Page 16 of Ground Zero

He nods, “I really need to catch a show.”

“I can get you tickets for tonight if you like. Otherwise, you will have to wait a month. She’s taking a much-needed break.” I look at Meghan. “Would you like tickets as well?”

She tilts her head and asks, “Sure, but to what show?”

Crockett says, “Siri’s the star of Whitney Houston’s, I Will Always Love You, Cirque du Soleil show.”

“Oh! Wow! Absolutely! Thank you!”

I nod as Crockett leads the way back to the parlor. When we enter, he points to the door he is walking toward, “The Family Command Center is through here.”

He opens the door, then stops in the doorway. “Ambassador, let’s put little identifying signs on the doors.”

She responds, “Roger that.”

He continues inside, and I follow, “We will give the families their briefings here during the mission. Once in the morning and once in the evening. Once the mission is accomplished, they will receive an after-action debriefing with instructions on where they will be reunited with their loved one.”

I look around the room. There is a large table in the center. Along the walls are a giant video screen and candid photos of the team members when they served as special warfare operators.

It is a nice touch, designed to instill confidence in the teams' ability to run a successful rescue mission without bragging. Something Navy SEALS don’t do.

“Ready to see the Cock Coop?”

I laugh, “Lead the way.”

We walk back to Meghan’s desk. She has a rope tug toy that she shakes at Angel, and I laugh at how Angel raises her lip and plays at snarling and biting it. Meghan is obviously a dog lover.

Crockett says, “If you want Angel to come, we can take my Bronco.”

Meghan laughs and offers, “Or she can stay here and keep me company.”

I raise my eyebrows and ask, “If she stays here, what are we taking to the Coop?”

Crockett laughs. “Horses. They need riding.”

I walk over to Angel and take her face in my hands. “Stay here. Be a good girl.”

She wags her tail, and when I walk out the door with Crockett, she is pulling Meghan in her office chair around the room by the tug toy.

I stop at the car, pop the trunk, and take out my cowboy hat and boots.

Crockett laughs, “I didn’t take you for a cowboy.”

I grin. “I’m a man of many secrets.”

He laughs. “Roger that.”

Chapter 10

Crockett

I introduceHardcore to the cowboys at the barn that will manage the stables. The head ranch-hand is Theo, and they discuss how transporting the horses to different locations should be handled.

Hardcore tells Theo to check into renting a special cargo plane to transport them when necessary. “We want the details locked in and ready to roll. When shit happens, it happens fast, and minutes count. Details matter. If the horses are needed, we’ll need to move them quickly.”

Theo nods, and when he looks at me, he gives me a wink that says Hardcore is a-okay in his book.

Hardcore looks at me, then looks at the horses saddled. “Which one you want?”

---