Shaun kept adding gear to his ruck—binos, weapons, more ammo. “Copy that.”
“Drax, you and Cas are at our extraction point.” He waited for both Castiel and Drax to nod in acknowledgement of his order before continuing on.
“Sax, you are infiltrating with Rome and Luc to cover your six.”
“Yes, Sir.” Saxon focused on his coms unit, he pressed the button, checking that the unit worked before putting the bud in his ear, allowing the mouthpiece to hang down near his mouth.
“Roger that, Boss.” Roman finished putting his handgun back together.
Luc’s hands worked in sync with Roman’s as he also assembled his weapons. Good, having his guys working as one meant they had a better chance of completing this mission.
“Reese, you are distraction for the people in the house.”
“I do not look good in yellow, boss.” Reese tugged at the pizza delivery driver uniform he wore.
“You make an awesome big bird.” Ah, trust his second in command to pull out the shit-stirring when a mission was about to start. Guaranteed, Zenko would crack a joke or something similar. The routine of gearing up for going on a job was never complete until Zenko was an idiot.
“I’ll be at NAS Naples, making sure your asses get through the gate.” It chapped his ass that he couldn’t go on this job with them. But the new commander at the base was a stickler for following protocol and while Noble knew he had more leeway at any of the bases in the Middle East, here in Italy, if the base commander wanted him at the base, then at the base he would be. He’d already told the commander that the first sign that shit was hitting the fan, he would be going after his men, and he expected the gates to be open and waiting for them when they returned. “Ok, coms check, and we move.”
“Aye, Sir.”
The corner of Noble’s lip curled upward in a smirk, “Zenko, your navy is showing.”
“I know.” His swim buddy grinned back at him, “Once a SEAL, always a SEAL.”
“Hooyah.” Noble pressed the button on his mouthpiece, “Coms check, Eagle.”
“I got you loud and clear, Sir.”Max immediately responded.
Noble listened to the guys run through their equipment checks with Max. He knew with Max manning TOC, that he would be kept updated. There was no way Max wouldn’t tell him if shit was going wrong.
“Ready, Sir.”
“Move out.”
Five minutes later, the electric gate that secured the property was closing behind their trucks. Mission Rescue Saxon’s Man was a go.
* * *
“Bravo Three, Cupid here.”Max’s voice in his ear made what was an extraordinary mission sound at least somewhat normal.“Take the next left.”
“Thank you, Google Maps.” Falling back on his usual sarcasm to hide the nerves bubbling inside him, Saxon hit the flicker and tapped on the brakes, ready to take the turn, which was coming up fast.
“That’s Cupid or TOC to you, asshole.”Max grumbled in his ear.“At the roundabout, take the first turn, then the entrance is the second one up on the right.”
“Nah, I think I shall call you, Google Maps.” Slowing behind an eighteen-wheeler, Sax rubbed his thigh through his black camo pants. Being stuck with a tracker chip sucked. His previous one had been damaged when he’d taken a bullet to the shoulder on his last op. Being microchipped like a dog wasn’t his idea of fun, but it was better than the alternative of his team not being able to find him, should shit hit the fan and someone decide to make him disappear.
“Bravo Three, Ambra One.”Zenko interrupted the conversation,“We’re situated.”
“Copy, Ambra One.” Having Zenko and Shaun set up at a location near their target house should lessened the jitters he was feeling. Shit didn’t quite work like that in real life, though. Anyone who said they weren’t nervous about going into what was likely to be a battle for survival was a liar. “Thanks, Ambra One.”
“Shut it, Dumbass,”Zenko muttered,“We got your six, always.”
Saxon pulled over to the side of the street, just before the entrance to the villa. “Bravo Three approaching Checkpoint Alpha.”
“Copy,”Max responded immediately.“Bravo Three approaching Checkpoint Alpha.”
As Max repeated the words,Saxon knew he would be crossing the point off the list on the whiteboard in TOC. This may not be a mission in the sandbox, but they would follow similar protocols and routines. Doing so would ensure they didn’t miss something.
