Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (69 page)

“Okay. You let Haines know what we’re doing
- she’s gonna shit by the way - and I’ll mobilize the men and book
the flight.”

“Make sure you get the craziest SOB pilot
you can find. We’ll need one to fly into that snowstorm.”

Dunn returned his boss’s smile and said, “I
think I know just where to find one.”

+++

Thirty minutes later, Travis, Dunn and
twenty four fully loaded SSI warriors climbed into three separate
helicopters. They’d make the quick hop to Nashville International
Airport and then catch a special flight out to Wyoming.

Travis put on a headset so he could talk to
Dunn.

“Who are we meeting at the airport?”

Dunn smirked at the question. “It’s a little
surprise, Skipper.”

“You know how much I hate surprises, Mr.
Dunn.”

“I think you’ll like this one.”

With no explanation
forthcoming, Travis turned back to his phone and texted Cal again.
None of his previous attempts had gone through.
Must be the weather out there.

The flight didn’t take long, and Travis
peered out the window as they neared the airport. Instead of
heading to the helicopter pad Travis was accustomed to, the pilot
veered the aircraft to the south. He turned to Dunn.

“You want to tell me where the hell we’re
going NOW?”

Dunn could see he’d maxed out his boss’s
patience. “We’re getting a lift from the 118th Air Wing.”

“The Air National Guard?” Travis couldn’t
remember ever having any interaction with the unit. Their base sat
right next to Nashville’s airport.

“Yeah. I’ve got a buddy I served with in the
Army. He left the Army and re-enlisted as a First Sergeant in the
Air National Guard. I gave him a call and asked if they were
looking to run any practice drops. He said yes and the deal was
done.”

“Did you say practice drop?”

“Oh, yeah. Didn’t I mention that we’re gonna
parachute in?” Dunn’s smile reminded Travis of a certain
overly-chipper instructor he’d had at BUDS. The damn guy always
seemed so cheery about making the SEAL candidates do anything
dangerous.

“You’ve got to be shitting me, Todd.”

“Now why would I do that, Skipper?” Dunn
asked innocently, the bright smile still plastered on his normally
serious face.

+++

To expedite the process, the helicopters
landed just yards from the waiting C-130 Hercules. Dunn’s friend
made the quick introductions and had a crew waiting to help load
gear.

“You sure this is just gonna be a one way
trip, Todd?” the grizzled First Sergeant asked.

“That’s all we need. Thanks again for the
last minute lift.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Your pilot, Captain
Jeffries, is known as a little bit of a cowboy around here. In
fact, his call sign is Cowboy. Might make for a fun ride.” He
patted Todd on the back and moved to help his men finish loading
the packs.

Dunn looked at his friend in confusion then
stepped in line to board the aircraft. By the time he got onboard,
Travis was chatting with the pilot. Capt. Jeffries looked to be
about sixteen years old. Despite his youthful appearance, he
sported a very blond and very waxed handlebar mustache. A pair of
aviator sunglasses was perched on his head, and he leaned his small
frame casually against the plane’s bulkhead.

Travis turned as Dunn approached. “Todd
Dunn, meet Captain Jeffries.”

Jeffries smiled and shook Dunn’s hand
firmly. “Call me Cowboy.” He pointed to the patch on his flight
suit that sported his moniker.

“Good to meet you, sir,” Dunn offered
carefully. He never knew how to handle these non-military-looking
pilots. “Thanks for giving us a ride.”

“Not a problem, buddy. Thanks to you guys I
won’t have to fly a thousand circles over Nashville today. Gets
boring after the first two turns. Besides, I’ve always wanted to
fly into a snowstorm. Should be fun!” Jeffries really did look like
a kid on Christmas day when he smiled.

Travis was enjoying Dunn’s unease. He
decided to push it a little farther. “Hey, Cowboy, I know Mr. Dunn
was just dying to ask you about your mustache.”

Cowboy beamed and carefully stroked both
ends of the impressive formation. “I know it’s not really within
military regs, but my boss lets me keep it because of all the trips
I take to Afghanistan. It wouldn’t be right if I crashed and got
captured with my baby face. At least this way the terrorist that
gets his hands on me might be impressed by my studly ‘stache and
keep me in the land of the living.”

