“From what I’ve heard, some of the guys play around a lot. Father children all over the place. Many of them lack good judgement. Don’t get yourself caught, Marcy. Be careful.”
“I might be stupid, but I believe Lucas. I really do,” admitted Marcy.
“Some women aren’t made for this lifestyle. I might not have been very good at it, actually.”
“I don’t know much about the community. Maybe you can help me there. All I know is Lucas is on her list. She seems to genuinely hate him. I feel sorry for those kids. Just too bad what she’s doing.”
“They’re pretty intense. But I remember I asked one of the wives about them before Nick and I got married one time when I visited—have you been to any of their get-togethers?”
“No. This happened so fast. I mean, we’re only at day three here.”
“Right. I forget, Marcy. They rarely let in outsiders, so having you here, involved with him like this, well, it brings you into the inner circle. They have a funny way about them, a code. You’re either in, or you’re out. You’re in, Marcy, and Connie is out. But none of the guys will date her. If she’s out, she’s out.”
“It just seems over the top.”
Devon laughed. “In the beginning, I thought so, too. I mean, Nick seemed just like a total asshole at first. So full of himself. But boy, when we got involved, man did sparks fly.”
Marcy felt her cheeks pink up again.
“You have to love the way they live, their intensity. Sometimes they’re right on, and sometimes they have shit for brains.” Devon continued. “They get all this training, all this fantastic equipment. They pretty much feel invincible. Hard for them when they come home. The wives are taking care of everything, running the house, paying the bills, and then he comes home and suddenly he’s the king. All she wants to do is get some help. Especially with the kids.”
“Makes sense. Connie more or less told me the same thing.” Marcy was hesitant to ask Devon so she started softly. “You guys going to try anytime soon, Devon?”
“Have been. It will happen when it happens. At least I don’t have to try to space the births around deployments, like some of the other wives do.”
“Impossible.” Marcy shook her head. How did women handle all that, not knowing if their men would come home? But she realized it was what women and families of soldiers have to deal with all the time. Always been that way for those who chose to love warriors, not a stock broker, insurance man, or another realtor.
“So what’s her main beef with Lucas?”
“I think the tipping point was a bachelor party, and some of the pictures taken were a little revealing.” Marcy giggled. “They had some dancers and such.”
“Strippers,” interrupted Devon. “Seems to be a custom for these guys. I don’t even ask what Nick’s party was like.”
“Well this one was worse, from what I understand.”
Devon frowned.
“Someone posted them on Facebook, and when Connie saw them, she flipped out.”
“You can be sure I didn’t check Nick’s FB page for a month afterward.”
“Smart. But, honestly, I think Connie didn’t want anything coming between her and Lucas. I think she began to resent the Navy, resent his closeness to the other team guys, perhaps asking him to choose between her and the brotherhood.”
“Ouch! Not smart.”
“Just my guess, Dev. So when Lucas didn’t agree or side with her, I think she decided she was done. I hate to think it’s about the money she’ll make with the sale of the house, but you know, Devon, I couldn’t even rule that out. She’s one of the meanest people I’ve ever met.”
“And you have to deal with her?”
“I think I’m handing the listing over to someone else.”
“Probably wise. I mean, I can only imagine what would happen if she found out—”
“Gives me chills, Dev. Not looking forward to that.”
“And you have to drive his truck all the way back to San Diego, too?”
Marcy shrugged.
“How is the market down there?”
“Going gangbusters. That’s why I have to get back. Been one of the busiest times I’ve had. How about you?”
“You know what they say. How do you make a small fortune in the wine business? Start with a large fortune and you’ll soon have a small fortune.”
They shared a laugh.
“Everything I saved and did has gone into the winery. We start crush soon, fingers crossed for nice temperate weather for harvest. Hoping we get a good yield and the grapes are better than last year. We’re at year five now. Another two to go and we’ll know.”
“Are you still selling real estate as much as before?”
