“You wanna tell me what I’ve done, officers? Is there a law against camping?”
As he turned back to face the light, he heard someone whisper, “That’s Gunny.”
So someone was military, or at least they hung out with military.
“You’re no fuckin’ camper. Where are your friends?” the officer asked.
“Back at the gym.”
Someone in the crowd snickered and was silenced.
“Mind telling me what’s going on?” Gunny persisted.
“There were two murders out this way we’re investigating.”
“Gents, do you mind? I’m not a well man. I’m standing here in my underwear. You caught me taking a piss, and then I was going to go back to bed and sleep off a hangover.” He squinted and nodded at the array of lights. “I sure as hell didn’t kill anybody. At least not tonight, anyways.”
Gunny was glad he had thought to remove his pants down to his aloha shorts. Barefoot and bare chested. Hardly a threat.
“Fellas, I’ve had a bad day. I’m a little plastered, and no threat to anybody.”
“That’s for fucking sure.” A smooth-shaven, handsome, square-jawed officer in a light tan uniform strode to up to Gunny and gave him a sniff. The officer waved and immediately half the lights cut out. “You don’t smell like you’ve been on a bender, Gunny.”
“I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“Not nearly as well as you’re going to.” The officer exhaled and stepped back, looking Gunny up and down. “You like pain, Gunny?”
Gunny tried to stand as straight as he could, but the cuffs hindered him. “I’m Gunnery Sergeant First Class Joseph Hoskins to you, sir.”
The officer hit Gunny on the kneecap with his baton. Gunny went down like a sack of bricks, hitting his head in the gravel, which caused a gash on his forehead just above his right eye.
“Hold on, Warren. You got no cause to do that. He’s a local and well known to have no ties to any drug dealing.”
Gunny didn’t recognize the voice, but the boots told him the man was not military and but local law.
“Well, he’s in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the lawman they called Warren noted.
“I’ll admit that. But we might need his cooperation.”
Red lights flared as a black Suburban pulled up. Two dark-clothed ATF uniformed officers got out and ran up. The three of them conferred, then broke. The two new men took Gunny into custody, pulling him up and placing him in the second seat of the Suburban.
“Can’t I have my pants? Maybe some shoes?” he yelled from the open door.
“Sure, I’ll get them.” A minute later his clothes were placed on the bench seat next to Gunny, who was still handcuffed, but now seat belted in. Before the Suburban backed up, Gunny heard the special agent tell Warren to wait for someone to come back and claim the babe mobile.
“I already know who it belongs to,” Warren said.
“So why didn’t you tell me? This guy owns this rig?” the ATF officer asked.
“Nope. It belongs to Cooper, one of Kyle Lansdowne’s friends. And Coop was seen driving it off the base tonight.”
“We got to get back to the fire. Don’t touch anything inside. If they don’t come in an hour, see if you can secure it and get back to town.”
“What if there’s another homicide at the fire? I got jurisdiction.”
The agent stepped to within a three inches of Warren’s face and chest. “And how the hell would you know there was another body at the fire?”
“That’s no fire, and you know it. That was an explosion. Like a military explosion.”
“Fine. You wanna go back to the fire with us? Okay by me. But in your position, I’d be pretty darned pleased with the opportunity to catch up on my sleep. This hits the press and tomorrow you won’t have two minutes to yourself.”
“I’ll post a guard. But I think I could be more help to you at the scene. Who knows, maybe Gunny will start to feel talkative.”
Kyle couldn’t believe they were all leaving. All except one young deputy sheriff, who looked like he belonged in one of Cooper’s scout troops. The kid was barely legal age and skinny as the saplings they’d been hiding behind.
After a quiet darkness descended on the area, Kyle got up behind the young lawman and whispered in his ear, “I don’t want to hurt you. Just going to tie you up.”
The kid tried to turn around, but Kyle had him in a choke hold.
“Nah, uh, uh. That’ll get you into trouble. You’re going to see my face soon enough, but not tonight, hear?”
The kid nodded.