Dunn didn’t know how to respond. Travis just
chuckled and moved to find a seat. It would be an interesting
flight to Wyoming.

Chapter 29

Grand Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming

11:58am, September 28th

Visibility had turned to shit. In order to
avoid being split up, Cal’s team had opted to close the gaps
between men. It wasn’t the best tactical decision based on proper
troop dispersion, but it was a practical call made out of
necessity.

They’d just entered another
gully that had only recently been a stream full of running water
when an explosion knocked Cal from his feet. As he settled in the
snow, he looked around. He could see a couple of the men struggling
to get up and find cover. One man had a hand pressed to his bloody
face.
Where the hell did that explosion
come from?
Cal thought as he crawled over
to a rock outcropping and made himself as small as possible. A
minute later Gaucho was next to him, his white trouser leg covered
in blood.

“You okay?” Cal asked, concerned.

“No problem, boss. Just a scratch.”

Gaucho had already applied a hasty bandage
to the shrapnel wound.

“Have any idea where that came from?” Cal
said as he tried in vain to see anything through the incessant
snowfall.

“I’m pretty fucking sure nobody shot at us.
I think it was a triggered IED.”

“Anybody hurt?”

“Just some minor cuts and bruises. We got
lucky because of the snow, I think. I’ll bet that damn thing was on
a delay or I would’ve been smoked. We’ve gotta get off this
trail.”

Cal nodded. The terrain wouldn’t open up for
a while. Staying on the narrow trail had been a gamble they’d just
been called on. They were sitting ducks despite the snow cover. It
would be easy for their enemy to rig traps all along the winding
path. Taking to the higher trails would slow their journey
considerably, but was necessary considering the alternative.

“Okay. Why don’t you run point on the left
side of the canyon and I’ll take the right. As long as we keep
going uphill and don’t shoot straight across the ravine, we should
be all right.”

Gaucho didn’t look pleased with the idea of
splitting his team further, but he trusted Cal’s judgment. The
Marine was a formidable warrior in his own right and could handle
himself.

“Just promise me one thing, boss.”

“What’s that?”

“Wait for me to catch up before you take out
all the bad guys.”

Cal grinned and crawled off to find
Daniel.

+++

Trapper peered through his thermal scope. He
could only pick up faint blurs because of the blizzard, but he
could see that his plan had worked. The small IED wasn’t meant to
kill anyone, although the ruthless mercenary wouldn’t have minded.
His goal was to get them to do exactly what they were now doing:
separating.

Ponder’s second-in-command loved a
challenge. Trapper knew that if his boss was with him he would’ve
wanted the attackers killed quickly. “Kill those fuckers right
now,” he would’ve said. That wasn’t Trapper’s style. He liked to
take out enemies slowly and methodically.

Trapper loved the hunt almost as much as the
final kill.

+++

Cal found Daniel and Lance behind a pile of
fallen trees. The men were deep in conversation.

“What’s going on, Daniel?” Cal asked over
the howling wind.

“Lance thinks the explosion was from his
friend Trapper.”

“The guy that got away?”

Briggs nodded. “He’s some kind of tracker.
Lance says he’s really good. Tell him, Lance.”

Lance looked at Cal uncertainly. “Yeah.
Trapper likes the hunt. I think he was an MP in the Army. He gets
off on seeing other people in pain.”

Cal didn’t know what to believe. While he
trusted Daniel’s judgment regarding their prisoner, he couldn’t
bring himself to believe in Trapper’s former partner. “So where do
you think he is?”

Lance pointed up to the ridgeline. “Up there
somewhere. He used to bring me over here to scope out the area and
check on his hides. He liked to shadow hikers. Trapper said it kept
his skills sharp.”

“Did you say he has hides up there?” Cal
asked incredulously. “Why didn’t you tell us about that
before?”

Lance looked to Daniel for support. Daniel
answered for him, “I asked him the same thing, Cal. He figured
Ponder would probably keep Trapper close to home. They don’t have a
ton of guys to guard the place. I believe him.”

Cal knew it was a moot point. “You think you
can show us where the hides are?”

