The SEAL’s Surprise Mission (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Rache) Read online

  Heath frowned. “Now they have them both and the information?”

  “No. It appears our reporter is gutsy. She ran. The men went after her, but never found where she’d gone. Hopefully, she still has our information. Your job is to find Glen and her, free them, and bring them and the valuable info we need back home.

  “If you bring in prisoners, Miss Robson can talk to them. I know Marcel can speak the language also. That’s good for out in the field. When you get back to base camp, you’ll need to rest, and that’s when Ms. Robson can step in.” Captain Buchanan looked around the room. “Any questions?”

  “Where’s Glenn’s team? Not that we mind going,” Ranger added quickly.

  “They’re due back in a day or so from their mission. But I’d rather have this team go now. There’s no time to spare.”

  “Sure, no problem,” Ranger said.

  “Wheels up in thirty minutes.” Captain Buchanan motioned for Bear to join him in his office.

  The woman came into the room and motioned for Vi to follow her.

  Vi surprised the woman by speaking in her language. “Where are we going? Have the men left?”

  “Yes, and it is dark. The best time to leave. I will take you to my village. My father, the chief, will protect you.”

  “Why?”

  “He hates this particular group and knows they do bad things. Do not speak as we go through the hallways. Most have gone home, but we must be careful.”

  “No problem.” They slipped out the door. Vi stayed close behind her rescuer. Once outside, she took a deep breath of the fresh air. The woman had her car parked close by.

  She opened the back door for Vi and motioned for her to stay down on the floor. Vi took deep breaths to fight off the fear trying to come back. It seemed they rode for hours, but finally, the car stopped, and the back door opened.

  “Follow me,” the woman said. Several men sat outside the building smoking. They studied Vi as she walked by, but didn’t comment. The woman stopped in front of the home in the center. “My father is our leader. He may tell me to take you back, but I doubt he will, or I’d not have brought you here.” Her voice sounded soft and almost musical.

  “Shall I speak in your language?”

  “Yes, Father will be pleased. You speak well.”

  Inside the small room, a man sat watching the door. He stood as his daughter entered and opened his arms. “My little one, Azhar. What have you done?” he asked and looked over her shoulder at Vi.

  Vi stood silently and listened as Azhar, which meant “flower”, talked to her tall, strong father. Vi missed a few words as Azhar spoke quickly, but followed most of the conversation. In the end, Azhar motioned for her to move forward.

  “My daughter has saved your life,” the man said.

  Speaking in their language, Vi said, “I am forever grateful.”

  He nodded and indicated for his daughter to leave and for Vi to sit. After Azhar left, he studied Vi.

  “She is dear to me. I told her to return to the city quickly. My hope is no one saw her. But I will send two of my men to follow and watch over her these next days.”

  “I appreciate the risk she took. I tried to tell her I might bring disaster down on her people. She ignored me and said you disliked this particular group.”

  “I do. These men do more harm to our people than good. They see only the profit they’ll get for themselves. You may stay here until we find a way to send you home.”

  “Thank you, but I will only stay if you promise to give me a gun and water if you find they are heading toward your village. I have no desire to harm you or your people. I will hide in the many caverns around here until perhaps I shall be lucky and rescued.”

  “You are a strong and good woman. It shall be as you say.” They stood, and he called out for someone. When an older woman appeared, he introduced her to Vi as his wife. “She will take care of you. I see you are smart and already dressed in our native clothes. You will blend in and from a distance look like us.”

  Vi followed the older woman to another house where many women had gathered. Pleased to know she spoke their language, they chattered happily to her. Their words were so quick Vi had to listen closely to understand.

  Later, an older woman took her into another room. She explained this was where she would sleep with several other single women. So tired she swayed on her feet, Vi thanked her, sat on the bed and lay sideways on the cot. When her eyes closed, she was asleep.

  In the other house, Azhar’s mother spoke softly to her husband. “She may bring trouble to our village.”

  “Perhaps, but we cannot leave her outside and alone to fight our human jackals. If the Americans come after her, they may take out the bad ones and leave us with more peace.”

  “I hope you are right, my husband.”

  He smiled and followed her to their room. “We shall see, but we will do what is right.”

  In her dreams, Vi saw men running after her. She ran fast, but they caught her and laughed and threw her from man to man. She awoke screaming. Her body shook, and her bed was damp with sweat. The same older woman hurried into the room. All the others had left.

  She took Vi in her arms and held her tight, and then she sang a sweet song of peace and happiness. She crooned into Vi’s ear until the shaking stopped.

  Her wrinkled hand touched Vi’s cheek, and she stared into her eyes. “You will live a long life and bring forth many strong, good children. Do not fear. You have work to do before you go.”

  “I am sorry for disturbing you,” Vi whispered and hugged the old woman.

  “You do not disturb. There is a reason you are here. But,” and again the old woman looked directly into Vi’s eyes, “You have work to do at home. Someone strong and determined will rescue you. I will bring water and soap so that you can wash, then you will eat, and I will teach you to knit.”

  Vi smiled. “How do you know I don’t already knit?”

  “You look like a modern woman with no time for such. I will show you how you can relax and produce something we can use.”