“Good boy.” Kyle patted his head. He had already secured the boy’s wrists with a zip tie. “You remember when you used to play Pin the Tail?”
The boy nodded.
“Just like that. Although I trust you, I’m going to make sure you don’t cheat.” Kyle applied a black nylon tape across the boy’s eyes. “Sorry, but it will pull out some eyebrows. Keep your eyes closed and it won’t get your eyelashes. They don’t grow back.”
Kyle could feel the kid flinch at the thought of going through the rest of his courting life like a hairless freak. He sat the boy down next to a tree stump, then removed his service revolver and knife.
Cooper was going to say something, but Kyle put his finger to his lips. He brought his two rolled up fists together, then pointed to the van. Cooper climbed inside to jump the vehicle for their getaway.
Kyle and Fredo carefully lifted Mia into the back, placing her on the bed. Fredo looked down on her like it was the first time he’d seen a naked girl. He found a clean sheet, placed it over her brown flesh, and patted her thigh.
“You’re safe now, honey. You warm enough?”
She nodded, but was shaking and biting her lip. Fredo placed a blanket over her, and she smiled back up at him.
Kyle and Cooper ran back to where they’d left the RTVs.
Cooper was walking around the little toys, their shiny surfaces glistening in the moonlight. Kyle could tell he was admiring them. The Nebraska team guy was a man who loved his toys and gadgets even more than his women, Kyle thought.
“We can’t bring them.”
“How about one?”
Kyle thought about it. He’d seen a steep drop around one of the curves Cooper had driven past on their way out. “Okay, one. But one we gotta dump and burn.”
He knew it was going to break Cooper’s heart to see a perfectly good vehicle ruined, but there was no way around it. They needed just a little time as well as the possibility of sending a message to Timmons for help, maybe draw off some of the heat. A fire would do that.
“I’ll need a ravine, Coop. Something flashy,” Kyle said.
“Got just the spot.” Cooper started his RTV and took off. Kyle was glad his started right up because Cooper was already out of sight. He followed the filtered headlight he saw through the trees.
Coop revved up the RTV and sent it over the edge with a small explosive charge on it. When it hit the creek bottom it burst into a fireball, sending a long fiery tail up into the dark sky.
Kyle hopped on behind Cooper and they hauled ass off toward the hauler.
Time to get the fuck out of Dodge.
Everything was quiet when they got back, except for the hauler’s purring motor. They could hear Mia, inside, talking to Fredo. She was fully awake, but seemed to be in pain.
Cooper lowered the rear of his van and had pulled the other RTV inside, then pushed the button to roll up the door. Kyle saw the look of appreciation on the farm boy’s face.
“Thanks, boss. You let me have the red one.”
“Sure hope it was the right choice,” Kyle laughed as they ran to the door.
“Don’t matter,” Coop said as he resumed his driver duties. “It was a steal.”
The hauler came to life and they motored out of the forest without revving the engine. They had parked on a slight knoll, so they were able to slide down the hill quietly and drive away to safety.
“Coop. I need you to look at her. She’s blistering and starting to shiver. I think it’s shock,” Kyle shouted up the aisle to Cooper. They switched places just before they hit the main road. To the right were some distant lights. Kyle donned his night vision goggles, killed the hauler’s headlights and turned left, back toward the coast. With the goggles, he had no trouble following the road and saw every raccoon, deer, and possum along the way.
Later, they pulled up to San Diego General Hospital emergency room. Kyle ran inside, then returned, followed by two attendants with a gurney. Mia was carefully unloaded to the gurney and taken inside.
“We gotta split. Can’t have us here like sitting ducks,” Kyle said. “I’ll call her mom and get her over here.”
The horizon was beginning to glow, indicating sunrise was a couple of hours away, as the three team guys drove toward Coronado. Kyle started to feel the weight of their nearly twenty-four-hour shift. But it was a momentary lull. He’d learned in his training he could stay up for as many as three or four days in a row with just a couple of catnaps in between. Trick was to push through the low energy phase until he got his second wind back. And it would come back. It always did. He would need it today.
