Page 15 of Dangerous Mission

A few times a year, Tex and his family made it out to California, and they had a big get-together. Axel didn’t know how the man could possibly help so many people, but he was always there as someone you could reach out to.

Tex let out a huff. “You didn’t answer my question.” The sound of the keyboard clicking came through the phone. “Family is doing perfectly. Now, are you going to tell me why the president picked you, called in a mercenary company to help you, and made a call to have me on standby? To me, it seems like more than a causal bodyguard job. Since the rest of your team is in California, I’m guessing they’re going wheels up soon.”

“Tim really needs to let me do my job.”Which I’ve fucked up already.He hadn’t missed the tears in Terri’s eyes as she went outside. Worry washed over him as she’d stepped into the open area, but they were in the middle of nowhere. “Terri Fugate and I used to be friends.”

“So the president called you in to watch his daughter. Someone you were friends with years ago. I’m guessing it goes deeper. Especially since I found your homecoming picture. So what’s the real story?”

Terri and Axel had been voted homecoming queen and king. They were also voted most likely to get married.

“I thought you were a hacker, not a psychologist.”

Deep laughter bubbled through the phone. “Haven’t you heard that when you find the person you love, you want everyone to be happy?”

Tex and Cy sounded a lot alike. No matter how much Axel wanted a relationship with Terri, they came from two different worlds. “I've been told. Even Cy started in on me at the barbecue last weekend. Especially with Cy getting back with the woman he dated in high school. Now everyone thinks I’ll end up with Terri.”

“I found only a couple of pictures of you guys together. Cy did a good job scrubbing the web, but the school still had a few on their servers. Don’t worry. They’re gone now. I did pull down a copy if you wanted it. Now, you’re going to tell me why the president seems to be playing matchmaker.” Tex laughed. “I don’t think Tim’s heard the stories of the good you’ve done over the years. Most who don’t know you wouldn’t understand your call sign. Honestly, I don’t think it fits right. You’re a good man, and Zack still swears you saved him.”

Zack was a guy who loved a challenge. He’d served a few years as a SEAL but wanted to try his hand at the army and had become a commander. But when he and Axel had been in BUD/S together, his girlfriend found out she was pregnant. He didn’t have enough money to move her across the country to his small apartment. Axel paid for the move and a few months’ rent for the couple. They were still married and even named the little boy after him. Axel would have to look his friend up while he was in town.

“Anyone who had the means would’ve done the same thing. You're not going to drop asking questions about Terri, are you?”

“Did you not hear how all married people want others to be the same?”

Axel tapped his credentials into the computer, and while he waited for the secure site to come up, he turned back to his conversation. “Terri was the love of my life and probably still is, but she would rather shove me off the mountain than have a relationship with me, again. I left for the navy without talking to her.”

“So, I was right. The president is now playing matchmaker in his spare time.” Tex laughed.

“I think he feels guilty.” Axel sighed and tapped on his work portal. “But he didn’t force me to do anything, and I don’t regret joining the navy or becoming a SEAL. What I do hate is how Terri put herself in danger. The woman she helped save the other night was branded with a Karva-property tattoo.”

“I’ve done this for so many years. No matter how many traffickers we take down, it feels like fifty more start. But the Karva organization, we’ve tried for years to dismantle. If I had to guess, I’d say the man in charge has someone inside the CIA, MI6, and every other intelligence agency. Karva is always a step ahead of us.”

“I have the same feeling. We got a tip a couple of years back about where they had a few women taken captive in South America. By the time we arrived, the place was cleared out. The intel came from the FBI. If there is a leak, that would explain why they keep getting away.”

“I’d have to agree with your assumptions. You might want to tell her to stop with the TikTok video’s until we know it’s safe.”

“TikToks?” Axel hated social media.

“She posted a video about thirty minutes ago. That’s what made me call you. Yes, her video is untraceable. Whoever set up her account and phone did a good job, but anyone with the right technology can take the picture, put it through a supercomputer, and find the location. If the Karva organization is after her, you need to leave.”

“I’m not sure where to head next. This was Xavier’s vacation home. Which he equipped like he planned to go to war.”

“Xavier is always prepared for the end of the world. His place is probably bulletproof, but I don’t think you should chance seeing if someone could blow it up.”

“Yeah. His price is already high. I don’t want to replace this house. Now I’m going to have to tell a pissed-off woman we need to run again. I think there’s a hotel half an hour away.”

“What did you do to piss her off?”

“Told her why I left years ago without telling her. She said it was her decision to make, not mine.”

“Women don’t like when you make all the decisions for them.” Tex sighed. “You're going to have to get her to stop posting. Let me make a few calls and see if I can find another place for you to go.”

“I think the hotel down the road will work for now.”

“Keep your phone on. I have feelers out in reference to the Karva organization coming after her. The problem is she has so many threats each day that it’s hard to tell what is actually serious. I understand that President Fugate is worried. Threats are normal but not at this level. I think it has to do with how big she is on social media. So many fans love her for the good she does, and so many people dislike her because they can.”

Axel caught news articles and reports every so often of Terri helping people. She’d always wanted to save the world but not like her father. When she and Axel were in high school, she’d hated the cameras and the paparazzi. That she was on TikTok and other social media platforms, putting herself out there, surprised him. His sisters had Facebook and Instagram, but they had a public relations team that posted for them and answered all the messages that came through.

He tapped on a browser and typed in her name. Pages and pages of links came up. “I’ll talk with her. Any idea what we can do to help mask her location if she won’t stop?”

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