Page 38 of SEAL'S Secret Vows

“A lady.” He replies then goes quiet for a moment.

“Who is she?” He tilts the laptop towards him and opens different files, clicking through until he arrives at a picture of a lady with wavy, dark brown hair.

“Samantha Patel.” He expands the tab to show more information. I skim through the information beside her picture, taking it all in slowly.

“Why exactly did she need saving?” I ask.

“She needed extraction because she has information that can help prevent a potential terrorist attack. There is an imminent terrorist plot targeting a high-profile event in Dallas.” He opens a tab and shows me a flyer.

“That’s the annual International Business Summit.”

“Yes, exactly. Although the location wasn’t publicized, we know it’s taking place at a prominent hotel. Now, we need to get access into their security system and connect to their security cameras so we can monitor the event.”

“That’s easy. We can get started on that.” I say eagerly, looking at the hotel details.

“It’s not that easy. They know of our whereabouts. There’s a bug in the system. Unless we can find it, they’ll know our every step.”

“What do they plan to gain from this?”

“We don’t know their plan well enough to stop it without them figuring outourplan. What we do know is that this will disrupt international trade and diplomacy. The regular terrorist plan for their selfish gains.” I make a quick search on the summit to check the numbers and Chase is right.

“Over a thousand esteemed leaders from the United States and beyond are set to attend this summit every year. Lives are at stake here, Chase.”

“Yeah. Tell me about it.” The telephone rings, and Chase snatches up the receiver.

“Hey Emma, what’s the update?” He listens to her for a few minutes, notes some address on a sheet of paper and hangs up.

“She got a lead. She was able to connect to their system, and she says that there's something suspicious going on in Dallas. They plan to meet tomorrow. We have to get there before them.”

“Yes, I agree. Let's join Emma at the intelligence center to see what more we can find. Which terrorists are we dealing with, here?”

“The terrorists belong to a group named Nightshade Network. It’s a group operating in the shadows, with intricate connections and a wide-reaching influence.”

“Samantha is a part of a government operation, and she happens to know the exact location and timing of the planned attack. She has details about the terrorist cell members, blueprints of the event venue showing potential entry, and exit points for the attackers, not to mention financial transactions linking the terrorist group to external sponsors.”

“I’m guessing she went undercover to get all this information.”

“Yes. She’s an FBI agent and has been on this for about six months now.”

His phone dings again, and he types a response with a light smile before tucking it into his pocket. He looks up, and I avert my eyes quickly.

“That…” He hesitates and moves closer to me. “That was Joseph checking on me. He said Emma told him about the false lead we got yesterday.”

“Emma picked it up too, but you don’t have to tell me who messaged you, you know. I didn’t think anything of it.” I reply.

“Well, it seems like you thought…” He trails off at a loss for words. “Never mind. He just wanted to know if we were alright.”

“No.” I give a quick shake of my head. “I thought nothing of what you might be thinking.”

“Okay. If you say so. He was just checking on us.” He rubs his neck sheepishly.

Will things be normal after last night?I wonder.

“You and Joseph are really close.” I remark.

“Yes. We are.”

“You know what? Tell me about you two.” I’m unable to hide my curiosity as to how these two formed such a strong bond.

---