Page 5 of Knight's Fall

Wings actually liked PT, though some of his teammates grumbled at the grueling demands of the training. He liked pushing his body to its limits and the satisfaction that came through the hard labor. It was why he’d taken up home repair and flipping houses as a side business. Doing the work himself gave him a purpose and helped him stay sharp and in shape.

“So what’s up?” Sam eyed Tryst and Jay with curiosity and a hint of suspicion.

He had been the first Alpha Team member to step back from covert ops to be serve in a different role at KSI. When he’d had his cover blown during an undercover case, he’d almost died and would have left behind his girlfriend Monica and his then infant son Aidan. Monica had insisted he step back from covert work, so he’d accepted a position as an investigator.

He’d been happy doing that because it meant he could come home to Monica and Aidan, but Wings knew a part of his friend missed the work with the Alpha Team. When Monica left him to raise Aidan alone, he jumped at the chance to rejoin the team when Jay and Cole moved up within the company.

“Good question. I hope you have someone to watch Aidan because this case could take a while.” Jay’s expression was graver than usual, though his face was devoid of emotion. His lips were set in a thin line, shadowed by his dark beard, and his body was tense as he stood like a centurion watching over his soldiers.

“Aidan is staying with his grandmother. I dropped him off with a bag on my way in.”

Wings joined the others in whipping their heads around to stare at Sam in astonishment. BB was the one to ask what they all were wondering.

“His grandmother? You mean…”

Sam nodded. “Monica’s mother. Her parents have asked to be a part of Aidan’s life though his mother chose not to be. I promised Mrs. Jones he could stay the next time I had to go out of town, and I had a feeling when we got the call this morning that this would be a good time for him to stay.”

“Smart move,” Jay agreed. “This case could be closed today or several days from now. We’re going in blind and need to be prepared for anything. Tryst is going to read us in.”

“I got a call this morning from Joel Rafferty, or Pops as we called him. He went through BUD/S training with me and Panther. He was always taking everyone under his wing, giving them tips and instructions to make it through the training. He never wanted any of us to give up, and he pushed us to work hard. I don’t think I would have made it through without him. He’s done well for himself, and he’s a Master Chief in the Navy now. He called me late last night. I almost cussed him because we’d finally gotten both girls asleep when the phone rang. He called to ask for our help, and he’s not one I want to say no to.”

“So what’s the case?” Wings leaned forward to brace his arms on the conference table.

“A search and rescue in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.”

Tristin paused and with good reason. The team needed a moment to digest the risk involved with the location of the op. Criminal activity and unrest in that area of Haiti had risen over the last few years, automatically ratcheting the danger level of the op up high. The location alone carried a certain amount of threat for them, but the search and rescue meant they had others to keep safe along with themselves.

“Who are we rescuing?” Zane asked, a rare occurrence since he only spoke when he felt it necessary.

“A team of eight American missionaries from Montana, including Joel’s sister and her husband. They arrived at the airport in Port-au-Prince two days ago, and despite evidence showing they disembarked from the plane and retrieved their luggage, there’s no sign of them anywhere. They never checked in at their host homes nor at the orphanage where they’d planned to spend a majority of their time. No one has seen or heard from them. Hell, no one’s sure they are still in Port-au-Prince. It’s like they vanished from the face of the earth, but we all know that doesn’t happen. At least not without help.”

That kind of help usually came in the form of terrorist groups or criminal gangs looking to score some type of ransom in exchange for their hostages. Wings felt adrenaline start to pump through his veins, and a familiar tightness in his gut set him on edge.

“So we’re sure this is a rescue and not a recovery?” Wings hated to voice the horrible thought, but they didn’t have an option to go in with false hope. They needed the truth of what they were dealing with.

“Joel used his contacts to check with authorities about any unidentified bodies they may have found. Nothing has been reported, so for now, we’re going with rescue.”

Even as Tristin spoke, Wings could see he wasn’t entirely convinced the missionaries were still alive. With no ransom demand, the odds weren’t good.

“So what’s the plan?” Sam routed the discussion back to the mission.

They spent the next several hours reviewing intel and setting plans. Their computer analysts stepped in and out providing updates from their own research. Sydney Atwood, Panther’s wife, usually handled computer support for the Delta Team, but since they were en route back from a mission, she was free to assist the other analyst, Owen Bridges. Between the two, they would uncover whatever intel there was to uncover remotely. The rest would have to be obtained once they were boots on the ground.

Lost in the strategizing for their mission, he pushed all thoughts of his home renovation and his quirky neighbor to the back of his mind.

Chapter Four

Courtlyn closed the dishwasher door, her eyes focused more on the view out her window than on the kitchen cleanup. The sun just started to set, casting the backyard in a dusky haze of alternating shadows and light. Her freshly mowed lawn made the yard behind her look more unkept, the unfinished task a forlorn symbol of her own melancholy.

Sexy Neighbor had been gone almost a week. One day he was working on his deck wearing shorts, work boots and nothing else. The next, his house sat dark with no sign of life. She’d noticed that he was gone quite a bit, but usually after a day or two, he would return as if he’d only gone on a short vacation. This was the longest he’d been gone at one time since she’d moved into the rental, and she couldn’t stop dwelling on the reason that took him away from home.

“Courtlyn? Are you listening? Is something wrong?”

Courtlyn snapped out of her daze and spun around to face her best friend. Olivia Gaines was using a dish towel to wipe down the table where they’d just eaten dinner, but she paused to stare curiously at Courtlyn.

Courtlyn smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry. My mind drifted.”

Olivia chuckled. “It always does. What were you thinking of this time? The next recipe you want to try? What your hair would look like if you cut it short like mine? Who is the target for my next research project?”

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