Kyle dialed Mama Guzman on the phone while Coop drove the babe mobile to where Fredo’s car was parked along the strip. He’d let it in the two hour parking in front of Jimmy’s Bar and Grill. Sure enough, Fredo had earned a ticket, just like they’d planned. Fredo and Kyle got into Fredo’s car and headed back to base, Cooper tight on their tail in the hauler. At the base, while Cooper waited in the van down the block, Fredo and Kyle drove Fredo’s car past the guard shack to check who was on duty.
They were in luck. Carlisle wasn’t around anywhere. They checked through, drove to the parking area, and waited for Coop, who passed through the guard gate without incident and parked the van where he usually did, then secured it. He wore Fredo and Kyle’s duty bags on him like hauling a couple of spare oars on his back. Behind the locked and guarded gate, local officials would have to maneuver through the minefield of the Navy’s paperwork to get permission to search the vehicle. And Timmons could perhaps run interference, delaying the process further.
There wouldn’t be any evidence of foul play since Cooper had sent the bloody sheets with Mia to the emergency room. Kyle figured nothing else there would tie them to the firefight or rescue.
They stopped at a breakfast café near the beach that catered to surfers and an occasional team guy still up from a night of raising hell. The sunlight shining on the water hurt Kyle’s eyes. He wanted a shower. He wanted to be tucked in and warmed by Christy’s smooth flesh.
God, it had been hours since he’d thought about Christy. And he couldn’t help it now. This was the quiet before a shit-kicking storm that was about to come down on all of them. But one look from her, one kiss, would sure feel nice. She was good for him. Just that he was bad news for her.
And that was exactly why he needed to stay away.
He dug into his Mickey Mouse pancakes, delivered with a smirk by the waitress named Dottie, who could have been their grandmother. Fredo and Coop took turns punching him in the arm.
“Glad you’re back to your old self,” Cooper said. The cook had learned long ago Kyle loved pancakes with mouse ears and chocolate chips. And four extra mini pitchers of syrup. He ate lots of chocolate and sweets when he was stressed.
Fredo was having huevos rancheros, while Cooper stuck with his usual: oatmeal and a bacon and egg scramble.
The coffee was thick like oil but it tasted good, and they knew the caffeine would keep them awake until noon. That and the sugar rush.
“You gotta call Timmons, man,” Fredo said.
“I intend to.”
“He’s probably worn a hole in that floor by now.”
Kyle nodded and considered Fredo’s statement. “Hope he hasn’t gotten any flack from upstairs. We aren’t the most popular team around, you know.”
“Wonder how Gunny’s holding up,” Cooper said, hanging his jaw in a frown. He motioned toward the last pitcher of syrup that had been only half drained.
Kyle nodded. “Best thing for him is to learn we made it out alive,” Kyle said.
“I’ll do that,” Fredo eagerly volunteered.
“Fredo, you and Gunny mind meld or something? Where the hell are you going to find him?”
Fredo stretched and then rolled his head, setting off several loud cracks from the back of his neck. “I’m feeling the need for a workout, boys. They’ll know down at the gym.”
“Without him, it’ll be closed.”
“Nah, he’ll ask someone to open it for him. He won’t let the boys miss a day of PT. He lives for that shit.”
Fredo signed with the “loser” signal with his thumb and index finger attached to his forehead, then got up and left the café. Cooper was scooping the last of Kyle’s maple syrup into his yogurt with a knife.
Cooper looked up at Kyle and said, “Can’t give you a lift anywhere, unless you want to ride with me on the scooter.”
“No worries. I’m walking, not going far.”
Kyle looked out at the water. He’d have liked to spend the day in the warm sand with Christy, holding hands and anything else he could get away with holding. Kissing her and making her blush, making her moan.
He’d bring her here. Watch the wind in her hair and wipe the sleep out of her eyes. She’d look beautiful in that crazy-tired way. They’d have explored each other’s bodies all night and not tired of it. They’d feed each other like they had a million golden days like this left. Like their pasts didn’t matter. Like everything was in the future.
