Page 73 of Very Special Forces

Solomonand I sat in his SUV a block away from the partially derelictbuilding McTavett identified as the location where he unloaded thetank. He told us he'd driven it into the warehouse and gotten outof there as fast as he could so he didn't have much intel on theidentity of the woman who approached him, or for whom the tank wasintended. That left us with the problem of finding out.

Fletcherand Flaherty sat in the back of the vehicle, silent and stone-like.Delgado escaped being roped into the operation because he was stillon leave and Solomon refused to interrupt his time away. I thoughtthat was great although I was pretty sure Delgado would be peevedwhen he heard how much fun he missed out on. Not that there was anyfun yet.

"It'sbeen an hour, boss," said Fletcher. He glanced out the window atthe silent street. No cars had passed by in ten minutes and amongthe parked cars, one was a burned-out wreck, two looked like they'dbeen stolen and dumped, and the other three were older models. Iassumed they probably belonged to workers in the nearby warehouses,half of which appeared empty. It wasn't an especially nice part oftown. "No one has come in or out and my butt has gone to sleep," headded.

"Youshould wiggle your cheeks," said Flaherty, stopping when Fletchershot him a look. "Fine, don't take my advice but you'll regretit."

"We'retoo conspicuous," I pointed out. "Someone is going to notice thisvehicle soon and wonder what the hell we're doing just sittinghere. We can't even make out for cover." I gave a pointed look intothe back seat.

"I amnot making out with him," said Fletcher, pointing toFlaherty.

"Yourloss," said Flaherty.

"We needto get closer," said Solomon just as his phone rang. "It's my buddyin NC," he said as he answered with a curt "Hello?"

Wewaited patiently while Solomon spoke succinctly, then hungup.

"What'shappening with McTavett's family?" I asked.

"Mybuddy has eyes on the family and his men are placed in strategicpositions within the vicinity. They're combing the area forwhomever is watching the family and feeding those videos toMcTavett to keep him scared. They think they've spotted the perp ina truck parked a little way down the street."

"And?" Iwanted to know.

Solomonraised his eyebrows and for a moment, I doubted how much I wantedto know before my curiosity overcame me. I made a motion with myhand for him to spill.

"Oncethey're sure they are the only operatives in the area, they'll takehim out temporarily..."

"Temporarily?" I interrupted.

Fletcherleaned forwards. "Duct tape and into the trunk," he said, his voicemore menacing.

"Really?" I asked.

Solomonshrugged but didn't deny it. He continued, "They'll make sure noother operatives are in the area before they remove the threat andmonitor his comms. Meanwhile, my buddy's team will move McTavett'sfamily to a secure location until the tank is recovered and they'resafe from further retaliation."

"What ifthey're never safe? What if there's payback for losing the tank?" Iasked.

"We canassist in relocation if that's what McTavett wants."

"So theylose their whole lives regardless of us recovering thetank?"

"Better than losing theiractuallives," said Flaherty. Icouldn't argue with that although it seemed harsh that all McTavettdid was try to protect his family and in doing so, may haveirrevocably changed all of their lives forever.

"Whowould kill kids?" I wondered out loud.

"Plentyof people," said Solomon. "For some, no one is offlimits."

"I thinkwe should tell Major McAuley," I said, referring to our old friend."We should loop him in on the situation."

"Let'sfind the tank first, then we'll talk to him," said Solomon."Fletch, Flaherty, you two take the west side. Lexi, you and I willtake the east. Keep a low profile, don't engage with anyone, nofirearms, no casualties. Get eyes on the tank, snap a photo toverify it’s there, and hightail it back to the car."

"Weshould move the car," said Fletcher. "Lexi is right. Someone willnotice it soon."

"Or burnit," said Flaherty. "We don't know who is here and we don't want torisk hightailing it on foot. We could be sitting ducks if weinadvertently piss someone off."

Solomonfired the ignition, pulled into the street, made a U-turn andtraveled back the way we came. After a few left and right turns, heswiftly tucked the SUV into a moderately sized building that lookedlike it might have once been an auto shop but had long beenstripped of all its tools and clientele. As we climbed out, ascruffy man shuffled in the shadows.

"This ismy house," he grunted as he sniffed the air.

---