“As much as I can. But Nick needs my help here, too. I represent some big investors who are buying right now, so that part’s been good for me. We have investors too, some of the SEAL families are part owners, so that takes the burden off, but adds the pressure to turn a profit.”
Marcy looked around the house, hearing the crickets through the screens overlooking the patio. The large harvest moon was just rising over the vineyards in the distance. It was a special evening. Felt like the calm before the storm, for some reason, and she was grateful her college friend could give her the time to just sit and chat.
“You own a little piece of Heaven, Devon.”
“That we do. Sophie, Nick’s sister, always said so, and she was right. I wouldn’t trade my lifestyle for anywhere else in the world. I’d like to raise my family here one day. I’d love this to be a Northern California Wine Retreat for SEALs and their families.”
“Wouldn’t that be something?”
Chapter 14
‡
LUCAS WAS MET at the airport by Jake and Alex. The warm night air smelled of the salty inlet, something he’d forgotten he missed.
“So what’s up with your truck, man?” Jake asked as Lucas climbed into the second seat of the Hummer.
“It’s getting driven back in the next day or two. Kyle wanted me back here ASAP. You tell me, what the fuck’s going on?”
“All shit is hitting the fan. We got a lot of chatter about some groups all over the U.S. They’re making us do some specialized training with the guys from Little Creek. Team 6 uncovered some stuff in Turkey. And someone tried to take out a military surgeon on vacation in Oregon with his family. They were just camping.”
Lucas felt guilty he’d been so head over heels loving Marcy, he hadn’t been watching the news. Other than X-rated movies, international news was as popular as sports at the bachelor pad.
“Everyone okay?”
“Cut up, especially his wife, but the kids were okay. Lucky thing he was carrying a gun, though he’ll get written up for it.” Jake drove them in the opposite direction of the apartment.
“You’re shitting me,” Lucas said.
“Federal lands. Not allowed to carry,” Alex said over the back of the seat. “They might not have survived without it, though.”
“That’s messed up,” said Lucas. No one said a word. Lucas noticed they seemed to be headed toward Coronado. “Hey, we going over to the Team Building?”
“Yup,” said Jake.
The injustice of the attack and the fact that the man might get in trouble for defending his family had him fuming. “Just can’t believe they’d actually put a letter in his file.” Lucas continued to shake his head as he watched the lights of the Coronado base come into view.
“Kyle thinks they’ll go light on him, but they have to make note of it.” Jake’s shoulders rounded as he continued, “A very strange world out there, Lucas.”
“That it is. You guys do any training yesterday or day before?” Lucas asked.
“Nope. We start the briefing tonight. Couple of guys coming in tomorrow,” answered Jake.
They passed the guard shack, parked the Hummer, and walked toward the entrance to their building. Kyle was locked in serious conversation with a small group of team guys,
including T.J., Cooper, Tyler, Rory, and Luke. All of them looked up and behind Lucas as the team erupted in a warm welcome for a dark-skinned man wearing western wear, including cowboy boots.
Kyle put his arm around Jake, as he pulled a group of newbies over to introduce them. “This here is the baddest motherfucker on the whole planet.”
The dark-skinned man nodded and looked down at his boots. Though he wasn’t one of the newbies, Lucas had never met the man before, even on his DEVGRU deployment.
In a heavily accented voice, the newcomer answered, “Only when I have you guys at my back, or dropping in like flies all around me. Then I can be very, very brave. By myself, not so much.”
T.J. and Luke came over and gave the man a bear hug. “Come here you lying sonofabitch,” T.J. said to his ear. He made a grand gesture of kissing him on the side of the face. “How the fuck are you?”
“I’m good. My wife’s pregnant again. Hoping to create one of those, how you say, ‘anchor babies’?”
“Why am I not surprised?” Rory Kennedy said.
When T.J. let go of him, Kyle stepped up and repeated the hug. He turned and presented the man to Lucas, Jake, Alex, and several newbies at the end. “This here is Jackie Daniels, our interpreter. We don’t know his real name—”
A couple of the older SEALs started laughing. Lucas hadn’t seen so many white teeth since the last time they’d had a bachelor party and half of them were completely shitfaced. Fredo and Armani entered the warehouse building, along with several others Lucas thought looked like transplants from other teams.
