Peace - A Navy SEALS Novel (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 3)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “We don’t do that, Peace,” Chuck replied quietly.

  “Then you should have let me do it.”

  “It wasn’t my call, kid. We need you to go get Julio, before this explodes in our face. We’re on the verge of cracking a Chinese connection with this terrorist pipeline through Mexico. We need Martine working for us as an active participant. He was the contact this Chinese connection used.”

  “I ain’t getting Julio,” Peace stated, standing up to leave.

  “Sit down, kid.”

  “If you have another option, I’ll sit down,” Peace said simply. “If not, we have nothing to talk about.”

  “You’re the only one he trusts implicitly. He said as much while he was recuperating in the hospital, before he found out what we’d done. We have to get to him before he gets to Martine’s daughter. She’s in Mexico City with heavy protection.”

  “Then what do you need me for?”

  “We think he’ll contact you to help him. Frankly, we can’t find him, and after all that’s happened, you can imagine how cooperative Mexico is. Some of the guys heard you swear an oath to help him put the daughter down,” Chuck answered.

  Peace stayed silent. The fact one of the CIA guys had related what had been said at the safe-house meant there was more to this than even Chuck realized. He knew none of the Special Ops guys would have given up the time of day, if it meant exposing Julio or Peace.

  “Well, did you swear it?”

  “In the heat of the moment I may have hinted at something like that,” Peace answered carefully, his mind racing.

  “During or after you offered to slit her throat on the spot, with your knife making little red lines on her Adam’s Apple?”

  “I am unsure of the timeline.”

  “I’ll bet,” Chuck retorted. “We need you to stop him, Peace. It’s as simple as that. Mancuso and Septien are waiting for you in Puerto Vallerta. You’ll go in, if he contacts you, as a tourist. We have your passport and everything you’ll need in this envelope.”

  Chuck handed Peace a bulging manila envelope, as Peace sat back down slowly.

  “And if he doesn’t contact me?”

  “Same deal, only you go directly to Senorita Matuse in Mexico City. One of the stipulations of our agreement with the Colonel is he does a video call with her every other day. He knows nothing about Julio. If we have to send you directly to Mexico City… well… she knows you.”

  “Why would the Colonel be convinced his daughter will live for more than ten minutes after we get what we want from him?” Peace asked, as he glanced inside the packet.

  “We agreed to a fail safe,” Chuck replied. “If anything happens to her, our operations will be compromised to the world press.”

  “Shrewd,” Peace grimaced, running a hand through his hair.

  “Who knows the fail safe parameters?”

  “Senorita Matuse,” Chuck replied, suddenly sitting up. “What’s going on in that devious mind of yours, kid? That we would allow this fail safe at all should illustrate the importance of this mission.”

  “I’m thinking if Julio wants her dead, she’ll be dead, and your fail safe could end in an international crisis.”

  “Now you know why we’re praying he contacts you. It will be very soon, probably in the next twenty-four hours. We don’t think he can get to her without your help.”

  “Wishful thinking,” Peace sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes. “He could be slicing her up as we speak, not that I’d lose any sleep over it.”

  “Look, I know how this must seem…”

  “You don’t have a clue,” Peace cut him off. “One second you guys are holding all the cards, and the next, you’re flat broke and busted. Julio has a future down South. He could have been our ticket to a real political plus in Mexico. We could have nuked the rest of these jerks from orbit.”

  “It’s just not that black and white, Peace, and you know it.”

  “It was until you took a simple template, and turned it into Zardoz.”

  “Zardoz?” Chuck laughed. “You mean that old movie with Sean Connery, where everything…”

  “…was a big complicated circle jerk,” Peace finished.

  “They made that movie before you were even born. I…”

  “I thought we were growing a set of brass balls, not castrating ourselves,” Peace cut in disgustedly.

  “Let’s quit fighting this out line by line, Peace,” Chuck replied. “We can’t force you to help us, but you might be able to talk some sense into Julio.”

  “What if he sees no sense in it at all?”

