

  Xander took position beside Sean and looked him in the eye, a small hook of a smile on his face.

  “Life’s a beach? Really?”

  Sean laughed as he continued to push the boat toward the water.

  For the first time, Xander let doubt creep in. James’s negativity was already putting a strain on the team. But was he right? Would the bullet hold? Could they do this without his gun? Xander pushed the boat toward the gently crashing waves. He didn’t like being unsure of things. Sam usually made certain the odds were entirely slanted in his favor. It had just been impossible to do that for this mission. She had warned him against that from the beginning. He also wasn’t used to worrying about others and their survival. It added a monumental amount of stress to the situation, which wasn’t good for any of them. Was he making a mistake? Was he leading them to their deaths? The water rushed up around his feet as they forced the boat to the water’s edge. With one final straining push, the boat became easier to move, almost weightless as the water helped ease the friction from the sand. Sam pulled herself up first; then the rest of them followed one by one until they were all aboard and the boat began to float out to sea on its own. Kyle took a seat behind the wheel, cranked up the engine, and the craft roared into the night and out over the water. Kyle gave Xander a nod as he pushed the throttle forward and turned the boat north, in the direction of Khatib’s compound.