Page 7 of Meaner Than Evil

Then Franks, "Two, ready."

"Three, ready."

Jocko, "Four, ready."

Justin, "Five, ready."

Brody, "Six, ready."

Zane, "Seven, ready."

Dirk winds the helicopter up and does a max take-off. Clearing the treetops by just a few feet, he flies nap of the earth through the dried creek bed, shouting a 'yeehaw' when he banks it over 90 degrees, and we are either looking straight up to heaven or straight down at the ground. Then he rolls upright and hauls ass across the Chicken Ranch. He lands it with precision on the helo pad back at the Coop.

Everyone is smiling when we bailout, and we all give him a thumbs up.

When we enter the Coop, Nina and Meghan are there to greet us in person, while License to Own, our civilian video gamer, who handles the drone's overwatch operation, is on the video conference screen. "I think we should rename, Sam-I-Am, Cowboy. It suits his flying style. What kind of name is Sam-I-Am anyway? It makes me think of the Dr. Seuss children's book."

I explain it to him. "Sam-I-Am is his cock's name, buddy. Once you see, you'll understand the name."

"OH!" He rolls his eyes and laughs. "Well, never mind then. I'll take your word for it."

"Yep." I roll my rucksack off my shoulders and set it in a pile with the others next to the wall. Then take my seat at the table for the after-briefing by Crockett. When he's done, we all know what we did right, what we did wrong, and where we need to improve.

Then Nina stands, walks over to the whiteboard, and begins to write as she explains, "The FBI called in on Zane's encrypted phone while you were training. Cock Blockers will be utilized on a snatch and grab in Mexico. The FBI is tracking the perps now and expects them to stop at a safe house ten miles from the border. We will go in on horses tomorrow night, liberate the occupants, and return before the sun rises."

I raise my hand, and she nods at me. "Hammer?"

"Our horses or someone else's?"

"We will fly our horses via the cargo plane tomorrow morning and have them transported in livestock trailers to the border. They will be rested and fresh when you arrive."

I nod. "Make sure Theo doesn't feed Loco three hours before we ride. I want him mission ready."

"Roger that." She says. "Any other questions?"

No one speaks, so she wraps it up with, 'That's all for now. I'll have the specifics for you tomorrow. Report back here at nineteen hundred hours."

The team mills around for a few minutes, then Crockett says, "Last call for the flight back to Vegas. Anyone wanting to hitch a ride with Sam-I-Am needs to head out now."

I trot over to my gear, grab my rucksack, wave my "adios amigos," and head back out to the chopper.

I climb in next to Dirk, and he hands me a helmet. I put it on, adjust the mic, then buckle the seat belt. He picks the bird up to a three-foot hover, then pulls power, and we fly back to the airport.

"You got plans tonight, Hammer?"

"No. You?"

"Yeah, Piper is dancing at Been Jammin' tonight. Want to come with me?"

"Sure! Strip clubs are one of my favorite hangouts."

He laughs. "Yeah, well, she won't be stripping, but she does have a very arousing show."

"How do you handle it?" I ask him.

"What? Watching her dance?"

"Yeah, knowing every man in there has a boner for her."

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