CHAPTER FOUR
Tuesday, January 9th
Bryce walked with Jax to the Task Force Command center and couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. Last night had been about the best date he’d ever had, and he hoped that Daphne felt the same way.
“You gonna tell me what has you grinnin’ like an idiot or do I have to guess?” Jax asked as he turned toward the buildings.
“Had supper and a pool game with a pretty lady.”
“What is it with Africa and finding women? First Frisco and now you. Who the hell is next?”
“Maybe it’s you.”
Jax let out a loud laugh and shook his head. “Not me.”
“Not yet,” he replied quietly.
“So, your apology worked, and she’s interested in you too.”
“Yes, she seems to be giving me a chance, and we’ve made plans to have supper in San Diego. Turns out her next posting will be at NAB in Coronado, so it works out perfectly.”
“Did you manage to get her flowers, or did you go with something subtler?”
“I adopted an elephant from Kenya for her since she loves them, and she was real excited, so I think it worked out.”
“Damn, that’s a hell of an idea even for you.”
“I’m a highly motivated individual, so there was no way I wasn’t going to hit it out of the park on my first try. Men are going to be crawlin’ all over her the minute she arrives on base, and I’m making damn sure not one of them has a chance.”
“Good luck, man, ‘cause that’s a hell of a goal.”
“I smash the shit out of goals, so I’m hoping she goes along with my ideas and doesn’t make this one impossible.”
“Getting women to go along with the plan is never easy, so prepare yourself.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to do.”
“Let’s go meet the men we’re working with tonight and make sure they don’t complicate gettin’ out of Timbuktu alive.”
“Copy, that.” Walking toward the Command Center, he thought about Daphne and how much they had in common. Not only did they both enjoy adventure and travel, but they also liked to binge-watch crime shows on Netflix. Which meant he needed to talk her into starting Narcos together when they returned to San Diego. The show had thirty episodes, so if she agreed, they’d have a lot of excuses to get together.
And that’s what he needed because he’d discovered last night that she was just about perfect. Not only was she easy-going, but she also took his less than smooth personality in stride. In fact, she might be as much of a geek as him, which was good news because he wanted someone who didn’t expect him to be a perfect SEAL twenty-four hours a day.
He loved what he did, but it wasn’t the thing that defined him, and he’d discovered women didn’t like finding out he was human and had a weird sense of humor. In fact, most of the ones he’d met over the last couple of years only seemed interested in his trident.
Kind of like what his brother experienced since he’d become the light-heavyweight MMA world champion, years ago. A lot of women liked Bruce because of his star status and not because he was a hell of a smart guy.
Entering the hangar where their gear was stored knocked him out of his self-reflection, and he knew it was time to put his head in the mission because people’s lives depended on him executing perfectly.
He’d been performing above and beyond what was expected since grade-school, and he certainly wasn’t going to stop now.
“Let’s see how we’re going to run this op with the G5 and not totally screw it up,” Jax commented as they entered the hangar and were greeted by French SOF operators, UN Peacekeepers, and their own brethren from the US military. “Having this many different operators is either going to kill us or save us. Hope to hell we don’t have to worry about friendly fire.”
“Agreed,” Bryce responded. As long as everyone followed their lead, they should be able to grab and go, and he knew it was a lot easier said than done.
***
The Blackhawk sped low over the flat countryside en route to the target area and Bryce noticed the crazy quilt of walled compounds and maze of streets that spread out below them. Tonight was going be interesting and, God-willing, the fight they had in front of them wouldn’t be deadly for anyone on their team.
As they reached the insertion point, the pilots nosed up and bled speed off until they settled into a hover thirty feet off the ground. Suspended in the air over the HVT’s house was his least favorite place to be because they were essentially sitting ducks for anyone with an RPG.
Every second seemed like a minute when they were in that vulnerable state, and this time was no exception. Knowing who Yahya Abu el Hammam kept company with meant they had more than half a chance of some tango opening fire.
“Movement on the roof,” Jax said as he moved his gun through the quadrant and took out two tangos.
“Stay frosty, gentleman,” Cmdr. Warner commented as he moved to the helo’s door.
Jason and Caid threw thick braided green lines overboard, and then immediately began fast-roping into the street beside the target’s outside wall, with Ace following. Jax was next and, when it was Bryce’s turn, he clutched the rope, went over the side, and slid down.
They’d landed and quickly made their way to the thick metal gate that surrounded the compound. Jason and Caid moved into position and placed their explosive charge on the door a few meters away.
Jax nodded to Ace. “You’re up.”
Moving forward, Ace stuck an explosive strip to the second gate, prepped it, and backed up along the wall to wait for the detonation. A moment later, it exploded and blew the gate to pieces.
Jax took point, and they set off with their weapons at the ready, just as the second assault team blew the other gate. The blast wave struck and nearly knocked them all off their feet. They’d been almost directly across from the explosion, and it rocked their world far worse than any flashbang.
It was a critical moment in the mission because they were about to enter a channel point, which was also called a fatal funnel. Training and combat experience had shown that the only way to deal with such a vulnerable moment was to get through the doorway as fast as he could and be ready to engage with anyone on the other side.
Unfortunately, having your bell rung at the crucial moment made it challenging. But that didn’t stop anyone.
Speed, surprise, and violence of action were the key elements to taking down a building and, with stars spinning in his head, he plunged through the doorway of the compound, following his team.
