Page 29 of Strike Fast

The point man from the other team emerged out of the tree line and paused, the rest of his men waiting behind him. Hamilton stepped forward to meet them. “Fancy meeting you boys out here.”

“Yeah, what’re the odds of that?” the other man said in a southern drawl similar to Reid’s. And when the other team’s point man walked over to meet Hamilton, he had a big grin on his face. “How you doin’, brother?”

“Tuck?” Hamilton said, astonishment as well as a smile clear in his voice. “I’ll be goddamned.”

Wait. Tuck, as in Brad Tucker? Team leader for the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Blue Team? Reid knew him and a couple of the other guys from back in his SF days, and their teams sometimes crossed paths at Quantico for training. He hadn’t known they were doing Emerald Warrior.

“Did you know it was us you were meeting out here?” Hamilton asked.

“They told us just before we loaded into the plane.” Tuck slapped him once on the shoulder. “Good to see you.”

“Yeah, it’s like old home week.” Hamilton half-turned and waved Reid forward. “Prentiss. Get over here.”

Reid jogged over, unable to keep from grinning when he reached Tuck. “Hey,” he said, grasping Tuck’s outstretched hand. “Vance and Blackwell with you too?”

“Yep, the gang’s all here.” Tuck looked behind him and waved them over. “Vance. Blackwell. Come say hi.”

The two men materialized out of the darkness, Vance’s teeth seeming extra bright in his dark face as he grinned. “How’s it going, my man?” he said in his deep baritone.

“Good to see you,” Reid said, giving his old buddy a hug and a backslap. They’d served together on the same A-team for a while when Reid had first passed SF selection. Releasing Vance, he shook Blackwell’s hand. “Heard you’re a daddy now. Congrats.” Blackwell and his wife had been to hell and back trying to have a baby. Reid was happy things had finally worked out for them.

“Thanks, man. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s awesome. How’s Autumn?”

Reid shook his head. “Growing up way too fast. She’s nine going on twenty-nine. I’m thinking of locking her in her room until she’s thirty.”

Blackwell laughed. “Yeah, not gonna lie, I’m glad we had a boy.”

Hamilton gripped Reid’s shoulder from behind and gave it a hard squeeze. “Prentiss is loving the hell out of this. Working down here in his old backyard.”

“Yeah, it’s good to be back home where we can get real barbecue,” Tuck said. As an Alabama native, the man knew good barbecue.

Oh, man. Now Reid’s mouth was watering for smoked ribs and pulled pork. “We gotta hit up The Shed before we head back to Virginia.”

“That’s a deal,” Tuck said, and pulled out his topo map to confer with Hamilton.

The rest of the guys mingled for a few minutes while their leaders went over the plan. One of the HRT members was a big sonofabitch named Bauer, damn near as big as Maka. A former SEAL, he knew Freeman. The SOF community was a small world.

Everybody was in high spirits when they finally started toward the objective village together. The HRT was responsible for neutralizing the drug runners and rescuing the two captives reported to be inside, while FAST Bravo would provide backup and then do a search for drugs, weapons and cash.

Each team started for the target village in a separate wedge formation, the tangled terrain and swampy conditions making the trek slow going. A half klick from their objective, they went into full op mode, staying silent and stealthy as they covered the remaining distance to where four dilapidated buildings sat in the middle of the bayou.

Old gnarled cypress trees gave them good concealment, the Spanish moss and vines swaying from their branches giving the place an eerie feel that made Reid all nostalgic. Damn, he loved it down here. He’d been hunting in this neck of the woods since he was a kid, so being out here in the swamp at night made him feel right at home.

Hidden behind the thick trunk of a cypress, Reid hunkered down to wait, the rest of his team fanned out amongst the trees as the HRT started toward the small group of wood-framed houses.

The enemy force didn’t put up much resistance. Things went so smoothly—way more smoothly than it ever did in real life—it was all over in a matter of minutes. The HRT swept in hard and fast, catching the “cartel members” off guard, neutralizing the tangos and securing the captives. Reid and his teammates helped secure the village and conducted the search for contraband, while Rodriguez helped question a few of the prisoners.

When everything was done the teams fanned out in two semi-circles to await the incoming helos. The HRT guys and the rescued “hostages” boarded the first, and FAST Bravo with their captured “cartel soldiers” and contraband the second. Reid tried to see if Tess was at the controls of one of them, but he couldn’t get a good look at the cockpit of either aircraft.

He jumped aboard the second one and chatted with Colebrook during the flight back to base, but he was distracted by thoughts of Tess. They’d talked every day since that scorching makeout session at her hotel nine days ago, but it felt like forever since he’d seen her. He was crazy about her.

She made him laugh. Made him feel comfortable. With her kindness and positive outlook on life, she was a balm to his cynical soul. She was stealing her way into his heart and he was too enthralled to stop it.

Also huge for him was her job. She’d served overseas in combat, had flown his team during a mission. She understood firsthand what he did for a living, the dangers and the commitment his place on the team demanded. That right there set her apart from any other woman he’d ever been with.

He needed to see her again, as soon as possible.

Once on the tarmac about fifteen minutes later, Reid was one of the last to hop out of the aircraft, and stopped to peer through the cockpit windows. A male pilot sat in the left hand seat, but when Reid’s gaze slid over to the right one, his heart stuttered when he made out Tess’s profile.

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