Cooper’s clicking fingers brought him back.
“Fredo’s right, boss. You’re dreamin’ all the time now. She that special?”
“Yeah, she is. More than I deserve.” Kyle took his last huge bite of pancake that dripped with syrup. It was almost too much to swallow at once. “And I treated her like shit.”
Cooper’s blue eyes studied Kyle’s face. Kyle could feel the examination, the evaluation going on. Did he look like a fuckup now to this loyal team member? Did Coop doubt Kyle had the stones to see this mission through? Now that he might have something else to live for?
No. Cooper still believed in him. Probably more than he did.
But now it was time for work. “I better call Timmons,” Kyle said.
After Kyle’s buddies took off, he called his chief.
“Kyle, I got incoming from all directions,” Timmons said. “They’ve got three fucking bodies and even the feds screaming at me, telling me I got a rogue killer on my hands. Tell me something I’m not going to have to resign over.”
“Only one body that I know of. He was killed by his own men. Who are the other two?”
“Two shot in the head, out in the forest. One in the house, burned all to hell. Can’t make out ID yet.”
So they offed their own gunmen. That would cost them some loyalty, if anyone left had any balls at all. Leaving a man behind was bad enough. Killing your own men to set someone else up, unthinkable in the SEAL community. A desperate act.
“Timmons, there’s a dirty cop involved. You need to be very careful who you level with.”
“Shit, Kyle. Don’t fuckin’ tell me who I can and can’t talk to. Where the hell is Armando?”
“I don’t know.”
Timmons swore, then Kyle heard a crash and shatter. Timmons probably had kicked the frog statue the team had spent $300 for last year at Christmas.
“Mia is safe, sir.”
“Mia? Armando’s sister?”
“The same. She was in the explosion. Not in real good shape. But we got her to the ER and I called her mom.”
“Good work, son.”
“Gunny’s been arrested.”
“Fuck me. He’s on his own. Nothing I can do about that. How did that happen?”
&n
bsp; “We went in for Armando and left Gunny with the van. The ATF took him. Not that I like it, but I think he’s safe in their custody. Can you find out where he’s being held?”
“I’ll try.”
“The dead guys. Can you find out who they are, Timmons?” He gave his chief the license plate numbers from the Suburbans.
There was silence on the other end of the line. “Have to be careful,” Timmons finally said. “You don’t want anything to get through to Carlisle, right?”
“Carlisle? What’s he got to do with this?” Kyle couldn’t imagine the guard would be anywhere near anything dangerous. And this situation was fucking dangerous.
“Got himself assigned to the local squad as the Navy liaison. I’m supposed to go through him, can you imagine it? That asshole? Fancies himself as a policeman some day. He’s making real nice with the County dudes.”
“I’ll bet. Can just see him busting sailors’ chops and getting paid for it.”
“I’d like to find him dirty, Kyle. He smells dirty. We could get him bounced. He has been a pain in my side for years. And for every one of my guys. Especially my guys.”
“What’s the story?”
“Not today. Someday I’ll tell you. So, what’s the plan?
“I gotta get back to my Hummer.” But then Kyle thought about the night before and of the man shot in the cabin. “The dirty cop’s name is Warren something. I’m thinking now he shot that dude with an MP5. I think these guys are hooked up with some ex-military. They’ve got equipment.”
“This Warren shot the one in the fire?”
“Yeah.”
“How does Armando look?”
“He’s messed up. They injected him with heroin, I think. And beat him pretty bad.”
“Wonder what the hell they want.”
“I’m guessing his cooperation. You know they’re recruiting from the Special Forces. Recruiting for gang members to help run drugs, train the bad guys, get the special equipment. With Armani’s history…”
“Yes I thought about that. Last time he was busted for the drunk in public, it nearly cost him his position on the teams.”
“And I’m glad for my sake you went to bat for him.”
Accidental SEAL (SEAL Brotherhood #1) Page 15