Hostile Home Front [Black Ops Brotherhood 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (31 page)

“Rock, put JJ on active duty orders. Dan, Shaq, and Alex, get your asses back to San Antonio and muster SEAL Team 13,” Dixie said.

“Dixie, we know that the Russians had labs in Afghanistan. I read about how they experimented with biological warfare on the Mujahideen while they were there. Where was the big lab?” Rock asked.

“We never found it. We thought it was somewhere in the Kush Valley near the Khyber Pass,” Dixie said.

“And where does the Khyber Pass go? Anyone?” Shaq asked sarcastically.

“Thanks,
Junior.
We go from a tropical paradise to the fucking Dark Ages!” Lieutenant Gamez said, annoyed.

“Call me ‘junior’ again and I’ll kick your ass. What are you bitching about? What the fuck do we get paid for?” Shaq demanded.

“Well, boys, I think you just picked your next vacation spot. I’m sending you guys and the team to Afghanistan. I’ll dig back into the CIA intel from those days,” Dixie said.

“Dixie, we need to talk before we make a move. We have other intel we need to review again,” JJ said.

JJ and Rock glanced at each other. Gavin guessed there was something deeper going on by the way Rock and JJ were looking at each other. He thought back and remembered a nasty incident at Kingsville NAS. JJ had been onto something hot. After the Kingsville incident, it had seemed to drop. Apparently, whatever JJ had seen last night had just brought back that little blip on his radar.

Dixie sat back in his chair and said, “Okay, but I want you to stay on Sergei’s ass. Keep us posted on where you are and what’s going on. Go through the American Embassy and I’ll brief the CIA so they won’t give you any shit when you show up. Before anyone leaves St. Thomas, I want at least a direction at a plan. We’ll all meet in San Antonio in ten days.”

185 Larimore Street

Victoria, Texas

February 21, 2009/1931 Zulu

Amy and Gavin arrived at Irene’s house and Gavin immediately noticed the overgrown lawn. They had been back from St. Thomas for a day and Gavin was still unsure why Irene hadn’t been on the return flight home with them. Amy let them into the house and trashed all the old newspapers that had accumulated on the porch. He looked through the house and found nothing out of place. Amy also collected and sorted the mail.

He watched Amy briefly as she did a few simple chores inside the house and thought about the wedding and their stay in St. Thomas. He smiled.
I could watch her all day and it would never get old.
He was looking forward to spending the rest of his life with Amy. His mind ticked off all the things they had been through and how they had managed to make it to this moment. He felt the ring on his left hand. He belonged to Amy now,
forever.
Gavin walked to her. He stopped her busy hands, pulled her close, and kissed her.

“I love you. Mrs. Walsh,” he whispered as he pulled her close.

“I love you, too,” Amy said with a giggle. “Let me finish so we can get back home and relax.”

Gavin released Amy and stepped back. He thought about the trip he was taking to San Antonio next week. He wasn’t only dealing with Rock and his bunch out at Randolph. He would need to tell his FBI boss a few things, too. This would get difficult. He was almost sure he might be asked to move to San Antonio pretty soon. He still wasn’t sure if these bastards were done in places like Victoria, Texas.

Gavin left Amy and walked through the living room. He looked at the picture of David in uniform with the black band still around it. He took a deep internal breath. David, in the end, had done the right thing, sparing Amy and Irene the humiliation of finding out that he had been a dirty cop. He knew that Gamez, Alex, Shaq, and Rock would take what they knew to the grave, never telling anyone what had really happened the night that David had died or what they had found.

“Amy!” Gavin called.

“What is it, Gavin?” Amy called from the kitchen.

“How come Irene didn’t come back with us? Where did Irene say she was going again?”

“She went to Turkey.”

Gavin walked into the kitchen where Amy was trashing the junk mail. He had a scowl on his face.
Turkey? What the hell is she doing in Turkey?
There was only one thing Gavin knew of Turkey and it was in Istanbul. It was dangerous and Irene had no fucking business there.

“Why did she go to Turkey? Did she go alone?” Gavin asked.

“No, she’s not by herself. She didn’t say exactly what was in Turkey, only that she had to go there,” Amy said without looking up.

“Who did she go with?”

“James, you know—”

“
James
? Who the fuck is
James
?” Gavin questioned sharply.

Gavin’s hackles were starting to rise. He was sure this conversation wouldn’t end well. What the hell was Irene doing globetrotting with some guy named
James
? He was alarmed. She had better sense than to run off like that.
What the hell has gotten into her?

“He’s one of your friends. He’s the gray-haired gentleman. You know, Master Chief Jones.” Amy smiled as she flipped through the mail.

“Come back with that name,” Gavin said as his steel-gray eyes narrowed.

Amy paused what she was doing and turned to her husband. He knew his tone of voice had gotten her attention. She had told him on occasion that tone made her nervous. Gavin stood staring at Amy.

“Did you say Jones? Do you mean
JJ
?” Gavin asked.

“Yes, of course! Irene calls him James.”

Gavin knew damned good and well what
JJ
was doing in Turkey. Why the hell had he taken Irene with him? JJ was on a mission and
he
had better sense than to fuck that up. Irene could be in some serious peril and she was too far for Gavin to get to her quickly. He would kill JJ for that shit the next time he saw him. He prayed JJ hadn’t left for Turkey before he could get to Irene. This was serious. Gavin’s mood went from alarm to anger quickly as he stared at Amy for a minute before he spoke.

“Oh, hell no! Find her and get her on the phone!” Gavin exclaimed.

Gavin walked out of the kitchen with his cell phone glued to his ear.

“Rock, we need to talk…”

THE END

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Bella Juarez lives and writes in South Central Texas. Her stories reflect her years working with the military as well as her many experiences in the civilian world. Her love of thrill and adventure is reflected in her stories.

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