Cooper added his hug to the lineup. “Yeah, if he told us, he’d have to kill us, so we call him Jackie. And T.J.’s right, he’s the baddest motherfucker in the whole Navy.”
“No. Your government will not make me a Navy man. I am working on my citizenship, but soon, they will give it to me, and then I can be a taxi driver like all of my other countrymen.”
Jake stepped forward and shook Jackie’s hand. “Honor to meet you. Heard a lot about you, Mr. Daniels.”
“Jackie,” the interpreter corrected. “Mr. Daniels sounds like some guy who is the principal at my daughter’s school.”
Jackie gripped Lucas’s hand, tilting his head and giving him a wide smile, but his eyes didn’t blink or waver, and Lucas felt like he’d just had his mind read. Jackie took a respectful step back and seemed to sense the new introductions had some uneasy around him. Lucas also knew it didn’t bother the terp, Jackie, one bit.
They’d been told the stories about how he’d risked his life on several missions with their team, as well as several others he’d worked with in the past. Their highest level capture was on a mission that nearly cost six SEALs and a CIA agent their lives. Unlike several of the other interpreters, Jackie was not opposed to be carrying a weapon and protected them on this mission when they freed several SEAL hostages taken captive. This was before Lucas joined the team.
Like a skilled warrior, Jackie didn’t force himself on any of them, nor make them show loyalty without it being earned. Lucas knew he was a big-time asset to whatever mission they would be tasked with.
Kyle came to attention, regarding several men in and out of uniform who walked through the Team 3 Building doors. Lucas and everyone else faced them, and several addressed the new audience in hushed tones.
Collins, their SEAL liaison, walked over to a small group of tables and chairs, followed by one Lt. Commander and a non-uniformed, who Lucas judged to be CIA. Kyle took his place next to them, making a fourth. Lucas knew something big was going on as another couple of unidentified, but well-built, gentlemen took to some rear seats in the pit. This was a nighttime briefing, conducted without the whole Charlie Team being present, which meant they were in a hurry. He was glad he’d texted Marcy when he landed, since he doubted he’d be able to be in much communication very soon.
“Gentlemen, take your seats,” Kyle said to the group, who had already started doing so before the order was given. Lucas sat next to Jake and Ryan. Looking around, he nodded to Alex, Cory, and several others.
No one standing was smiling. T.J. and Luke sandwiched Jackie, the terp. Danny and Jeffrey sat together in the back row, both wearing sunglasses, though the building was low lit. Rory sat just in front of them.
“This here is Lt. Commander Ian Forsythe, Office of Naval Intelligence. He’s going to brief you on a situation we have going on now. Lt. Commander?” Kyle backed up and the highly decorated veteran cleared his throat and took the center stage. Though the SEALs were not required to salute, each man in his own way sat up straighter, uncrossed their arms, and showed they were paying attention, unlike their normal demeanor.
“You’ve been briefed before about terrorist group formations in this country. I know you had a representative of DEVGRU, SO Thom Grand, speaking with you recently about death teams who we now know have landed here. We have it on good authority some have been spotted in several areas in the southwest, south, and now with this recent incident in Oregon, we believe some are in the Pacific Northwest. We’re still scrambling a bit to gather all that intelligence without tipping our hand.”
Lucas’ stomach lurched as he realized he hadn’t eaten anything since boarding the plane, except for some peanuts and a coke. Or, maybe it was the news. He would have anticipated getting geared up and ready to roll if he was with Team 6 again, or even Team 3 in Iraq. But he wasn’t sure what the plan of action was for the situation at hand. This was a threat on U.S. soil, after all.
Forsythe continued. “We know members of the military, especially SEALs, are being targeted. Our families are in danger. Our friends too, perhaps. Time to take measures, hopefully preventative measures to ensure our community stays safe.”
