Page 64 of What I Should Have Done

Jacob smiled. “It’d be my pleasure to help out.”

“Good, ’cause intel relayed that Karim al-Jabari’s right-hand man was sighted in a town just twenty klicks from here. And al-Jabari goes almost nowhere without him. The colonel wants us to go in and take care of things.” Dom adjusted his bulletproof vest.

Duncan’s eyes widened. “Are you saying we might get our first sighting of Karimy-boy himself?”

“Yes. The assumption is that where Rashid al-Farouk is, our true target will be too.” Dom grinned. “I know al-Farouk’s name was in the file we scanned earlier, but he hasn’t been our priority until now. This is our first real update since the Black Box went missing. So even if we just find him, I think we can count that as a success.”

“Is this a capture or kill kind of mission?” Ford asked, scratching at the stubble coating his chin.

“Capture unless we get a confirmed sighting of good ole Karimy, then kill,” Dom relayed. “I know we’re going in fairly blind. We don’t have the layout of the town, but this is what we do best.”

“Fuck yes,” Bernie shouted, pent up aggression thundering from his words.

“Thompson. I know you’re a phenomenal soldier, you’ve got to be to have survived as long as you did. However, if they even catch a glimpse of you, you’re as good as dead. The safest place for you will be with Scottie, away from our given set of coordinates.” Dom raised his chin toward me. “Besides, we’re going in extremely blind, and having you there to watch our sniper’s back will be reassuring for me as team lead.”

I clenched my jaw, doing everything possible to remind myself of Mikey’s words that Dom trusted me. He wasn’t sending Thompson with me because he didn’t trust me, but because he wanted me alive.

“Also, Ford. Trade comms with Scottie. She needs a working one. Duncan, you’re to stick with Mikey, and Ford pairs with Bernie. Do we copy?” Dom finished laying out the very minimal ground rules for the last-minute mission with few details given to us.

But hope sparked once again between the team. I could see the glint in everyone’s eyes. A sparkle that had all but disappeared just a few moments ago. Our first real chance at getting the big man himself.

And the only thing I wished was that it would be Mikey with me.

Blanketed in the cocooning comfort of night, I lay still, flat against my belly. Another cement building, long since abandoned, served as my fortress for the evening. While violence was about to be abundant, I much preferred the camouflage that darkness offered me. Twisted into a small corner on the third floor, I waited, my sights trained on the small, two-story home the team would be breaching soon.

Footsteps, barely audible, neared me. As I glanced away from my scope, Thompson slithered into the room at a crouch and then sat down beside me, facing the only entrance in or out of this hole-in-the-wall room. “Everything’s clear,” he whispered.

Now, it was a matter of waiting. Waiting for the rest of the team to finish as much scouting and recon as they could without revealing that we were here. Waiting for them to gather whatever intel they could on the location of our target to hopefully have as successful of a mission as possible.

Waiting.

“So,” Thompson spoke quietly again, but this time to solely me. “How long?”

Settling in tighter against the sniper rifle, I leaned my cheek against the metal, watching the building that held zero movement. “How long for what?” I asked.

“How long have you and Mikey been together?”

“Excuse me?” I squeaked, grateful that this conversation was not happening over comms. “We are not together. He’s my teammate.”

He chuckled lowly. “So, just fuck buddies?”

“That’s not any better,” I hissed.

“Then explain to me why you stared at him the entire time we were waiting for your team leader to return with this mission?”

“I wasn’t staring.” I tightened my grip on the gun, scanning the completely still house again.

Thompson inhaled deeply. “I don’t get how you’re comfortable all scrunched up like a contortionist in your corner.”

It wasn’t really that comfortable, but it was safe and kept me hidden. Not wanting to engage in more conversation with him, I simply kept my mouth shut.

But it seemed he had other ideas. “Are you afraid of him? Mikey’s a really good guy. Trust me, I’ve known that kid for a long time.”

Still my mouth remained shut.

“Even after all the shit that he’s been through, he’s loyal and kind and caring. Yeah, he’s got some issues and thrives in violence, but still, I’d want a guy like him on my side.”

Would this dude not give it up?

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