The briefing lasted for another hour, and Kevin felt like he’d been put through the wringer when it was over. He had covered as many variables as he could think of, but there was no way to conceal that this plan had been hastily constructed.
The mission was simple. The two teams were going to fly in under the cover of darkness and move into position before the sun came up. At first light they would attack the target house, grab any intel, and have the birds pick them up at the objective.
Everyone wanted more air assets, but the brass was wary of another incident. If things got real bad, Kevin would use a satellite radio to vector a flight of F-15s into the area. He thought it was a shit plan, but it wasn’t his call.
The briefing broke up and everyone began to filter out so they could conduct final preparations. The major gave Kevin a pat on the back and told him, “Good job,” before leaving the tent. Bones and Kevin were left alone to see if they’d missed anything.
“Where in the fuck is Renee?” Bones asked.
“Dude, I’ve been blowing up her phone, but she’s not answering. Fuck it, let’s get our gear and be done with it,” Kevin said, feeling less confident by the minute.
Back at their building, Tyler and Rico were going over the map they’d laid out on the card table. As Kevin joined the two men, Bones grabbed an open box of MREs and began stripping them from their bulky packages.
“Any changes?” Tyler asked.
“No, we’re still on.”
“You heard from Renee?” Rico asked.
Kevin shook his head and stared down at the map.
“We have a few hours until we have to be at the flight line. Is there anything I missed?”
“The whole thing seems simple enough, but I’ve been in the valley before and it’s not a place you want to go without a shitload of support. The terrain looks pretty straightforward on the graphics, but I guarantee you it’s going to be rough. I just hope those CIA dudes can keep up.”
“That’s the least of our problems,” Bones said from the corner, where he was stuffing ammo into his assault pack. “They won’t let the gunship clear Afghanistan until we call for it.”
Rico shook his head with a dismayed smile, but they were all professionals and would do their jobs without question.
Kevin walked away from the table and went to check his gear one last time. He pulled the phone out and hit the send key, automatically redialing the last number. After a brief delay, the phone rang once and then went straight to voice mail.
Fuck, Renee, where are you? he thought.
CHAPTER 24
Renee looked around the shiny conference room, taking in the faux hardwood flooring and the muted gray walls, before returning her accusing stare to Mason. He was sitting at the dull gray conference table, seemingly unconcerned that a moment ago she’d had a pistol jammed in the back of her head.
Obviously, the rescue attempt hadn’t gone according to plan. She was so exhausted that at the time it had seemed like a good idea, but Renee was rapidly realizing she’d overstepped her bounds. They had taken her phone, which pissed her off almost as much as Mason’s nonchalant attitude.
Renee turned her gaze back to the window and saw the white Gulfstream sitting just outside the hangar, where they’d been forced to leave it.
Mason leaned forward and whispered across the table, “Don’t be upset, it was a good plan.”
“What do you mean?” Zeus asked him. “It was a terrible plan and never would have worked.”
“You’re not helping. Can’t you see that she’s upset?”
“Well, lying to her isn’t going to make it better,” he whispered back.
“If one of you bothered telling me that Mr. David was hiding with a gun, we would be on our way by now,” Renee spat, unable to keep her calm any longer.
“You had a gun,” Mason replied defensively.
“I thought you were some badass Tier 1 killer… Just forget it.”
“I don’t think it’s fair to put this all on me. We were doing just fine before you showed up,” Mason replied.
Mr. David entered the room, flanked by two burly men in sterile MultiCam battle uniforms. The lack of unit identification told Mason that they were Special Operations, and if he had to guess he would say they belonged to Delta.
He could tell Renee was pissed, but he was having a hard time seeing her point of view. Mason watched as one of the men took a defensive position near the door, his hand resting on the butt of his pistol, while Mr. David walked to the front of the room.
“I hope everyone has calmed down since our last meeting,” he said simply. “I would like to introduce Major Anderson. Mason, I believe you two met last night.”
Mason stared at the man, ignoring his cocky nod. He hated officers and made no attempt to hide it.
“While our current relationship is not ideal, I find that it is quite fortuitous. The major has just informed me that a mission is being launched in the next few hours in an attempt to take down Colonel Barnes. It seems they are tracking a cell phone in the Swat Valley and have decided to prosecute the intelligence without utilizing normal channels.”
“What does that mean?” Renee demanded.
“It means that Barnes has set up a trap for a bunch of dumbasses,” Mason replied.
Zeus raised a finger to correct Mason, and the American nodded sheepishly.
“My fault, Zeus. I meant to say that General Swift and Barnes are setting up a trap for a bunch of dumbasses.”
The Libyan nodded his assent silently, and Mason murmured his thanks to the man for correcting him.
“Well, those dumbasses happen to belong to me,” Renee said, not buying that her boss was involved in what was going on. “Are you just going to let them walk into a trap?” she demanded, getting to her feet.
Major Anderson spoke up. “If you could relax for a moment, ma’am, I think you might be able to see things from our point of view. We reached out to General Swift, but the general is denying knowledge of the operation.”
“Of course he did. What, did you expect him to admit that he was working with Barnes?” Mason asked.
“General Swift is a great man, and I have had the honor of serving with him for many years, so why don’t you save your bullshit?” Major Anderson yelled.
“Think what you want, buddy, I’m just telling you what’s actually going on.”
“Either way,” Mr. David interrupted, “we know that the assault will take place tonight and we are planning to use it to our advantage.”
“You’re going to use my men as bait?” Renee asked.
“Hell yes he’s going to use your men as bait. What do you think this is, a Boy Scout convention?” Mason said.
“Why don’t you shut the fuck up,” Renee snapped.
“This is a very complex situation, ma’am,” the major said. “The mission is going to go no matter what; all we can do is try to capitalize on what is being put in place. We are certain that some, if not all, of the Anvil Team will be on the ground. We have an obligation to neutralize these men, no matter what the cost.”
“Let’s say you’re right and the colonel is there. How are you going to deconflict with the team on the ground so you don’t get your ass shot off?” Mason asked, kicking his feet up on the table, as he got comfortable.
“Well, that’s not my problem, because I’m not going,” Major Anderson replied with a smile. “Mr. David has decided to send you two heroes to take care of this for us.”
“Wait, how did I get involved in this?” Mason demanded.
“Because you killed one of my men and are a wanted terrorist. I figured that you would jump at the opportunity to avoid a bullet to the back of the head,” Mr. David said.