  “You have to stop him by any means necessary,” Chuck stated, pouring another double. “He can’t get to the Colonel’s daughter without your help. We’ve cleared this with your Commander Jessup. He knows you may have to leave at a moment’s notice.”

  “Are we done here?”

  “Will you do it?”

  “I may say yes now, and no later,” Peace answered honestly.

  “We’ll have to take that chance. You always told me you owed America. Well…”

  “Don’t go there, Chuck,” Peace broke in. “If America were a walking, breathing being, Senorita Matuse would be hanging naked, upside down, in a room with cattle prods attached.”

  “What happened to good old America, Mom, and apple pie?”

  “Not a thing, but we don’t get those until we win the war. We don’t owe our enemies shit. Our luck’s running out with these bastards. You think they care about anything except exterminating us? They would have made the Western Seaboard into a wasteland without a backward glance, and we’re worried they might think us cruel if we torture some cold-hearted bitch to save our souls.”

  “Will you do it?” Chuck repeated.

  “I’ll go,” Peace replied, standing up. “I won’t say any more than that.”

  Chuck took out a card and handed it to Peace. “I trust you, kid. No matter how this turns out, if things take a turn for the worse down there, call me at this number. I’ll do what I can.”

  “I might end up on the wrong side of this, Chuck,” Peace replied, taking the card.

  Chuck downed the rest of his drink, looking up tiredly at Peace after a moment. “I remember what you told me your friend Polasky always said: shit happens.”

  “I’ll do what I can.”

  “Lately, that’s been a hell of a lot. I hope the string holds for you.”

  “If it doesn’t, can you make sure there aren’t any repercussions for the rest of the people I’ve dragged into my personal Twilight Zone over the last few months?” Peace asked, as he walked towards the door.

  “I’ll do what I can.”

  Peace grinned back at Chuck. “See you on the other side.”

  Chuck held up his newly refilled glass. “Until that time, kid, until that time.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Matuse Mission

  Jill sat at the kitchen table sipping a cup of tea as Peace walked in. Jill stood up awkwardly, still coming to terms with a sudden fifteen pound surge in her weight. She wore a dark blue pullover dress, made of a stretch fabric, which hugged her form. The hem of the dress ended at her thigh. Her blonde hair falling loosely over the side of her face, Jill leaned provocatively on the table top with one hand, while turning to show her side to an admiring Peace. He could see the dress was the only thing she wore, other than the slippers on her feet. Peace walked over, and enfolded her in his arms, running his hand up gently over her belly.

  “Wow,” Peace whispered, nuzzling Jill’s neck. “You look gorgeous.”

  “I was feeling fat and hideous today, so I wanted to see if you thought I was too,” Jill replied softly, running her hand down over Peace’s stomach. “I guess you really don’t think so. Ed and Nancy are still at the restaurant, and we have an hour before we have to go shopping for more fat clothes. Wanna’ fool around.”

  In answer to her question, Peace swept her up into his arms, and walked quickly towards their bedroom.
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  Jill looked over at Peace in the dimming light. Peace drove his old Buick towards a mall nearby, where Becky had recommended a maternity store to Jill. As if sensing her attention, Peace looked over and smiled. Returning his attention to the road ahead, he reached over with his right hand, and stroked Jill’s thigh.

  “That was intense,” Jill said, putting her hand over his.

  “You mean my driving?”

  “You know what I mean,” Jill laughed, slapping his hand.

  “What did you expect, greeting me like a common trollop?” Peace answered with his own question, Jill gasped in mock anger, folding her arms over her chest, and looking away.

  “So, now I’m a trollop?” Jill asked, haughtily turning her head up slightly. “Do I need to remind you I am the mother of… Peace… what’s wrong?”

  Peace had gripped the steering wheel with both hands tightly, as he glanced to his left, out of the driver’s side window. Jill leaned back slightly so as to see what her husband’s attention was riveted on as they pulled up at a red light. Beside them, idled some kind of boxy looking brown vehicle, Jill did not recognize. When the light turned green, the brown vehicle sped in front of Peace’s Buick. To Jill’s surprise, Peace followed the vehicle down a number of side roads. She stayed quiet, watching curiously as Peace came to a stop behind the vehicle, turning off his lights. A man, dressed in jeans, wearing a black windbreaker and a Padres baseball cap, exited the driver’s side of the vehicle. He walked with a slight limp to the driver’s side rear door of the Buick. Peace unlocked it, and the man slipped inside, closing the door behind him.

