Page 2 of Raider Unleashed

Then a damn volcano erupted. The violent awakening was like heaven and Christmas all rolled into one. Okay, not for those people affected by it, but damn if he wasn’t stoked. He needed action and Kilauea had just given him the excuse to get involved.

Jace Hawkins stood at the front of the room and explained the situation. “Kilauea usually flows down into the water but this time, she’s decided to do something different.” Hawk pointed to the map. “These small towns on the perimeter of the island are in jeopardy. First responders are few and far between. Roads, too.” He pointed out the hospitals, a couple of clinics, and the fire stations. Before he could say more, the radio crackled with the first calls for help. Fire. Injury. Smoke and ash.

Hawk cocked his head. “That’s all southwest of us. These towns can get cut off in a hurry. The ash cloud alone can poseserious health problems and choke vehicles. As the calls for help come in, I’m gonna assign them.” He pointed to a table of radios. “Grab one of those and the keys to a vehicle. Be sure your safety gear goes with you. Stay in contact with us here. We can coordinate more help if you need it. Just do what you can to evacuate folks from the danger zone. We’ll keep you informed about the location of emergency shelters, if and when they open.”

Raider fed off the energy in the room. Retirement sucked balls. He hated it. He was alone and bored ninety percent of the time. He’d been traveling with his team, his brothers in arms but it still didn’t cut it. If one more person told him he just needed a hobby, he was going to blow like Kilauea. Hobbies typically meant sitting still for long periods. Like fishing? What the heck was the appeal of that? Even as a Navy man, the idea of dropping a line in the water and sitting like a bump… Raider shuddered and refused to contemplate the hours of inactivity that came with that particular hobby.Hmm, maybe mountain climbing. Half Dome might be fun to scale. Once.

What he needed was a new job. Being a SEAL had been his life. Retirement was like losing a limb. Suddenly, like so many of the military’s elite special ops, when retirement sank its deadly boring claws into them, he had no clue who he was or what he was supposed to do. His identity was as a member of a team. This going solo crap was for the birds. It had been six long months of trying to kill time.

He’d only survived because of his SEAL buddies, Lane, Harlan, Waylen, and Kian. They’d all retired at the same time which was the smartest thing any of them had ever done. Raider didn’t think any single one of them would survive retirement on his own.

He glanced over the group. Waylen Brown, their resident tech geek who was really anything but was watching the screenintently. Raider knew his buddy was already assessing what would have to be done to keep comms running.

Lane Benning, who stood over Waylen’s shoulder, was the best damn sniper ever. He used to tease Lane that his eyes were worth their weight in gold. Lane had saved their asses more times than Raider could count, and he knew Lane was studying the screen intently to see all the angles even though it wasn’t necessarily warranted for a retirement party. But for an eruption? Yeah, maybe.

“Where are the MASH units going to be set up?” Kian Fox was already charting his route and asking about EMS and medical response.

Every team had personnel with medical training, and that was Kian. He’d seen Kian conduct a buddy transfusion, sending blood from his arm right into the veins of a gravely wounded sailor. All while bullets and rockets were flying over their heads. Bravest, coldest son of a bitch around. Raider would’ve sworn the man slept with his medical bag as a pillow.

Raider’s best friend, Harlan Fender leaned toward him with a grunt. “Can you believe this shit? What are the chances that we’d be here for a volcanic eruption?”

Raider grinned. “About as much as you having a one-night stand so maybe there’s still hope for you, buddy.” They’d been ribbing Harlan about having a one-nighter before the volcano erupted. Harlan just wasn’t that guy. Made Raider like him that much more. The guy had standards and he didn’t break them. Not for anyone. He lived by his moral code, and he’d die by it and that was good with him.

As Hawk handed out jobs in the front, Raider fed off the energy surging through his body. This was a chance to be useful again.

He looked past his buddies and his gaze fell on Glenn Gadsden. He’d been a hell of a leader. They’d all gone to helland back together for him and he’d always had their backs. The man looked happy but Raider couldn’t be sure it wasn’t an act. Picturing Gadsden sitting back and doing nothing didn’t compute. Maybe he’d ask his old boss what the hell the secret to surviving retirement really was.

One of Raider’s strengths was that he excelled at pretending. He’d spent the first part of the party chatting with the world, smiling and being all personable, as if he absolutely loved being here. Well shit, he did like Hawai’i. The little he’d seen of Waimea was amazing. The Big Island with everything from farmland to rainforest and black sandy beaches was one of the best stops they’d made.

Beside him, Lane tensed. He glanced at his buddy and then at the woman on the screen in the front of the room. Lane was already volunteering to help her. She was fine lookin’. No flies on Lane. He grabbed a radio and a set of keys, and then he was gone.

Raider tucked his hands in his jeans pockets and waited to be assigned something. Anything. Hawk called Harlan’s name and was talking about knocking on doors to alert people to the need to evacuate. Raider decided this was as good a job as any and followed along behind his friend. They grabbed radios and Harlan scooped up a set of keys and they hurried from the building.

The sky to the south was on fire. A stunning sight, but there was no time to gawk at it. People were in trouble. Volcanoes weren’t something he was all that knowledgeable about, but he thought they usually gave more warning. Raider asked Harlan as much as he climbed into the passenger side.

Harlan shrugged as he got behind the wheel of a dark blue pickup. “I guess it’s Mother Nature and she can sure be a cranky witch when she wants to be.”

“Right?” Raider opened a map on his phone of the area where they were headed. “Got to say this is unexpected but it’s a damn sight better than lounging on a beach all fucking day tomorrow.”

Harlan grinned. “You gotta learn to relax.”

“I’ve been relaxing. It’s all I’ve been fuckin’ doing. I can’t take any more relaxation.” Raider sighed.

“I hear that. Retirement has sucked balls.”

“At least now we get to do something, although I gotta say, I’m liking the Big Island. I like the vibe. Hopefully, the volcano won’t erupt for too long. Hate to see all the damage happen.”

Raider shook his head. He was done dealing with this homeowner. Maude Turner didn’t want to leave her house. She’d lived there for forty years and figured she’d survived other eruptions and she’d be just fine. When Harlan had pushed the issue she’d screamed and hollered, waving her arms in the air. Retirement hadn’t slowed their reflexes too much. They both ducked when she’d hurled an ashtray at them.

That was when Raider gave up, leaving Harlan with the very upset elderly lady. He was much better with people than Raider was when it came to shit like this. Raider leaned against Officer Kalani’s police cruiser, as Harlan walked toward him.

“She’s packing as we speak.” Harlan waggled his jaw and probed his cheek as he approached. He hauled in a deep breath. “It’s never the ones you think who are the most trouble. She can’t weigh more than a hundred pounds soaking wet and she’s older than dirt, but she’s got a hell of a mean right hook.”

“I don’t know how you do it. I don’t have the patience to argue with them. It’s logic. Get out and be safe.” He held up his hands as if weighing something. “Stay and possibly die. I wantedto throw the last couple over my shoulder and dump them in the back of the police car and I would’ve left this one”—he indicated the house in front of them with his chin—“to the volcano.” He straightened, brushing some ash off his shirt. It was getting thick. Kilauea wasn’t letting up. All that lava was still pouring out.

“That’s why you blow things up, instead,” Harlan said as punched Raider in the shoulder.

“Officer Kalani’s over there,” Raider pointed to the house next door. “Other than the featherweight golden gloves in there, these people are leaving. I’m hearing reports of traffic snarls on the radio. I’m gonna go direct traffic for a while. One accident and everything will be backed up for miles.”

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