Page 31 of Gator's Gambit
“Thanks,” I say as I take it from him, tucking it into my shirt pocket for the moment while I board.
As the doors close and the engines rev, I send a prayer heavenward to keepFancysafe until I get back. Once I’m strapped in, in anticipation of takeoff, I message Knight to let him know I’m on my way. Within seconds, my phone rings.
“Hey bud, all good?”
“Yeah. No problems.” There’s a beat of silence.
“I call bullshit, but I won’t press. Just remember, I know what it feels like to have to say goodbye. All I’m saying.”
Shaking my head, I can’t help but grin. This is why Knight is our leader – because he’s astute – scarily tuned in to his team. It’s what makes him the good team leader that he is.
“Thanks, boss man. I appreciate it.”
“I’m here if you need anything. Right, so – the mission. Our friend, William Armatrout, has crawled out from whatever rock he’d slithered under, making friends and influencing people. I can’t quite decide if it’s stupidity or arrogance that’s making him careless, or if it’s a calculated fuck you. A ‘catch me if you can’ dare if you will.”
“Fuck. Can’t we just kill the fucker and be done with it already? I’m so over this asshat and his bullcrap.”
“You and me both. Fun fact, one of the new friends he’s recently made is none other than Joseph Notolo.”
“You have got to be shitting me.”
“Nope, not even a little bit. I wish I was. And I’ve got to tell you, this combo scares the hell out of me. Between these two, they have the reach and potential to start the next world war.” He’s silent for a moment while I hear someone speaking to himon the other side. “Yeah, all good. Thanks,” I hear him say before he comes back to me.
“We’ll be going wheels up as soon as you get here. I’ll brief everyone in-flight. In the meantime, go over the info Commander Hurt sent. It’ll give you some idea of what we’re going into. You did get it, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did, thanks. Will do.”
“Okay, great. See you when you get here.”
Settling back for the long flight, I take out the unassuming envelope and eye it. With a sigh, I break the seal and pull out the folded papers inside. There’s not a ton of information, but it’s a good start and gives me an idea of what we’ll be walking into. I’m ready to be done with these asshats.
When I’m done going through the information, I stow the envelope out of sight and settle back in my seat to catch some shuteye while I can. Not an easy feat when my mind insists on offering me a menu of memories from the incredible day I spent with Fancy. But eventually, years of discipline and training kick in, and I drift off.
It feels like mere moments later that I feel the bump of wheels on tarmac as the plane touches down. Stiff from sitting in the same position for so long, I stretch to work out the kinks before undoing my safety harness. Grabbing my gear, I wait for the plane to come to a full stop.
Knight’s waiting for me as I disembark. “Welcome home. You ready to rock?”
I can’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, so ready to get this shit done so I can get back home.”
He gives me a knowing grin. “In that case, I should have said ‘welcome to the club’.” Grinning back, I keep pace with him as we head over to the plane ready to take us to an as yet unknown destination.
15
GATOR
We shoot the breeze as we wait for take-off, the noise of pre-flight revving engines making it necessary to shout to be heard. But once airborne, we gather around Knight as he briefs us on the mission.
“After a long radio silence, it seems William Armatrout is ready to come out of hiding to engage in God knows what murder and mayhem. That’s bad enough as it is. That he’s meeting with Joseph Notolo scares the crap out of me. God knows,nothinggood will come out of a collaboration between these two lowlifes.
“So, our mission is to find and raid Armatrout’s hidden compound in the mountains of Guatemala and either apprehend or eliminate both players. The powers that be would prefer we take them alive in order to extract information from them; personally, I would prefer we don’t. Sadly, it’s not about what I want. So we go into this with a clear objective to apprehend rather than eliminate. Yeah?”
It’s clear we’re all of the same mindset as Knight, but we’re professional enough to play by the rules. Should the opportunity present itself in the form of kill or be killed, none of us will bedistraught at having to defend ourselves and the safety of our country though.
Knight takes us through the plan, we plot out our strategies, leaving as little to chance as we’re able, and then all that’s left to do is get as much rest as we can before we put boots on the ground. Knowing our enemy, a thick layer of tension permeates the plane, making it difficult to settle.
By the time we land, everyone’s on edge and ready to get this mission done. All we can do is pray for the best, while expecting the worst. Armatrout and Notolo are the worst of what humanity has to offer and will stop at nothing to get what they want, nor do they give a rat’s ass about who they hurt to get it.
Making our way through the foothills of the Sierra Madres range, the team curses every deity we can collectively think of. The terrain is treacherous, not to mention the active fucking volcano looming over us as we start the search for Armatrout’s hidden compound.
