“Oh, screw all y’all. Don’t act like any of y’all woulda been able to do better.”
None of them could argue with that, so they turned back to King.
Finch snorted. “I’m more surprised he didn’t show up in an outfit you could see from space.”
“No one asked for your opinion,” Jay spat, ignoring his brother’s amused chuckle. Just like the rest of the guys, Jay had dressed in a black Henley, tactical pants, and boots. Did his brother really believe Jay would show up for an op dressed in a fuchsia paisley suit? Ass.
“Moving on,” King grumbled.
After some recon and digital tracking, Jack confirmed the ex-Marines were going to make their move tonight. As a precaution, everyone’s significant others agreed to stay with Colton until all this was over. Mason, Red, and Chip provided indoor protection while several more security agents were posted on the property. As much as King would have liked to notify the FBI or the Department of Homeland Security about what was going down tonight, he was familiar with their procedures and how long it would take to navigate the bureaucratic red tape necessary to set up an operation once they had sufficient evidence to warrant it.
The surveillance van was equipped with everything they might need, including monitors connected to drones, which Jackplanned to use to locate their targets. On one side of the van wall was a large touchscreen displaying a map of the port.
“There are several cargo ships docked around the port, but I’m looking at this one here near the cement terminal.” King drew a circle around one of the ships with his finger, highlighting it on the screen. He tapped the small PDF icon in the corner, and it opened up to a cargo manifest. “This ship is carrying thirty thousand tons of cement. Each pallet carries sixty-four bags of cement weighing ninety-four pounds and is securely wrapped in both stretch-hood packaging and waterproof hoods. This ship is cleared to leave at 0500 hours.”
“Where’s it headed?” Ryden asked.
“Cartagena, Columbia.”
Joker sighed. “That’s our ship.”
“How do you know?” Jay asked.
King pointed at the map. “That’s a refrigerated ship taking food to Canada.” He moved his finger to another ship on the map. “That one is taking crude oil to India, and that one is taking lime to Japan. Also, the cement cargo ship is the only one scheduled to leave within their time frame.”
Jack held up a finger. “I also found some last-minute staff changes for that particular ship.”
“If they planned it right,” Ace pitched in, “and moved quickly, they could have replaced cement bags with weapons crates and rewrapped the pallets. All they had to do was maintain the same weight as the original manifest. They’ve probably paid off some of the staff and have guys waiting on the other side.”
Which reminded Jay. “I still don’t get why they didn’t just use this port to begin with.”
“Whatever the reason,” King said, “their hand has been forced and they’re desperate, which makes them dangerous. Comms in.” Everyone secured their earpieces in place. “Radio check.”
“Loud and clear,” everyone replied.
King grabbed his tactical vest. “Gear up. Remember, disarm and detain. No casualties. Keep an eye out for civilians and port security, not to mention anyone these guys could have paid to help them.”
Lucky turned to Ace, his gaze narrowed. “Try not to fall off the ship and almost die this time, bro.”
Finch looked from Lucky to Ace and back. “You fellas end up on cargo ships a lot?”
“It’s a long story,” Ace grumbled.
King, Ace, Lucky, Joker, Jack, Saint, Ryden, and Finch strapped into their tactical vests and geared up, including helmets with night vision. They looked like they were going to war. Then again, they were going up against a tight-knit team of ex-Marines, so maybe they were.
“Saint, you’re with me,” King said. “Lucky with Ace; Jack, you’re with Joker; Marines, you get to be battle buddies. Let’s get moving.” King opened the van’s back doors and jumped out, the rest lining up to do the same.
Ryden turned to Jay, his smile gorgeous, and a lump formed in Jay’s throat. Not caring who saw, Jay cupped Ryden’s face, stood on his toes, and kissed him. When he pulled back, he met Ryden’s gaze.
“If you get hurt, so help me, I will read every one of my romance novels out loud to you.”
Ryden chuckled. “Darlin’, I’ve already read them.”
Jay blinked at him. “What?”
“All the books you threw at me that I kept? I read them.”
“You did?” Jay’s heart did a little happy dance. “Why?”
