Page 1 of Tony

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The flight was long…it never seemed short and this time was even longer. He could not complain though. The U.S. Army had allowed him to go home to see his wife and newborn daughter. For a Special Forces Captain, that was a miracle in and of itself, but his squad was between missions and with the slight downtime, he squeezed in a week stateside.

Pulling out the picture that he carried in his pocket, he ran his fingers over the face of his tiny daughter. Dark hair. Just like both him and his wife. His eyes were brown while his wife’s were green. What color would Sofia’s be?

The plane was descending as he tucked the picture back into his pocket. Moving through the airstrip, he made his way over to the chopper that would take him to his squad’s base. Just in time for a briefing, a planning and another mission.

Tony Alvarez loved the Army. Loved Special Forces. Loved his men. But the trip home reminded him that one day there would be an end to his military career and waiting for him back in Virginia was his wife, Marla, and their daughter. Smiling to himself, he looked forward to that day.

Finally arriving at the base, he was greeted with the handshakes, salutes, and back-patting that goes with a returning comrade. Gabe and Vinny Malloy, twins in his squad, handed him a cigar and then passed them out to the other men.

“Come on, let’s see it. We know you’ve got it right on you,” Gabe prodded.

Laughing, he pulled the photograph out of his pocket and his cell phone as well. “Okay, scroll down through these, but this one is getting framed.”

“Damn, Captain. She’s beautiful, even at three days old,” Jobe said. He looked at Tony and laughed. “I got three younger sisters. All gorgeous. You’re gonna have your hands full when she gets older. When I get married, I’m telling my wife to only make me boys.”

Vinny quipped, “Oh, don’t worry. She’ll have all of us as honorary uncles. She won’t have a chance to date. Ever.”

One of the other men looked over at Vinny and said, “You’d better hope she doesn’t ever meet anyone like yourself.”

“She’d better not try to go out with anyone like me,” he said. “I’d have to cut the guy’s dick off.”

Tony chuckled, adding, “You’re just lucky someone’s dad hasn’t chased you down and cut yours off.”

Vinny jumped in, bragging about his dick’s ability to withstand anyone’s attempt to cut it off. Tony nodded toward the group and headed to his room. It was small, but as the squad leader and officer, he got his own little private space. At least for now.

Lying down, willing his mind to rest before the briefing tomorrow, he turned on his side to stare at the picture now on his nightstand. Marla and him, with Sofia in their arms. They were the perfect couple and now the perfect family. Closing his eyes, he allowed sleep to take over and for tonight his dreams carried him out of the war zone and back to Virginia.

* * *

One week later, Tony found himself lying in the dirt; the memories of his bed with his wife were in the far distance.This feels like a suicide mission.The planning had taken longer than usual, because the man they were supposed to rescue was being held in the middle of a compound in a village.A fuckin’ village. Filled with fuckin’ men, women, and children.Gabe had recently seen a child killed in another mission and Tony had watched how it affected him.And now that I’ve got a baby? Jesus, what would I do if anything happened to her? Fuck, I’d just stop living.

Crawling through the dirt and dust, his squad came to the hill closest to the compound. The night was cold and clear, the only light coming from the stars above and the fires below. The area looked quiet, but in war time, that could just be a ruse. A few men sat around the central fire, rifles laying to the sides. Jobe, their Weapons Sergeant, moved to the other side gaining visual. “All clear to the east.”

Tony gave the signal, and his men began sliding into position. Gabe and Vinny were both Medics, but Vinny was also a Weapons Sergeant and their best marksman and long-range shooter. Vinny positioned himself where he had the best visual of the compound, having identified the building his squad members would be entering.

Through night vision goggles, Tony saw Gabe and Vinny look briefly at each other before separating. He had never worked with twins before and was awed by the instinctive way they communicated. But then all of his men worked that way. They ate, slept, played, and trained together for years. He had never worked with a group of men that clicked the way this squad did.

Several of his men slid down the hill carefully then moved through the back of the village like fog. Jobe and Chief Warrant Officer Bryant moved in first, followed by their Engineer Sergeant and Gabe. Tony brought up the rear of the front group moving in.Please let their contact’s info be right.

Finding the building, they moved toward a window, Jobe peering in first. He gave the signal indicating that it was the right one, then held up four fingers on his left hand indicating that there were four others in the room besides the man they were rescuing. Tony watched as Jobe moved three of his fingers.

Fuck. Three children in the room.He could never get used to the enemy using children in their wars. Moving up beside Jobe, he peered in as well at the sleeping manthey were after and a woman with two small children and a baby. The children were asleep, but the woman was sitting in the corner nursing. The sight of her sent shock waves through him, the memory of Marla nursing Sofia almost sending him to his knees. The plan was to kill anyone who stood between them and their rescue.

Leaning back against the mud-brick wall, he willed his mind back to the mission at hand.This is not personal. This is my job.Tony was the quintessential Green Beret. He was the mission. Slowing his heartbeat, clearing his mind, he nodded at the others.

Moving in through the door, Jobe kept his weapon trained on the woman, whose eyes were wide with fright, but she did not make a sound. Bryant moved to the man and quickly woke him, placing his hand over the man’s mouth to quiet any noises he might have made when startled. They stood and moved to the door as Tony took over Jobe’s position of holding his weapon on the woman as Jobe led the group out of the door.

He began to move to the door as well, following Gabe, and at the last second allowed his eyes to drop from the woman to the sleeping children and the baby still nursing. With a nod, he turned and quickly followed his men out of the door and back to the rest of the squad.

The mission was considered a success and upon arrival back at the base, the men began their debriefing. Afterwards they cleaned up, ate, and celebrated their accomplishment, enjoying their bragging rights. That night in bed, Tony lay awake staring at the photograph next to his bed, hating that he could not be there and yet thankful that she was not being raised in a warzone.Stay safe little Sofia,he thought,until I can get home and take care of you and mommy, always.

* * *

Three days later, Tony was called in to the Major’s office. Walking in, the Major immediately walked over and placed his hand on Tony’s shoulder, as the base Chaplain walked in as well. His heart began to pound but before he could ask, the Major spoke.

“Tony, we’ve just received some horrible news. There was a car accident involving your wife as she was driving yesterday. She was coming back from a doctor’s appointment with your daughter. Tony, I’m so sorry. Your wife Marla and baby were killed instantly.”

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