Page 4 of Redeeming Meg

All Flynn had said was that he had a crucial mission that he knew they wouldwantto be part of. That’s what had causeda cascade of questions in Declan’s mind. Flynn refused to tell them more over a public line.Get to the C47 Mil base. Your ride is waiting. Del will contact you. Meg Carson will be awaiting your arrival in Romania.

The last statement echoed in Declan’s head.

Shit. The Swans had been reactivated.

He’d hoped they might one day but had never imagined Megan Carsen would be part of them again. Their leader.

Turbulence rocked the plane, sending Spence stumbling and snapping Declan back to the present. He instantly touched the familiar grip of his Sig Sauer P320 as his other hand smacked one of the crates to steady him.Just turbulence.

Spence took a seat next to him on a metal bench crowded with black plastic containers that had been tied down. “Jesus, Dec, I haven’t seen you this worked up in a while.”

Spence didn’t know yet that Meg would be waiting for them. “I’m fine. Just want to know what’s going on.”

Declan was in his element when he had the big picture. Never one to rush into a situation, he always considered all of the options available to him and his team.

Six years in the Marines, a spec ops stint, and ending up on an Anti-Terrorism Security Team had put him on the CIA’s radar. When an op went sideways in Syria, and he’d been lucky to see another sunrise, he’d assumed he was done. Finished.Put a bullet in my head-kind of cooked with his career.

Conrad Flynn had had another idea.

Static blared in his ears. Del.

“Black Swan Two, this is Loch Ness. Come in. Over.”

And…here we go. “This is Swan Two,” Declan responded. “Never thought I’d hear that callout over comms again. Over.”

Del was silent for a pregnant breath. “Neither did I, but our current situation calls for it. We’ve got a highly-sensitive redbag retrieval mission, and we need a team that isn’t on record… anywhere. We need our best gents…and ladies.”

Dec and Spence locked eyes briefly. This was going to be bad.

Del continued. “Mosai Hagar and his death squad have made major progress on recruiting recently, and they’re looking stronger and more organized than we’ve ever seen. Bin Laden type-power. Only they’re not staying in the shadows. They’re striking where it counts and obtaining top-secret information that may lead to a lot of people getting hurt. They’re currently after a thumb drive in the Bucharest US Embassy. They’ve already incited a considerable local uprising, and we believe they’ll use those folks to overwhelm security. He’s not on the scene yet, but we anticipate his arrival. We can’t let the intel on that drive fall into his hands.”

“Stopping an uprising isn’t under our umbrella,” Declan said. “Are we after the drive, or are we taking out Hagar?”

“The drive is your target. It’s inside a safe in the chief of mission’s office. There’s also a more personal interest—Tommy Mendoza. He’s missing. We need him back.”

Tommy.Declan hadn’t thought about the kid since they’d all attended Jessie’s funeral. Tommy had sent a roundhouse punch into Dec’s face.

Granted, it was deserved, but…

I can never make it right.

“What the hell is he doing in Bucharest?”

“His job. He’s been there for eight months.”

Right. An analyst who’d lost his shit after his sister’s murder was broadcast on social media was now working at the embassy? What was he really there for? “What’s he got to do with the red bag?”

“We believe he’s the one who discovered the intel the drive contains. His superior didn’t realize how important it was. Until Tommy disappeared.”

Idiot.

“Kidnapped?” Spence asked.

“Status unknown,” Del replied, giving them no hint. Tommy might be dead for all anyone knew.

Dead. Declan rubbed his eyes. Meg wasn’t ready for this.

Hell,hewasn’t ready for this.

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