Page 60 of Tempest

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Saturday Afternoon

Ryan climbed into the Bell helicopter and greeted his buddies. “God damn, it’s good to see you guys.”

Mac shook his hand and thumped him on his back. “Brother, it has been far too long.”

“Last time I saw your ugly mug, you were being airlifted off the medical ship.”

“They put me back together and I made it another before a bullet in my knee kept me out for good.”

Ryan turned toward his friend Rick, who was sitting in the pilot’s seat. “Thank you for offering to help out. I can’t thank you enough.”

Rick let out a low chuckle. “Family helps each other out, and we’re brothers forever.”

Sitting back, he slid the door closed and put his headphones on. “Ready when you are.”

Rick turned the engine on, and the whine of the rotors filled the air. “No better sound,” he said into his headset. “How many times has that sound signaled that you were going to live to fight another day?”

“Too many,” Mac answered.

Ryan leaned over to pet Mac’s dog lying on the floor in front of their seats. “What’s his name?”

“This is Rocko. He’s my personal dog and trained to detect explosives. I figured if someone is blowing up wells, it might be a good idea to bring him along. He’s also a hell of a guard dog. He’ll let us know if someone’s coming up on our six.”

“Where we headed?” Rick asked as he lifted the bird into the air.

“Bellows Energy has a helipad on the roof, and Ken, the head of security, is going to meet us there.”

“Can’t be too good at his job if wells are being blown up,” Mac commented, as they headed west toward Midland.

“Phoebe ran a full check on him, and I know what kind of cereal the guy buys. He seems legit, no skeletons in his closet. When I spoke with him an hour ago, he said he had a lot to tell me. Apparently, he’s been trying to update the well security for a year and the COO has blocked everything he’s submitted.”

“So maybe this Stuart kid had some help from the inside,” Rick said, as he flew them across his family’s ranch.

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Ryan said. Looking out the window, he saw a herd of cattle the color of pennies. “How big is your family’s operation?”

“It’s about three hundred thousand acres.”

“So, a small one?” Mac laughed into his headset.

“Were not the biggest ranch in Texas,” Rick responded.

“Did you always know that this is where you’d end up after retiring?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah. It’s in my blood. Couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.”

Ryan looked out the window as the Texas landscape spread out before him. Where did he belong? He had no clue. All he knew for sure was that he wanted to end up with Ivy. They definitely had to work out some things between them, but he looked forward to it. He just hoped that she felt the same way.

Ryan felt Mac’s eyes on him, and he looked over at his old friend. “What?”

“Just remembering that time you tried dip right before we went out on the boats. I’ve never seen someone puke that much.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t a lot of fun.” Ryan laughed. “I remember that day as the one that I assumed the roles of pretty much all of my qualifications. That mission, I worked point, sniper, comms, JTAC, SAW gunner, and all around hilarious dude.”

Rick laughed from the front seat. “That was a hell of a day. We almost died a couple of times.”

“I miss the shit out it,” Mac responded solemnly.

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