“Yeah, I could go, but maybe after you get the AC turned on. I can work remotely for you until then, just like now.”
Talon and Ronan laughed in unison. “Deal,” Talon agreed.
“Cool. I’m out,” Dude said with not a small amount of happiness in his voice.
“It wasn’t just your email, dude. The nephew of the President of Burundu is on your SRF team. He’s told his uncle you and your team are the real deal and that if Burundu didn’t want to lose the best thing to happen to it, they needed a long-term agreement.”
“Who’s the nephew?” Talon mentally ran throughthe team members. No one had acted privileged or pulled “my uncle is the Prez” card.
“Sergeant Kabila.”
“Son of a bitch. No kidding?” The sergeant who played hero. Talon shook his head. “I wonder if the shit he pulled was actually a test?”
“What shit?”
Talon told Ronan about the defiance and hero without a cape routine. “I had no idea he was connected.”
“You weren’t supposed to, I imagine.” Ronan mused. “You okay with being in country for four years? No more nomad lifestyle? I know Jug will be okay …”
“I’ll be fine.” Better than fine, actually. The smile on his face was because of Riley. Being assigned to one location for four years, especially near where she was working, was a gift. Christmas and birthday combined, if he were honest. “Hey, Ronan, is my dad in the facility?”
“Yeah, he’s here somewhere, why?”
“Could you have him come up on comms. I have something I want to talk to him about.”
“Is everything okay?” Ronan’s concern was immediate.
“Yeah, man. I’m good. Everything’s good.”
“Okay, hold on, I’ll find him.” Ronan’s comms went silent. Talon slid off the bed and grabbed another water out of his small fridge. Having decent structures and facilities for training would be a godsend in this climate, especially when the rainy season hit.
“Talon, is everything okay?” His dad’s voice held concern.
“Yeah, Dad. I needed to tell you something.”
“About the four-year contract? Are you going to do it?”
“Well, yeah, it’s a no brainer. But the reason why it’s a no-brainer is why I wanted to talk to you.”
“Okay, I’m confused and intrigued.”
Talon chuckled and sat his ass on that fucking abomination of a chair. “Well, remember back over a year ago when I pulled that woman out of the pirated ship? The one Shoemaker logistics hired us to recover?”
“Yeah, the yellowcake that wasn’t on the manifest. It was Shoemaker’s daughter, if I remember correctly.”
“You remember correctly,” Talon assured him. “We started talking when she was released from the hospital.”
“Talking?” His dad’s confusion made him chuckle.
“That’s a term people use now. It means we held conversations, ours were via texts because of the nature of my job.”
“Okay …” His dad was still not catching the drift of the conversation.
“She works over here now, and she’s … well, we’re in love.”
“Holy shit.” Jacob gave a disappointed laugh. “No fucking way.”
Talon frowned and leaned forward. “What’s going on? Why is this a problem?”
