Hawk lined up, held his breath and reduced his airspeed. He eased the helo down to the ground at the JCET base and his breath rushed out on a sigh as the skids touched with barely a bump. He thanked the military for making him practice autorotation flying and no-power landings until he could do them in his sleep. Even though, at the time, he wanted to go to sleep he was so bored. He wasn’t bored now. A relieved laugh that sounded more like a giggle came from Caleb, and Hawk looked over at him and grinned.

“Were you skeered, Dead-eye Dick?” he asked, with a laugh. “I told you I’d get us here.”

“Of course, I was,” Caleb replied, unfastening his seatbelt. “I knew you’d get us here, the question was if that would be in one piece!” He huffed a breath as he reached for his rifle. “I thought I’d saved your ugly ass, only for you to thank me by killing me.”

“Yeah, thanks for the backup. I’m glad y’all revised our plan,” Hawk replied, his smile fading as he saw heavily armed men running out of the barracks a quarter mile away.

“Well, since Cade and Max seem to be ninjas, we didn’t need Plan A. They captured the boss and his lieutenant, along with Maria, without a shot fired,” he replied. “His men are probably just now waking up to realize they’re gone.”

Hawk heard the helo first, then felt the rotor wash as violent wind whipped up debris from the ground and blew it into the cockpit of the Little Bird. He coughed, shielded his eyes and tried to shield his ears against the roar of the engine as it got louder. When the noise stopped, Hawk looked out to see Dante had set the Deep Six chopper down right beside the Little Bird.

The side door slid open and Cade jumped down, then reached back inside to jerk a handcuffed man in pajamas down beside him. His rapid-fire Spanish words, obviously threatening if the terrified look on the older man’s face was any indication, impressed the shit out of Hawk.

He had a basic grasp of the language, enough to get by, but this guy sounded like it was his first language. Ninja indeed, Hawk thought, wondering how Dr. Winters had come to be so fluent. Max appeared in the doorway, then hopped down. He dragged another handcuffed guy down, clad only in his underwear. Cade threatened him too, the younger guy’s shoulders stiffened and he scowled at him.

Hawk looked back out the windscreen and saw they were now surrounded by soldiers with their weapons trained on the helos. He swung out of the Little Bird and walked to the nose with his hands up.

“I need to speak to your commander, now! Specifically, the one who sent Captain Maddie Carter on a mission to hell, and left her to rot there,” he growled.

The line of men parted, and a general walked through the sea of soldiers to stand in front of him. Hawk did not salute him, because he didn’t deserve it, and if he raised his hand, it might not come back down until it was in the smug bastard’s face.

“I assigned her the mission and I rue the day I did. Who are you, and what the fuck are you doing on my base uninvited?” he growled, glowering at Hawk.

“I am returning the helicopter you accused her of stealing,” he replied, just as gruffly.

He harrumphed. “Returning it now won’t save her. She stole it, and that is the reason she’s about to go to prison.”

“No, sir, she did not. And these men, the leaders of the cartel who held her captive for six months, are going to vouch for that,” Hawk said, trying to control his anger, which was damned difficult. He turned and waved his hand at their captives.

“They stole the helicopter and carried her mangled body to their compound, where they had a jungle medic patch her up good enough to fly for them.”

“If she could fly, she could’ve escaped,” the General scoffed. “She stayed there and flew for them because she wanted to do that. I’ve read the files from the investigation, son—don’t try to bamboozle me.”

Hawk didn’t want to bamboozle him at that moment, he wanted to punch his lights out. But that would only get him shot, and probably thrown in a El Salvadoran jail. He sucked in a sharp breath, then blew it out.

“Sir, have you ever tried to fly a helicopter with an injured leg?” Hawk snarled.

“I’m not a pilot,” he replied. “And neither was she, evidently.”

Hawk lunged forward, but when the soldiers behind him lifted their weapons again, he stopped to hold his tight fists to his side.

“Well I am a pilot—a former Nightstalker too, so I know operating those pedals would be almost impossible with a crushed ankle. Maddie Carter did that for three months, after three months of recovery from her almost fatal injuries from the crash and having a baby. Every flight had to be excruciating for her.”

“So she was in pain after she stole my helicopter,” he replied with a shrug. “It served her right for deciding to join one of the cartels she was supposed to be trying to help us eliminate here. That was her mission, her duty to her country, which she chose to abandon.”

Hawk’s anger hit the red zone and his tongue slipped its leash.

“She had a fucking baby in captivity, asshole. They kept her in a locked cabin under guard and used that baby—my baby—as leverage to gain her cooperation. She had a fucking crushed ankle—she couldn’t have walked out of there or flown out of there, because she had an armed guard on board with her at all times too! Maddie Carter was not consorting with anyone—and she didn’t defect—she was doing what any one of you would do to stay alive.”

Cade’s hand dropped on his shoulder and he pushed Hawk behind him, and shoved the cartel leader forward.

“Sir, do you have a Spanish interpreter? I think we can resolve this situation quickly, if you just interview these prisoners,” he said, and the General’s eyes narrowed as they focused on him.

“There’s nothing to resolve. CID has resolved everything, but I’ll call and tell them we’ve recovered the asset,” he said.

“Well, you can tell them thanks to Captain Carter, you’ve also captured the leader of the Medina Cartel and his top lieutenant. I’m sure that will earn you another star for your collar, if you relate that to command too.”

“Who in the hell are you and who are you with?” he growled, his eyebrows crashing together.

“Cade Winters, and if I told you any more, I’d have to kill you. But if you have high enough clearance, you can get that information from my former boss, Barack Obama,” Cade snarled back, as he shoved his prisoner toward the General. Two soldiers stepped up to take him by the arms. “I am fully prepared to give you a sworn statement before I leave as to what these men confessed to me in transit. They have verified what you’ve been told, and I will swear to it.”

The General’s eyebrows relaxed back in place, and he lost some of his cocksure expression. He held Cade’s eyes for a moment, then shouted, “Menendez!”

A soldier peeled out from the formation to step up beside him and salute. “Take these prisoners to my office and get me the clerk.”

“And when you’re done?” Hawk said, stepping around Cade. “You owe Captain Carter a fucking apology, a formal apology, a medal and an honorable discharge. If she isn’t exonerated and released by the time we get home in two days? You’ll be seeing your name and face on every media outlet I can contact, and I’m sure that won’t earn you any stars.”