Lance nodded. “It might be a little harder
with the snow, but I’ve been here a few times, and I’m pretty good
at land nav. I think I can find them.”

“Good. The three of us will go together.
Daniel, go find Gaucho and tell him what we’re doing. I want to
have a little talk with Lance.”

Daniel stared at Cal for an
extended moment then left to brief Gaucho. Cal knew what Daniel’s
look meant.
Keep your temper in check,
Cal.

Cal turned back to Lance. “I want to make
sure we’re on the same page here, Lance.”

The blonde giant gazed back in confusion.
“What…what do you mean, Mr. Stokes?” Lance had seen how the other
men respected the young leader. He looked uncomfortable under the
Marine’s scrutiny.

Cal’s eyes went cold. “I appreciate you
helping us this far and not giving us any trouble. But I want to
tell you that if you so much as think about betraying us, I will
take care of you personally.”

Lance’s face turned serious. “Mr. Stokes, I
know what you’re saying, but let me tell you something. You guys
have treated me nothing but decent. I mean to repay that favor by
helping you find Trapper and Mr. Ponder. I won’t let you down,
sir.”

It wasn’t the reply Cal had expected. Up to
this point, Lance hadn’t said a word to Cal.

“Okay. I’ll make you a deal. When we get out
of this thing alive, I’ll put in a good word for you when you look
for a new job.”

Lance knew it was more than he deserved. He
was grateful for the chance. The disgraced former Marine knew that
Ponder wouldn’t give him the same chance.

“Thank you, Mr. Stokes.” Lance reached out
to shake Cal’s hand.

Cal grabbed his hand and shook it firmly.
“Just one thing. Stop calling me Mr. Stokes. It’s Cal.”

+++

Five minutes later, Lance was leading the
way up the steep slope. He’d told Cal and Daniel that Trapper had
as many as twenty observation points in the area, but that of
those, only two or three were in the immediate vicinity.

The rest of the team was fanning out in
pairs, keeping as much dispersion as possible considering the heavy
snowfall. Over Gaucho’s objections, Cal had ordered the rest of the
men to proceed toward Ponder’s hideout. He knew they were running
out of time. Daniel and Cal would take care of Trapper.

Chapter 30

Grand Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming

1:36pm, September 28th

“Have you heard from Cal? Everybody okay
after that IED?” Brian Ramirez asked MSgt Trent as they both
stopped for a quick sip of water. The going had gotten a lot
tougher since they’d left the trail. They had to resort to taking
quick breaks both to recharge a bit and to check in with the other
teams that were somewhere out in the invisible terrain. Their small
radios were struggling to transmit in the storm.

“Last time I had a signal, they were
breaking into smaller groups too. Cal said he and Briggs were gonna
find that guy that escaped.”

“The guy with the nose?”

Trent nodded as he stuffed a whole Power Bar
into his mouth. “Cal says the Upshaw kid might know where he
is.”

“I don’t know if we should be trusting
him.”

Trent just shrugged. “If Snake Eyes thinks
he’s cool, that’s good enough for me. Besides, if Cal takes out
Ponder’s number two guy, we’ll be doing a lot better than we are
now, Doc.”

Brian had a hard time agreeing. From the
start, the whole operation felt like they were three steps behind.
It wasn’t anyone’s fault, least of all Cal’s, but Brian couldn’t
shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap.

After checking in with the rest of their
team, Brian and Trent continued up the mountain.

+++

The first hide they found was empty. Lance
told them that normally there was a stash of survival goods hidden
in a small depression in the back of each small cave. They didn’t
see any signs of recent passing.

Cal looked down at his watch. They were
losing a lot of time looking for someone that might not even be
there. “I think we need to split up. The next two hides aren’t too
far apart. Maybe we can save some time if I take one and you and
Lance take the other.”

By the look on his face, Daniel didn’t like
the idea. “We’re already spread thin, Cal. It won’t take much
longer for all three of us to check the other two hides. We might
need all the firepower we can get.”

Cal knew the sniper was right, but he’d
already made up his mind. “Let’s split up and then meet at the next
checkpoint. If one of us doesn’t show an hour after that, we can go
looking for each other.”