Page 70 of Tango

“Maybe I can do you one better.” Ty stepped forward and peeled back a corner of his vest.

The man’s eyes lit up, and he moved away from Cole and over to Ty, who held up two pieces of gold jewelry.

“These are worth more than the bounty.” He handed a chain to him and tucked the other one back in his vest. “I’ve spent time in the Middle East and central Asia. I know gold will get you a lot farther than cash.”

The officer tossed the heavy chain back to his buddy, who studied it carefully. All the rational questions that should have been asked went out the door. All they saw was yellow.

“It’s real.” The guy tossed it back, and I noticed Moore shake his head slowly.

“Give me both and we have a deal.”

“Both?” Ty took a moment.

“Hey, that’s all we have, man.” Moore looked pissed about the situation.

“Deal.” Ty held up a hand toward Moore and passed over the other chain.

“Very good decision.” The officer nodded then turned and waved the barricade to be moved. Then they all jumped in their cars and whisked away.

“And I’m the pimp?” Moore laughed as they walked toward their truck.

“I don’t wear ’em.” Ty smacked his shoulder, and Moore snorted as they climbed in.

I shook my head at all the ways that could have gone sideways as I left them and veered toward Cole who waited by our vehicle.

* * *

“Well, shit,” Mark laughed with relief as we boarded the plane that would take us to Washington, “that was one hell of a trip, boys.”

“It was,” Keith huffed as he took a seat. “What’s with the gold, Beckett?”

“It’s fake. We’d buy it in bulk from India,” Ty dropped his bag at his feet, “and barter with it. The younger Taliban always fell for it. It was useful in certain situations.”

“They didn’t know any better.” Moore grinned.

“It saved our asses a few times.” Ty nodded and took his seat.

“And again today,” I added. “Thanks for that.” I reached out and hit his shoulder. “It was a risk, but it paid off.”

“Gadar for the win again.” Moore whooped, and they both laughed.

“How’s it feel?” John sat next to me. “I mean, I understand this was your last mission.”

“Truth, pretty damn good.” I smiled at him. “It’s been a ride, but I’m ready.”

My body and mind needed a reset, and the idea of doing that at Shadows with my family was exactly what I wanted.

Ty

“Who knew staring at a green wall could feel so good,” Moore muttered with his face in a trance-like state.

We’d just been through three hours of intense debrief here at our Washington headquarters then were pulled into another hour because of the police incident. Our brains were like Jell-O, and I would have given my left kidney to be anywhere in a room with Ivy rather than here in this airless place. She grounded me in ways no other could.

“Hey, Beckett,” Lee moved so he could see me around Moore, “when do you think we can get out of here and back to Shadows?”

“My guess would be tomorrow morning.” I yawned as a door opened.

“Your team is dismissed, Beckett. Go get some lunch, do whatever, just keep your phones on.” Frank waved us off. Somehow, I willed my feet to move. Lunch was just what we needed to fuel up again. We decided to take a walk and find some hole in the wall pub and take a few hours for ourselves since we weren’t on duty.

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