Page 90 of Leading Conviction
It also meant he was on a similar channel to Phoenix, who had to manage multiple frequencies with the Little Bird’s radio. He wouldn’t be able to hear the target, though.
As long as shit didn’t hit the fan, no one would know Eagle had switched his radio, not unless the team’s channel somehow got jammed, allowing Phoenix to still be able to hear through Eagle’s headset. Thankfully, there was no way these locals had the resources to jam MF7’s comms.
But what if they had help…
“What’re you doing?” Snake asked with a frown as he entered their comms tent.
“Oh, uh.” Eagle cleared his throat and put on the headset. “Just making sure everything’s ready. You know how I like to triple-check.”
Snake chuckled and waved him off. “It’s our last mission. We’ve done this hundreds of times by now and this is an in-and-out job. We’ll be back in the States before you know it. No need to stress.”
Eagle tried to meet his friend’s smile, but when he realized he wouldn’t be able to fake it enough to reach his eyes, he dipped his head to busy himself with his headset.
“Good point. It’s been good working with you, Snake. I can’t wait to see what you do on the outside.”
Snake’s smile widened. “Hopefully find a nice little IT job. Geek Squad style. Maybe convince a good woman to love me and have a kid or two.” Snake lifted the tent flap joining their communications station with their makeshift living room. “What about you, Phoenix?”
At Snake’s call, Phoenix popped his head through the canvas with a wide grin of his own.
“Oh, youknowI’ve gotta hit the town first. But maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll find my own sexy guy or gal who’s willing to put up with my crazy ass.”
“Hey now, don’t forget about that security firm idea you, me, and Hawk had, Eagle,” Jaybird yelled behind Phoenix from the other room. “How cool would it be if we figured out how to live together with our families all in the same place?”
“Like a damn compound? That sounds like my version of hell.” Devil, their medic, walked past Phoenix into the comms tent. His perpetually sunburned skin beamed at them as he laughed. “And you guys are all in your thirties. You’ve had your time before you went Special Forces. Military prodigies don’t get to sow our wild oats. I’ve got time before I even need tothinkabout getting wifed up.”
Jaybird snorted as he appeared beside Phoenix. “Yeah right. Your surly ass will likely get settled down before any of us. Except for maybe me. I’ve got a girl back home I wouldn’t mind reaching out to when I get on the outside. I kind of fucked it up before I left.”
Hawk appeared behind Jaybird and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll give you a second chance, brother. I’ll be waiting around a while to make sure we’re safe back in the States, but if we don’t have any traffickers trying to start bullshit, I’m calling my woman up, too. I’m hoping like hell she is somehow miraculously single and forgives me, too.”
The hope in Hawk’s eyes made Eagle’s chest ache. What would happen between them all when Hawk realized he had slept with Hannah? Or when he found out they had a kid together? Would he forgive them? Would Hannah forgive either of them for leaving her behind? Would she let Eagle see his own child, or had he lost the opportunity to have a relationship with his son?
He shook his head, wishing he could shake reality instead. His phone buzzed, and he checked it before stuffing it back in his pocket. It was the message he’d been dreading.
“Everyone ready?” When he got a chorus of “yeses,” he nodded. “Alright men… brothers. We’re Oscar Mike.”
Everyone whooped their respective military branch’s war cry at the order that their final mission had officially begun. They jogged out to the helo, leaving Snake behind to control a drone he’d already planted to be their eyes in the sky.
The helicopter ride was the fastest and longest trip Eagle had ever been on. When Phoenix landed it outside of the enemy’s compound—or rather, theproxy’scompound—Jaybird, Hawk, and Eagle hopped out. Leaving Draco, Devil, and Phoenix to defend the bird.
As their medic, Devil did more good staying behind, remaining available if shit went sideways. During his time in MF7, he’d proven more than once he was always ready to be thrust into any situation on the fly. His medical background with the SEALs, coupled with the miracle healing drug the General had commissioned for them, made it so the team stayed in peak shape. As long as it wasn’t a deadly wound, and they got the meds quick enough, Eagle’s men were basically invincible.
Draco and Jaybird had already surveilled the place the day before on the ground from afar, making sure there weren’t any visible charges or bombs they needed to evade and taking stock of where the lookouts were stationed. Of course, there was no surefire way to know if there were IEDs without taking a step first. Thankfully, one good thing about being the General’s lapdog meant the target wouldn’t booby-trap his boss’s own men.
Eagle led the way with Hawk and Jaybird closely behind him in a tight wedge formation. Once they got to the compound, he pressed the wooden door with his hand to assess what kind of give it would push back with when he kicked it in. There’d been one too many times he’d been caught off guard kicking the hell out of a door that would only go down with a battering ram. He was prepared for the same now, only this time, the door drifted open underneath his fingertips.
Jesus, way to give it away.
Just as Eagle thought it, Hawk whispered behind him.
“Was that already open?”
“Watch my six.” He didn’t explain further, hoping if he just moved on, Jaybird and Hawk wouldn’t look into it.
“Always,” Hawk replied, making Eagle’s chest tighten.
The man had been his friend before MF7, but over the years, he truly became a brother. They all had. The team was the only family they could have in these fucked-up situations, but Eagle wouldn’t have wanted to stand beside anyone else in the name of God, country, and cause.
Except, the past seven years had been about none of those things. It’d all been for nothing.