  “Ah, Poncho, aren’t you going to introduce me?”

  “Si, Cisco,” Peace replied, grasping the man’s extended hand as he turned to face him over the seat. “It is very good to see you, my friend. This is my wife, Jill. Jill meet my occasional partner, and very fine friend, Julio.”

  Jill grasped Julio’s hand, smiling warmly back at the man. “I’m glad to meet you, Julio.”

  “It is my honor to meet you, Senora. I see you have a new family member on the way.”

  “Peace was just about to take me shopping for some new fat clothes,” Jill said simply, as Julio chuckled and nodded his head in understanding.

  “Senora, would you allow your husband to converse with me in my little Rover?”

  “Of course,” Jill replied, icy fear making her skin tingle, and the hair at the nape of her neck stiffen.

  Peace gathered her into his arms across the seat, and kissed her gently. “Be right back, Hon.”

  When the two men were seated inside the Rover, Julio leaned back with a contented sigh. “You are a very lucky man, amigo.”

  “You know, of course, you have the whole CIA looking for you, right Cisco?”

  “Ah, Poncho, I do indeed; but as you can see, they are looking in the wrong places.”

  Peace laughed in appreciation, shaking his head. “Chuck just…”

  “I know, my brother,” Julio interrupted. “I have had Chuck staked out for the last couple of days, waiting for him to contact you.”

  Peace looked over at Julio with a new respect. “Damn, Cisco, Chuck’s been around the block a few times. I think you may have taken hiding in plain sight to a new level.”

  “I thought you would appreciate my adlib, as you call it,” Julio replied with a knowing grin.

  “What can I do?”

  “I have a little plan for Senorita Matuse, but I have need of your skills.”

  “I’m supposed to stop you at all costs,” Peace told him truthfully.

  Julio had a 9mm Glock pistol out, and extended to Peace, handle first, an instant later. “Do it now, Poncho, if you wish.”

  Peace smiled. “What can I do?”

  Julio nodded, and returned the pistol to the holster under his jacket. “The Colonel and his daughter are playing our vaunted CIA for suckers. He is not the kingpin he claims to be. I slipped over the border, and went on a little recon of our little Chicano princess. Would you like to take a guess at who she met with, and who also coincidentally is supplying her bodyguards?”

  “I am surprised you allowed her to live,” Peace commented. “If you were so close as to take notes, why not take your revenge?”

  “Some things cannot be rushed, amigo,” Julio sighed, leaning back in his seat. He chuckled, and grinned over at Peace in the dim light.

  “She played the little lost whore mistress very well, did she not?”

  “A little too well, my friend. So, who did she meet up with?”

  “General Cortez.”

  Peace whistled. “The chief of the Mexican armed forces?”

  “He agreed, with seeming reluctance, to watch over Senorita Matuse, and keep her safe,” Julio continued. “All the while having his little joke at the United States’ expense.”

  “Why not go through channels with this?” Peace asked. “We could…”

  “Cortez would be warned, and a lot of people would die on both sides of the border,” Julio interrupted.

  “What could he do?”

  “Cause a massive conflagration between China and the United States, leaving an opening for the Al Queda sleeper cells in America to strike. Mexico would be in a heightened position if such a tragedy were to happen. Many of your special-forces units would be the first casualties if such a plan came to fruition. The Colonel will influence an ill-advised attack on the Chinese, setting in motion the first step.”

  “Jesus H. Christ Palomino,” Peace whispered. “How the hell did you find out something like this, and how can you be sure?”

