Page 5 of Javier

Instead of speaking Spanish, they addressed their captives in English. The leader spoke it well. I tilted my head and listened carefully. His men communicated in English as well.

The fuckers below held nice, shiny KLT rifles, the Iranian version of the AK-47. Homing in on their holsters, I also recognized PC-9 Zoafs, the Iranian take on the 9mm Sig Sauer pistol.

My mind churned out probabilities faster than it did when I sat at the poker table. The enemy Tracker Team faced had global reach. We had solid evidence that the Iranians were in with the NWO and that the latter bought hardware from the Ayatollahs. It all begged the questions: Were these NWO mercs? Was it possible someone had gotten a jump on me? Were these fuckers here for the same reason I was?

I needed answers, and fast.

“Good sir,” the short nun ventured, her voice thick with an Irish brogue. “If ye’re with the government, we’re aware we’ve been expelled from the country. We were just leaving now.”

“I can assure you.” The weathered-faced fucker-in-command sneered as he continued to circle the women. “We arenotwith the fucking government.”

Good to know.

“These two are hags.” He stopped in front of the younger woman, propped his muzzle under her chin, and forced her face upwards. “This one’s a sweet piece of ass.”

My blood began to boil and the jangle of the dice inside my head turned into an all-out racket. The only reason I didn’t shoot the dickwad was because I needed to know what this shitshow was about. Rules were rules, and I’d follow them—mostly—but in my world, women deserved respect, and protecting innocents was at the core of every mission we ran.

One of the other fuckers shifted nervously on his feet. “Let’s do what we came to do and get the fuck out.”

Yeah, spill your guts, assholes. What exactly did you come here to do?

“Is it her?” a third man asked.

The first dickhead grabbed the younger woman’s chin and scrutinized her face.

“Let me go, you big ugly thug!” She fought off his grip.

“Stay still.” He tightened his hold on her face and lowered his weapon to her chest.

I swallowed the growl in my throat. These mercs were meaner than a skillet full of rattlesnakes. If there was something that got the hothead in me burning, it was a male touching a female in anger. I delayed his execution, but only because I needed my answers. On the other hand, the turd had marked himself for an express checkout.

Dickhead’s shadow obscured the younger woman’s features. My angle to see her face wasn’t great, but I got a glance at her bearing. She squared her shoulders in defiance. Her body’s eat-shit-and-die posture was a challenge if I’d ever seen one.

That chick was one fierce little nun.

“Yeah,” the turd announced, releasing his clutch on her. “This woman is the little Astor princess we’re hunting for, or else she has an identical twin.”

ShitGoddammit.

I had my answers. These fuckers were NWO’s hired hands. They were here for the purpose of cold-blooded murder and, yeah, they’d gotten a jump on me. They’d almost beat me. Almost, but not quite. On the spot, my mission shifted from intel gathering and verification to rescue and extraction.

Never mind that I was outmanned and outgunned. Or that the government soldiers would be here in a few. Kneeling onthe ground, dressed like an apprentice nun, was none other than Artemis Astor, nickname Missy, code name Angel, my mission’s primary subject.

A nun. Shit. A fucking nun!

It was the last thing I’d expected.

It was also fucking brilliant.

Dickface settled his AK’s muzzle against her forehead. She lifted her chin in the air, closed her eyes, and pressed her head into the weapon, facing her death with rare courage. A single beam of sunlight broke through the fleeting clouds. When it lit up her face, my heart skipped a beat. She looked like an angel on earth.

“It’s payday, boys.” The turd lowered his weapon and grabbed the woman by her backpack. With a brutal yank, he dragged her toward the school building. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun. We’ve got plenty of time. I’m gonna have me a quickie before we finish the job. Then we’ll kill them all and chalk it up to the locals.”

Hell, no.

You fucking losers ain’t gonna crash my party.

I threw my dice.

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