Page 70 of Call Sign: Thunder
“I’ve read the files… seen the photos… evaluated the postmortem report. You made the right decision, too. You used the only play left in your book of tricks, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t going to have fucking nightmares for the rest of your life because of it.
“You, me, Axel,” he said thumbing in Wrath’s direction, “we’re all damaged goods. The shit we’ve been through may be different, but we all suffer from the same thing… regret. The kind of regret that shuts most people down.
“So yeah… I asked Doc to go and make sure you were part of the one percent that would be able to come through all the shit stronger on the other side.” Turning to glare at Axel, Ryder added, “And that’s the same reason you’re going to get your head out of your ass, stop ignoring her, and let Doc try to help you. If she can help you get even one full night of sleep for a change, she will have earned her salary.”
The group of men stood silently glaring back and forth, no one really sure what to say after Ryder’s impassioned speech. Knowing they needed to be in the air ten minutes ago, it was Zach who finally spoke up.
“Isn’t this trip going to be fun? As informative as this has been, I’d like to remind you that while I may be the best damn helo pilot in the Marines, even I can’t make my bird fly Mach speed, so if it’s okay with you, can we get in the air before your next kumbaya?”
There was a brief pause before Axel broke out into his first smile since their arrival.
“I like this guy. Where’d you find him?”
Chapter Twenty-seven
ZACH
Zach hauled ass on the flight from The Ranch to just off the southern coast of Cuba. It had been easy to do considering he was flying an almost brand new modified Apache helo. Technically, he should have a co-pilot flying next to him, but once they were in the air he’d found out that the whole reason Ryder had put together the misfit group for this mission was that the eight other full-time team members, including another helo pilot, were already deployed on other missions.
“Time to rise and shine,” he announced over the comms. “We’re about twenty minutes out from your drop zone.”
In the two hour flight over the Caribbean Sea, Zach had finally had a few minutes alone to think through all he’d learned since arriving at Zebra Printing less than one short day before. When Allie’s father had offered to line up a job interview, he’d expected it to be for some boring office job where he would push paper around all day. How wrong that assumption had been.
As he started his decent, careful to turn off all onboard lights, he was almost giddy at the prospect of working with Ryder’s team. As eccentric as everyone he’d met so far was, he already felt oddly at home here… doing what he was good at. He knew he’d miss his buddies back in the Marines, but he’d been moved around often enough to know he’d stay in touch with the people that mattered.
Ryder stepped into the cockpit, using their comms unit to communicate with Zach over the powerful engine.
“You made good time. We should make our rendezvous with a few minutes to spare.”
“That’s great, but there’s one thing we didn’t discuss.” Zach hated to bring it up, but considering what had happened to him in Colombia the night he’d rescued Allison, he had to ask. “If I get in trouble and get shot down, what’s your back-up extraction plan.”
Ryder slapped him on his back. “That’s why we get the big bucks. We don’t have a back-up plan. Not this time, anyway. I’ve got over a half dozen full-time specialists in North America and another dozen contractors I can call in to help if I have enough of a heads up, but we’re fully deployed right now.
“I probably should have turned this cake order down, but once I found out you could fly this bird, and knowing I had Torch flying in from Europe yesterday, my gut told me to take a chance that the four of us could get the job done. Let’s hope my gut isn’t wrong since we don’t have a safety net tonight.”
The stakes were high. Zach wondered if Senator Benson had a clue about the risks he’d be taking if he took this job. Remembering that it was members of Ryder’s team that had gone into Colombia to neutralize Miguel Blanco just before Christmas, he had to assume the senator knew exactly what a job with Ryder Helms would entail.
When he was twenty miles off shore, Zach took his bird low — flying just a few feet off the water. They were approaching a relatively desolate stretch of the Cuban coast, staying low enough to avoid radar detection. He was grateful for the half moon’s help as he flew over land, watching for the clearing where he planned to set down.
The brush was thicker than the arial photos had shown, making landing like threading a needle. Zach weaved through the tall trees and brush, setting his metal bird down perfectly.
“You made that look easy,” Ryder said from behind him.
“Thanks. Let’s hope I can get us back out again.”
“You can.”
Zach appreciated his vote of confidence.
“We’re off. You hold down the fort. We’ll check-in at the appointed times. Only break radio silence if you get company.”
“Got it. I’ll be here waiting, but call if you need to change the pick-up.”
“If I have to change the pick-up spot, that means something went wrong. Be back soon.”
Now I wait. I hate this part.
* * *