  “It sounds wonderful. Thank you.”

  As the plane took off, Bear’s team members looked over the paperwork about Glenn and the woman named Vivian Webley. Heath glanced up at Bear. “This shows where we can find Glenn, but no one has any idea about the reporter.”

  “I noticed,” Bear said. He shook his head. “We may never find her. Either she’s dead or already a captive. It’s a big area. We’ll get our man, but I don’t know about finding her.”

  “It’s a hell of a way to end a young life,” Heath said. He watched as the others read the reports, but stopped at Hawke. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Except for the brown eyes, she looks like someone I knew in high school. But I’m sure it can’t be her. Last I heard she’d married and still lived in our hometown.”

  “From your expression, I’d say she might have been important to you.”

  “No, we hardly knew each other.” Hawke hated lying to his team, but part of that statement was true. They’d never had time to explore the attraction he’d thought was mutual. Boy, was I a fool.

  Relieved to see Heath continue reading their mission information, Hawke turned to the next page and tried to put out of his mind the woman who had in some ways changed his life.

  But later at base camp, when the others were reading or talking before turning off the light to sleep, Hawke stared at the photo and became more convinced it had to be Vi or a relative.

  The next morning, the team and Robson, as she asked them to call her, were gathered in the main room to discuss the plan to rescue Glenn.

  “He’s being held in this town.” Captain Buchanan pointed to a spot on a map mounted on a board. “It’s about two hours away. Our informant will wait for us at the touchdown area and lead us to the house where, if his info is right, Glenn is a prisoner.”

  “What about Miss Webley?” Heath asked.

  “Silence.
No one has heard anything about her or her whereabouts. But we need to find her. Our informant heard some gossip, and he’s checking it out. First, we rescue Glenn. We know his whereabouts. Hopefully, he’s still alive. We leave in thirty minutes.”

  Back at his bunk, Hawke folded the picture of Vivian Webley and put it inside his shirt. It had to be the Vivian he knew. He wasn’t returning without her. He ran outside and jumped into the helicopter. Sand swirled around them as they took off.

  A man met them at the landing zone. “I’ll lead you to the house where this group is holding your man.”

  Hawke couldn’t resist asking. “Is there any word about the missing woman?”

  Heath glanced his way, a puzzled expression on his face.

  “No. The reporter has disappeared. No gossip or any word about her at all. She must be dead.”

  Hawke took a deep breath. He didn’t believe it and wouldn’t unless he saw her body.

  Bear moved up beside him. “Keep your mind on the mission. We won’t forget her.”

  He nodded. Then they followed the man to two Jeeps and rode away from the landing zone.

  Vi smiled at the old woman as they sat quietly and knitted. “You were right,” she said in the native language. “Knitting is very relaxing, but the day will come when I must leave here before I bring danger to you and your people.”

  The old woman nodded and pointed to her chest. “I feel it here. The danger is close. But we will protect you.”

  Vi stared out the door of the small hut. “I can feel it, too. I must leave before anyone arrives.” She stood and placed her knitting on a side table. “You will finish it for me.”

  The wind blew strong against her as she crossed the yard to find the leader. He met her at the door.

  “I got a message from my daughter. More men have asked the airport staff questions about you. None admitted seeing you, but they are growing restless. My daughter will return home tonight with her protectors.”

  “Can you loan me a gun? I will pack my few items and hide in the hills.”

  “They may find you.”

  “Yes, but I will fight them first.”

  “You are brave. Do you know how to shoot?”

  “Yes.” She smiled. “My father taught me, and I took a course on how to protect myself. I did well.”

  “Then I will give you a pistol and a rifle. Hurry. We do not know the hour these men will arrive. You must get a head start.”

  Vi nodded, but she did not plan to run. Hiding in the hills would give her a view of the village. If her attackers hurt the village people, she would kill as many as possible before they captured or killed her. The thought of these kind people getting hurt for giving her a place to hide made her more determined to pay back their kindness.

  Within the hour, she left and climbed into the hills. They thought she’d walk toward the border, but she wasn’t going anywhere. She found a spot and sank behind a large rock. She’d guard her friends as long as necessary. Fear crouched around her. She pushed it away.

  Chapter 3

  Hawke and his team slipped silently around the house. They hid and watched the activity until they saw a truckload of men leave the compound around noon.

  When the men didn’t return after an hour, Bear whispered to the team, “We’ll attack now. Gordy has a stun grenade ready to throw if needed. We’ll try to slip in the back way unnoticed. We’ll surprise whoever’s still in the house. Jeffrey and Heath, as soon as we enter the building, you two start looking for Glenn. Jeffrey, I want Diamond to go with you.”

  Jeffrey patted Diamond’s head. The black Lab often worked with the team. Jeffrey placed a shirt of Glenn’s close to Diamond’s nose.

  Inside was quiet. The men kept close to the wall and headed toward the front. Jeffrey and Heath followed Diamond’s lead and veered to the left.

  When Bear and the rest of the team got closer, they heard voices. One man said, “Our guys should be back before long. Surely the villagers will give her up to save their lives.”

  “Perhaps the man at the airport gave them the wrong directions,” a fat man sitting at the table grunted. “If so, he’s a dead man.”