  “The Chief of Staff for General Cortez contacted my people in Mexico City. They owe allegiance to me. I have spread CIA money around, as requested, to set up a lucrative information gathering team there. Cortez’ Chief of Staff, Juan Castilliano has been the recipient of a healthy portion of my seed money. This latest confrontation with the US over dirty bombs and viral contagion convinced him he needs to do more than simply report after the fact.”

  “Too bad he didn’t let us in on all this before.”

  “I don’t believe he knew. I met with him for the first time three days ago, at the behest of a servant in his household who works for me, and has been our go between,” Julio replied. “He believes Cortez capable of anything, including instigating a nuclear war.”

  “Did he know about Martine?” Peace asked.

  “No,” Julio sighed. “He was very apologetic when he learned what had happened to bring the intervention with the tanker. He was unaware of the terrorist connection with Cortez and Martine. He thought the whole thing was the usual drug dealings over the border.”

  “Why trust him now? Castilliano could be playing on your feelings for Senorita Matuse.”

  “I left out my personal dealings with the Senorita,” Julio explained. “It all makes sense.”

  “Okay, what’s your plan?”

  “We slip down tonight. Castilliano will supply us with details of where the General will be in the open next. You will eliminate him.”

  “Julio,” Peace said, some confusion apparent in his voice. “How in hell will that help us, even if we can pull it off?”

  “Once he is dead, I will be in position to snatch the Senorita in the confusion,” Julio replied with a wave of his hand. “Her bodyguards will hear of such an execution immediately. They will have no reason to remain with her.”

  “I’d need a spotter for a gig like that, Cisco,” Peace said. “I can’t just…”

  “Septien will be spotting for you. Mancuso will be with me.”

  Peace sat up straight, surprise evident on his face, even in the dim light of the Rover. “Holy shit, they’re supposed to be watching for you to surface so they can take you out. Now, you’re telling me they’re in on this with you? Next, you’ll be telling me Dave… no… no, no, no, you ain’t serious?”

  Julio had begun laughing to himself, and nodding at Peace. “Dave and Ibrim will be our listening station after you put a bullet betw
een Cortez’ eyes. They will make certain the bodyguards get the information quickly.”

  “You know where our little hot tamale is then?”

  “Of course,” Julio answered. “I am a hard dog to fool twice.” Peace sat silently for a moment, before speaking.

  “When do we go?”

  “Can your wife make it back home without you now?”

  “Jesus,” Peace whispered, as he opened his door to get out. “It’s not fatigue that makes cowards of us all, it’s love. I will be right back. If I end up driving away instead, Cisco, do not follow me.”

  “Understood, Poncho,” Julio replied, grasping Peace’s shoulder briefly.

  Peace slipped into the driver’s seat of his Buick, taking Jill into his arms, as she burst into tears.

  “I…I’m su…such a baby,” Jill sobbed, clinging to Peace with all her strength.

  “Don’t ever say that,” Peace whispered. “Even Wonder Woman cries once in a while. Can you drive the Buick home?”

  Jill pushed away from Peace, and took a handkerchief out of her purse. After drying her eyes, and blowing her nose, Jill grasped her husband’s hands in her own.

  “You bet, Wolvy,” Jill replied. “Don’t forget the way home, my love.”

  “I won’t, baby,” Peace promised, kissing her gently on the mouth.

  “What should I tell the others?”

  “Nothing,” Peace answered firmly. “If you have to, call your Dad for help in keeping people away. I don’t think it will come to that, but don’t hesitate if it does. Ed, Dan, and Bull will believe the worst no matter what you say, so just frustrate them to the best of your ability. One word replies always work the best.”

  “They’ll skin you alive when you get back,” Jill said, patting his hand.

  “You won’t let them. We super heroes stick together. Just let them try and hurt me in front of Wonder Woman.”

  “I don’t feel much like Wonder Woman right now,” Jill replied, letting Peace take her into his arms again.

  “You know where my notebook computer is, Hon. I put in all the information you’ll need about my accounts under your maiden name.” Peace kissed Jill passionately for a long moment, and then he pulled away, opening the door. Stepping out, as Jill slid over into the driver’s seat, Peace cupped Jill’s chin briefly through the open window, kissing her forehead.