Page 1 of Bewitched

CHAPTER ONE

Friday, December 1

Blake sat in the Chinook, checked his watch and noticed they had another hour before landing at King Faisal air base in Jordan. It hadn’t been his first choice for their insertion, but he’d been overruled. Three American military trainers had been shot at the gates last month, and the Jordanians were insisting it was a horrible misunderstanding and not the work of extremists. Blake didn’t buy it, but as a commander in the US Navy, he kept his opinions to himself and followed orders. The most important order meant he completed the mission and brought his men home in one piece.

As he lifted off his headset, his ears were instantly filled with the excruciatingly loud, whining gear noise. Rubbing his head, he quickly slipped them back on and studied the fire team he’d put together for this quick holiday adventure. They were a rock-solid group of operators. Frisco, Bryce, and Will represented the full spectrum in terms of experience. Will was going to retire after this rotation, and Bryce was about to complete his first one. He and Frisco landed somewhere in the middle and God willing still had a couple of years left in them. Thirty-three was considered old in SEAL years, and they had both just celebrated that birthday, unfortunately. Blake often wondered how many more years he had left. So far things were holding up, but one more bullet in his shoulder would probably change that.

Leaning back, Blake stretched out his legs and thought about the downtime he was going to have in a couple of weeks. His platoon was at the end of its rotation, and they were heading home to Coronado. They’d been out for almost eight months and had been conducting direct action missions almost weekly. No man could operate effectively at the level they were expected to without a break. And their break was closer than ever.

Maybe this year he’d make it home for the holidays. Truth be told, he was long overdue for some time on the ranch, and the idea of mending fences and moving cattle with his two younger brothers was more appealing than he cared to admit.

Thoughts of home were for another day, though. Today they going to rescue a couple of diplomats who got snatched in the northern part of Jordan. The intel brief indicated the abduction occurred up in Sakib, where two female foreign service officers had been visiting a USAID Hydroponic Green Farming Initiative center.

Apparently, an extremist faction from Daraa was responsible for the kidnapping. Demands had included the release of prisoners in exchange for the women’s lives. The last report said the diplomats were being held in the valley at an abandoned castle. Fortunately, the women had been located quickly because they both had trackers implanted. It wasn’t required of state department employees but highly encouraged in this part of the world. Right now, the team had twenty-three hours before the first set of demands had to be met. After that, it was anyone’s game.

The Jordanian government had done everything it could to appease the kidnappers and keep the story off the news. The last thing anyone needed to see was more beheadings, which the terrorists had promised if their demands were not met. It was up to Blake and his team to get in and get out without making a lot of noise, which, fortunately, was their specialty.

Glancing up, he saw Will walk down the middle of the helo. “Ready, brother?” Blake asked.

“Absofuckinglutely. Let’s save those girls and get the hell out of dodge,” Will said as he sat down.

Laughing, Blake punched his buddy in the arm. “Sounds good to me.” The tablet in his lap vibrated, indicating an incoming message. “Looks like we received confirmation the targets are alive.” Holding it up, he cursed. “Those assholes tossed them around before they took the picture.”

“Let me see,” Will said as he held out his hand. Taking the tablet from Blake, he studied it. “Motherfucker,” he huffed out. “These women look so young. I hate these sick fucks that take pleasure in harming women.” He handed it back and shook his head.

“Agreed,” Blake mumbled as he scrolled through the intel and read the women’s Foreign Service bios. He discovered the blonde woman was named Amy Anderson and hailed from Portland, Oregon. She was twenty-seven years old and had been in the diplomatic service for three years. He studied her picture and thought she looked like the girl next door with her big green eyes and happy smile. The other woman was named Paige Bennett and was a looker. Not that he was noticing how pretty she was, but shit, he noticed. She had long, dark hair, startling navy eyes and was a fellow Texan. She was twenty-seven and had been abroad for five years. It looked like she had spent time in Jakarta, Tajikistan, and Burundi before coming to Jordan. Nothing like spending the last five years in the world’s hellholes. Running his finger over the screen, he wondered why she had taken so many consecutive hardship assignments. They were career makers, for sure, but also career enders if you wound up dead. Seems that under that pretty façade lay a well of guts and determination. His favorite combination.

“What are the orders?” Will asked.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he looked over and grinned. “Our orders don’t include bringing the terrorists out alive. It was strongly encouraged but not required.”

“So, they have no intelligence value?”

“Apparently not. The theater commander said they were low-level grunts. The valuable assets are up in Daraa, and after we’re done grabbing the hostages, it’ll be our next stop. They’re requesting a million dollars along with the release of prisoners. I guess it costs a lot of Syrian pounds to be an effective terrorist these days.”

“It’s not like the old days when money was flowing in and out of those organizations. These fuckers must be the new and improved capitalist terrorists,” Will added.

“It’s nice to see they’ve taken on our Western ways and are learning to make a buck.” Rubbing his neck, Blake grinned. “What are you going to do next month when you retire? How in the hell are you going to live a civilian life?”

“I have no idea. I know it’s time, but that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to it. I’ll either join Max at SAI or become an instructor at the base with Mark. All this experience has to be good for something.”

“Amen,” Blake replied.

Frisco and Bryce joined them, and Blake gave them a download of the latest intel. “Stay frosty when we get off the helo,” he said. “I don’t know what the hell is going on at the air base, and I don’t want to get caught in a firefight before we clear the gates.”

“Roger that,” Frisco replied. “Let’s make this tea party a fast one. I’ve got plans in San Diego next week that I don’t want to reschedule.”

“What’s her name?” Bryce asked. “No offense, sir.”

Frisco ruffled the young lieutenant’s hair and snorted. “Can’t tell you, young grasshopper. I’m an officer and a gentleman and I keep my private business private.”

“Bullshit,” Will and Blake said at the same time.

Frisco flipped them off and grinned. “I haven’t been in Jordan in over a year. The last time I was here, we exfiled through Irbid and then humped our way into the Syrian desert. The team met some nice fellows who’d gotten hold of chemical weapons. We relieved them of their cache and then got a ride out of the desert in a Blackhawk. I had a couple of relaxing days in Amman and then returned to base. All in all, not a bad way to spend a week.”

Will nodded in agreement. “I can’t remember the last time I was on an op inside the country. It’s always a stopping point, never a destination.” Thumping his fist on the seat, he chuckled. “We have some lovely Americans to save, so let’s have some fun and be quick.”

“Let me see the intel,” Frisco said as he reached for the tablet. When Blake handed it over, he whistled. “Damn, these two are pretty. Going to have to kill the fuckers that laid a hand on them, though. Beating a woman is inexcusable.”

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