  “Right.” The skinny one stood and glanced out the window. “I wish more of our guys had stayed with us.”

  “No one would be stupid enough to challenge us. The neighborhood’s so scared, people cross the street if they see us outside.”

  Bear fired two shots above their heads. “We aren’t scared.”

  The two men grabbed for their guns, but it was over. Tied and muffled with their handkerchiefs, Bear left two men to guard them and went to look for Heath and Jeffrey. In the distance, he saw them. Heath carried Glenn. Glenn’s head hung over Heath’s arm.

  “He’s been beaten pretty bad, Bear.”

  “Let’s get him out of here. We’ve got two tied up. We’ll send the prisoners to the helicopter and have them and Glenn flown to the base. We need to find the village where they’ve gone to get the American woman. Both are in danger.”

  “We don’t have orders,” Marcel reminded him.

  “Those men headed in her direction some time ago. They may kill her and the villagers. We’ll ask forgiveness later. Anyone who wants to return to base can go with Glenn.”

  No one moved. “All right. Let’s get those two to tell us how to find the village.” Bear led them back to the men.

  Heath pointed his gun at the head of the young skinny man and shot right beside his ear. Madison, another member of Bear’s team who knew the language, said, “The next bullet will be between your eyes unless you tell us where your friends have gone and how to get there.”

  Sweat broke out on the man’s forehead. He glanced at the other man.

  “Don’t tell them a thing,” the fat man growled.

  “I’ll count to five. If you don’t tell us, we’ll shoot you.” Madison shrugged. “We’ll get the information from your friend. One. Two, three.”

  “Stop I’ll tell you!” He told them the name of the village.

  Marcel checked his coordinates. “I’ve got it.”

  Bear nodded. “Good. Ranger, you’ll go back to the helicopter and see these two get taken to the base camp with Glenn. You can explain what we’re doing when you get there.”

  Ranger frowned, but nodded. Bear knew none of the men wanted to leave, but Ranger got in the second vehicle and headed to the landing site.

  Bear radioed ahead to tell the ones at the home base what was happening. “Let’s go see if the reporter is alive.”

  Vi was determined to protect the villagers. If they got attacked, it would be because of her. She disappeared out of sight, so the village people didn’t suspect she hadn’t left. Gradually, she made her way back around and hid behind several large rocks. She’d hear the engine if a car or truck arrived. Her calm surprised her. She knew the chances of getting out alive were slim. At least she’d help the ones who’d taken such good care of her before she died.

  It was the middle of the afternoon when the sound of a vehicle broke the silence. Keeping low, she moved forward behind another sturdy rock. A battered-looking truck slid to a stop in front of the chief’s house. Five men jumped out of the truck and placed themselves in front of the village leader and several of the other villagers. All held guns. Vi heard voices, but couldn’t make out the words.

  She watched the angry gestures, and one intruder pushed the village leader. Several more villagers came from around the leader’s home and shot the man who’d done the shoving.

  “Get out of my village!” the leader shouted. They all stepped back away from each other.

  A short, thuggish-looking man stepped closer to the leader. “Tell us where the woman is, and we will leave you in peace.”

  “She has gone. Yesterday, she left so as not to bring trouble to our village.”

  “I don’t believe you!”

  “See for yourself. You may search our village, but do not destroy anything or hurt anyone.”

  The man
sneered and stepped closer. “And if I do, what can you do to me? I may like to touch your pretty young ladies.”

  Suddenly, all the men behind the leader raised their guns. The thugs raised theirs.

  The leader smiled. “We are at an impasse. What is your decision? Two of our men will escort you around. There will be no trouble for us, but perhaps much for you.”

  “He’s threatening us,” one man standing near the truck said. “Are you going to take that?”

  The thug turned before anyone could blink an eye and shot one of the village men. “Does anyone else question my authority?” he asked.

  “No, let’s shoot them all.”

  Before anyone could respond, the man who spoke raised his gun and pointed it at the villager to the left of the leader. All the men on both sides had their guns ready to shoot.

  Vi knew she had to stop any more killings of the tribe members. She jumped to her feet, yelled out and waved a gun in the air. “You want me? Come and get me.”

  She shot at the man right behind the leader of the gang. The one who’d been threatening the village. The man fell at his boss’s feet. “Now the number is more even, three to one. I’m a good shot.” To prove her point, she shot at the toes of the gang’s boss. He jumped, and the thugs ran for their truck.

  Vi laughed. “Rats always run when they think they’ll lose.”

  They whirled the truck around and headed back to town, leaving their dead men in the dirt. Two men standing in the cargo bed fired several shots in her direction as they fled.

  One shot hit the rock behind her, bounced off and hit her arm before she dodged. Thank goodness it didn’t hit straight on, but at an angle. It missed my bone, but it still hurt. Nausea swept over her. She had to lean against the rock.

  The leader and several of his men climbed up to where she lay. Gently, they helped Vi back to the village.

  “You do not take orders well,” the leader said and tried to frown. Then he smiled, “But you have the brave heart of a warrior. Warriors always win.” Then he added sadly, “even when they lose their life.”