“Sir, do you have a secure line?” Harper already knew it was terrorist secure, what she didn’t know was if Cade could hear or not.
“How secure do you want?”
“Just you, Sir.”
“Copy.”Over the line they could hear the sounds of footsteps as Rock obviously moved away from the rest of the team.“SITREP.”Rock requesting a situation report told Harper that he had moved as far as he was willing to.
“Sir, about an hour ago Rio was taken from The Westgate Hotel in San Diego.”
“What the fuck?”They all winced when Rock yelled.“Repeat that.”
“Rio was kidnapped from The Westgate Hotel in San Diego about an hour ago.” Harper repeated, “We are tracking some possibilities.”
“What the fuck was he doing out of Dreamland?”The sound of a loud thump followed by a metal clang told them that their boss had probably kicked something.“Who the fuck gave him authorization to leave?”
“Ah—” Harper cleared her throat. Shit, what the hell did she say to that.
“Who, Dreamland?”Rock demanded.“Answer me.”
“I did, Sir.” Harper didn’t bother to justify it. There would be time for repercussions later.
“What the fuck was he doing in the US?”
“He wanted to buy clothes and stuff.” Harper explained. “When he brought Ghost Three to Dreamland, all he had was a change of clothes and his laptop.”
“Shopping? He went freaking shopping?”The disbelief was clear in Rock’s tone.“And you thought it was a good idea to tell him he was free to go?”
“I—”
“Never mind,”Rock growled.“Wrap this shit up, we go wheels up, stat.”Rock yelled at his guys in the background.“Ambra One, call your boss, tell him we need transport to Dreamland STAT.”
“Got it.”Zenko immediately responded.
“Dreamland, you find him for us.”Rock ordered. Harper nodded even though she knew Rock couldn’t see her.“I’ll deal with the rest when we get back.”
“Yes, Sir,” Harper replied. “I have pulled all available resources to search for him.”
“Contact FOB Panther and give them a heads up,”Rock ordered.“We may need their assistance.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I’ll be there in less than twenty-four hours,”Rock told Harper.“Have something solid for me by the time I get there and maybe I won’t boot your ass out. Got it?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Ghost One out.”Before the line cut out, Harper could hear Rock yelling,“Cade…”She did not envy Rock having to tell Cade. Argh, she was an idiot. Goodbye new life, she would have to go back into the field. Take the jobs she didn’t want to do. ARGH.
* * *
Shit, shit, shit.Rock resisted the urge to throw the satellite phone they had been using for coms connection to Dreamland. The only thing that stopped him was that of the three cells they had brought on this mission, this one he held in his hand was the last remaining one, and that now sported a new splintered screen from where he had squeezed it so tight the casing cracked.Just FUCK!
“Everything okay, boss?” Cade had already started the process of shutting down their systems. They hadn’t found their target… this time. But the Taliban warlord’s days were numbered. They would find the fucker.
“No,” Rock glanced at his team. They had been in this mountain village in the back ass of nowhere on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan for days, hoping to draw this asshole out. “Rio was taken from his hotel room in San Diego about an hour ago.”
“What?” Confusion laced Cade’s voice. “What the fuck was he doing in San Diego?” Ah damn it, had he been wrong to trust Rio? Had he been meeting someone from his family? Would he betray Ghosts? Shit like this, this was why he didn’t do relationships and shit.
“Shopping.” Rock scrubbed his hand over his face, “He went fucking shopping.”
