25
HOLIDAY JOY
TEDDY
The college football game ended in a tie, which to Teddy seemed the perfect ending. The bad guys had been eliminated, the good guys—all the good guys—had won. Canines were brought in to confirm there were no explosives in the stadium.
By eight-thirty, the field had cleared, the stadium stood empty. Teddy had called an ALPHA-BLACK OPS meeting on the fifty-yard line beneath the sunshine-bright stadium lights.
Hal had brought him a mic, shook his hand. “Damn glad to have met you.”
“Same,” Teddy said. “You manage the stadium like a boss.”
A proud Hal grinned. “Thank you, that means a lot. Do you mind if I stick around and listen?”
“This is top-secret,” Teddy said. “But you don’t work for me, and I don’t work for you. I got a mic, a booming voice, so take what you need from the speech.”
“What’s it like to do what you do?” Hal asked.
“It’s the hardest job I’ve ever had, but it’s an important one, like yours.”
“Good luck to you,” Hal said.
“Thanks for everything,” Teddy said.
When Teddy addressed the organization, every OP stood there in a somber silence. He appreciated that this wasnota celebration. They’d stopped a worldwide terrorist organization from taking out countless people in those luxury suites, not to mention the terrifying loss of life the jumpers would have caused had they landed on the field and opened fire. Killing hundreds… maybe thousands.
Teddy flipped on the mic. “Hey, team.”
A chorus of responses floated toward him.
“Hi, Tank.”
“Hello, Tank.”
“Nice work, Tank.”
Teddy hadn’t planned on saying anything, but he had to close out the mission. While their formal debriefing would happen at ALPHA HQ, he couldn’t let them walk away.
Today was the culmination of months of hard work that had started with Luciano and Simone, then had been managed by Greystone and Caroline. And finally, he and Sydney had closed it out. It would take days, maybe weeks, for the magnitude of what they’d accomplished to sink in.
“Thank you for your excellent efforts today,” Teddy began. “All of you did your part. To the ALPHA team, you rock. Your presence made all the difference. You kept an eye on the crowd. Several kept your eyes on Sydney and Caroline. Protecting each other is just as important as protecting the innocents.”
“We’re nothing without each other,” Slash said from the front row.
“Slash is right. I need to take a moment to acknowledge a few team members. Join me, when I call your name.”
His gaze floated over the group of one hundred. “Sin and Dakota.”
The men strode over, flanked him.
“Sin and Dakota are the heart and soul of our organization. They do more behind the scenes than we know. The power these two men have is downright scary, but absolutely necessary. Thank you for protecting Sydney and Caroline today.”
He shook each of their hands.
Sin took the mic, and the team cracked up.
“Of course I have something to say.” Sin shot the group a smile. “Individually andespeciallycollectively, we wield a lot of power. Our jobs are demanding, often times exhausting, but always rewarding. If you ever needanything, I’m here for you. But… if the devil whispers in your ear, don’t follow him. If you do, I can’t help you. Remember that.”