Forsythe turned to Collins, who stepped up next to him. “Gentlemen, we’re going to institute some rules that will not be broken, do I make myself clear?”
Affirmations trickled from the group, a combination of nods and whispers and grunts.
“While we are doing some specialized training, and this will all be explained to you in detail, we’re going to organize a com schedule, so no one on this team is out of the loop. And this is going to extend to your wives. And I gotta also mention there will not be the usual recreational use of females, or something that involves you getting shitfaced and making a scene, or getting caught in some place by yourself with people you don’t know. We aren’t sure how they’ll come after us, but we’re staying vigilant and, of course, prepared. Being prepared keeps us alive, right, gents?”
Again a wave of affirmations filled the room.
Kyle added his comments. “Newbies especially, listen up. We’re doing something that’s never been done before. We’re going to create an old-fashioned phone list. You are to be in phone contact with five other men on our team every day, morning and evening. And you are to pass along anything you see that is out of the ordinary. Each five-man group will have a senior man who will be responsible for relaying information. But, make no mistake, you can’t get hold of someone? You call me, you call Coop here, Fredo, Armani, or Collins.”
Forsythe added, “Your training is going to coincidentally take place next to two well-known and documented terrorist training camps. Active camps. Camps we believe have recently imported some talent, and that talent has been kept hidden, which means they know we’re surveilling them, and they’re still doing it.”
A hushed silence fell over the group. Someone let out a loud and long, “Fuuuuck.”
“Gentlemen, those of you who’ve been over in the arena know that not many of these guys fear death. They don’t fear getting caught, because that makes the news. Making the news is what they’re after. They won’t win in the end, but they want to make the US of A feel like a self-imposed prison camp.” Forsythe exhaled and paced back and forth.
So that was the gig, Lucas thought. They were supposed to look like they were just living their lives as usual, but they were going to go dangerously close to the bee and not get stung, or b
e ready for the swarm. They were going to tempt the group to try and snag one of them. But he wasn’t sure, so he thought he’d asked.
“Sir, SO Shipley here. May I ask a question?” Lucas stood.
“Go ahead, son,” Forsythe answered.
“I’m just not clear, and you probably have much more to tell us, but from what our brothers at DEVGRU, SEAL Team 6, told us, weren’t they interested in perhaps doing a reverse snatch and grab?” Lucas could see a couple of newbies had no clue what he was saying.
“That’s right. We think they’re looking to take a target back with them, possibly a SEAL, and more specifically, one from Team 3 or 5.”
More muttering and private discussions continued until Lucas continued. “Okay, then. Why are we going to train near them, if our goal is to avoid being captured or killed?”
Kyle inserted himself before Forsythe could answer. “You mean did we just confirm the CIA and Naval Intelligence is using us as bait? That your question, SO Shipley?”
Lucas nodded his head. “Yes, Chief.” He heard a couple of the older SEALs swear, crossing their arms and legs. It was something apparently, several of them were thinking about, but none were excited by the idea.
“Who else would you suggest, SO Shipley?” began Forsythe. “Your wives and children, innocent civilians?” Forsythe drilled his stare into Lucas, his breathing very slow and deep, like he was bracing for a punch and was completely calm and ready for whatever anyone would dish out. All sound was sucked out of the room and nobody moved. “I’m asking you a serious question. I’m as serious as a heart attack, Shipley.”
T.J. Talbot snarled out, “Oh yeah. ‘Come on over here said the spider to the fly.’” The big SEAL examined the fingernails on his right hand as Jackie and Luke started chuckling. Lucas sat.
Coop was more sober. “I’m going to ask you what I always need to know, sir.”
“All ears here,” answered Forsythe.
“The women and children. What the fuck are we supposed to do with them?”
After a brief moment of silence, while everyone looked at Kyle, Jones added his comments. “You dumb-fuck.” Jones waved his long arms around his head. “You white boys are real slow in the bedroom. You’re supposed to keep them barefoot and happy. Nekked I think, too. Yo mamas never teach you nothin?”
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