A small building stood to the right with the main house on the left. Overhead, a figure appeared, and Jax took him out just as the tango discharged his weapon.
“Clear the main house,” Jason instructed into their coms.
Moving to the right, Bryce and Jax moved into the main house and began clearing rooms and quickly heard Warner call: “Target Secure!” over the radio.
Which was Bryce’s cue to take over the objective. He’d been assigned as the SSE commander for the mission, which meant once the target was secure, it was his job to organize the detainees and get them processed.
He and Jax started moving through the house and, though they’d shown up in the middle of the night, he knew they were going to encounter a lot of people.
Eventually, they rounded up well over three dozen men, women, and children. With the assault force in search mode, he asked Caid to help separate the military-age males from the women and children.
The second wave arrived, the French ground mobility force rolled up in Humvees, and they brought with them several female military officers to help search the women they’d encountered. With the cultural sensitivities regarding women, it was rare that they went after a target without women MPs, and this op was no different.
As they began separating the men and questioning them, they discovered several who had been identified as co-conspirators. Speaking into his mic, he informed Ace they had ten men for transport. Hearing confirmation, he knew he’d get them a ride within minutes. As the joint tactical air controller, Ace could call in air strikes using everything from a marine AH-1 Cobra gunship to air force B-1 bombers.
Jason approached. “Let’s move this thing along because we’re starting to get the neighbors interested.”
Looking up, he saw the G5 snipers had established an overwatch position on the rooftops of nearby buildings and, together with UN Peacekeepers, they’d formed an outer cordon to make sure no surprises occurred.
“Shit!” Jason exclaimed as he pressed his coms. “Snipers just reported a group of unarmed people moving in our direction.”
Just then, the G5 forces that were searching the house reported striking pay dirt. They had uncovered a secret cache of explosives, IED-making equipment, and a homemade device for launching rockets. Intel had been spot-on and, not only did they have the HVT in hand, but they just made this corner of the world a little safer.
Jason shook his head as he listened to something on his coms. “Caid, you and Bryce take the HVT and other detainees and get them off target. Looks like I have to handle the angry mob.”
“Roger that,” they chorused.
He and Caid moved the group outside the compound in preparation for their exfil. Earlier, they had identified a spot a hundred and fifty meters away from the back wall as the landing spot, so they needed to prep for the helo’s arrival.
Looking over his shoulder, he looked across the field and noticed that part of the crowd had spotted them and drifted their way. “Damn.”
Caid let out a stream of curses. “This shit has a chance of going south, fast.”
Moving his eyes from the detainees to the crowd, he hoped there wasn’t an RPG gunner hiding in the group, waiting for the perfect moment to inflict maximum damage. Hearing the loud whine of the incoming bird, he prayed this wouldn’t be a bloody exfil.
He and Caid positioned themselves as the Chinook appeared in the landing zone. Entering through the rear, they loaded up their group and, just as they were taking off, somebody in the crowd opened fire.
Teammates on the ground shouldered their weapons and returned fire. A scattered brief fight ensued and was over in minutes.
Keeping his weapon ready, he kept an eye on the group they were bringing back to base and knew tonight had gone as well as could be expected.
It was a definite win and one he was going to enjoy because the next set of objectives might not be this easy. Not only did he have a beautiful woman to woo and win, he was headed to the Khost region and knew the next set of direct action missions were going to test every ounce of training he ever had.
***
Glancing over his shoulder at the C17, Bryce knew he didn’t have much time before they were going to be wheels up. He heard his name and turned, seeing Daphne jog in his direction. “Thank God,” he mumbled.
He met her halfway and pulled her into a tight hug. “Thanks for coming out.” Her arms wrapped around his waist and he took a moment to inhale her scent.
“Stay safe out there,” she said against his ear.
“Copy that,” he replied as he pulled his face away. “I’m going to be OCONUS for at least two weeks, and the moment I get back to San Diego, you owe me a date.”
“All right, I’ll hold your spot and promise not to start watching Narcos with anyone else.”
“Better not.” The roar of the plane engines filled his ears, and he knew he had only a couple more minutes. “You have my numbers, so text me when you get settled in San Diego. I might not be able to respond, but I’d like to know that you made it in one piece.” He ran his hand down her cheek and hoped the spark that had ignited here in Djibouti was going to be enough to keep him front and center in her mind.
Looking from side to side, he knew they were out of view, so he dipped his head slowly and slid his mouth over hers. The noise, the heat, and chaos of the airfield slipped away as a feeling of rightness washed over his body.
It wasn’t just their mouths connecting, it was more, and he had a feeling that someone he didn’t know existed last week could very well end up meaning the world to him.
Pulling away, he framed her face with his hands and grinned. “Damn, woman, you are some kind of magic, and that kiss we just had will keep me warm for many a night to come.”
“Stay safe for me, Bryce, so we can see if whatever just happened is something we can hold on to.”
“Darlin’ that’s just the beginning, so get your mind right and prepare yourself.”
Pushing at his chest, she stepped back and laughed. “Go do your thing and I’ll see you in San Diego.”
He lifted her hand and kissed her palm. “Hold on to that until I see you again.” He took one step back, winked, and then jogged across the tarmac toward the plane. Feeling like the king of the world, he knew it was Daphne who made it possible.