Until We Meet Once More (2 page)

Vic put on headphones and listened in on the radio chatter between Bagram and the battle zone. Well-armed, well-outfitted al Qaeda mountain fighters were well entrenched around their target. In other words, business as usual.

“So what the hell is this SEAL doing out here on his lonesome?” O’Riley asked, when Vic finally put the headphones aside.

“He was part of a recon team looking for Akhtar Shah Omar.”

Akhtar Shah Omar was a Taliban leader in the Kunar province whose so-called Mountain Devil fighters had been delivering heavy casualties to the marines operating in eastern Afghanistan.

“Someone should have told them Omar’s on the other side of the valley.”

Vic nodded curtly. It was obvious they didn’t have the full story yet, but that was par for the course. What he had been able to learn was that Sean had been leading a four man team. The three other SEALs had been killed after an extended firefight when their position had been discovered by mujahadeen militia. Sean had managed to survive and keep moving and was now within range of the landing zone, although there was no telling what kind of shape he was in.

“By now everybody in the fucking province, including Osama Bin Laden, will be looking for him. And they’re going to be waiting for us,” O’Riley said.

Vic looked from his weathered face to the dark, intense face of Matturo. “Yep. The Taliban know we always come back for our own. If they can, they’ll lay a trap for us, but we’re coming in fast and we’ve still got the advantage of darkness.”

Cheyney’s calm voice came over the intercom. “Six minutes out.”

As Vic unbuckled and moved into kneeling position, he could hear the pilot briefing her crew who were already on their feet, watching the windows, looking out for RPG launches.

Far below Vic could see the pale glimmer of the snowy slopes of the whaleback western ridge of the Shah-i-Kot Valley.

Cheyney finished, “Anybody have any questions? No? Let’s rock and roll.”

oOo

Eleven years ago, , Village Motel, Annapolis, Maryland

“Let’s lock and load, baby,” Sean said, squirting a shiny glob of lube on his hands. He rubbed his fingers together, warming the gel.

Vic shifted, trying to get comfortable — like that was even a possibility.

Sean ran his hand lightly over Vic’s ass, stroking him, and then he parted his buttock cheeks, tracing a light finger down his crack — not quite teasing, but not invasive either. Delicately he touched the tight — and clenching tighter — entrance to Vic’s anus.

Vic sucked in a breath. Fists punching sharp indentations in the slick, flowered bedspread and mattress beneath, he looked uneasily over his shoulder. “I don’t know about this.”

Sean’s finger stopped that little stroking motion that was sending butterflies swarming into Vic’s hot, tight belly. “Are you welching on your bet?”

Vic blushed. He’d heard loudly and at length how he needed to work on his technique that first time. Well, practice made perfect, and he didn’t get any more complaints about his performance these days. Far from it. Nothing Sean liked better than taking Vic’s dick up his skinny ass.

So why he’d had to suddenly make this into a big deal, turn everything around, insist on that goddamned bet on the Army-Navy Game — and why Vic had had to
lose
the bet.

“A deal’s a deal,” he said gruffly.

He faced forward again, uncomfortable at the way Sean’s face colored up and his eyes shone more brightly in the subdued hotel lighting.

“You’ll like it, Stoney,” Sean whispered and Vic shivered as Sean’s lips pressed briefly, like warm velvet, to his spine. “You’ll see.”

Cocky sonofabitch. No way was Vic going to like this, although he had to admit to a little curiosity given the way Sean carried on when Vic was fucking him. Racked and helpless — like it was just the best thing in the world to have Vic’s dick shoving in and out of him. He’d even cried a little the first time — and not because Vic had hurt him. They’d both pretended not to notice.

Sean started fingering him again in that embarrassingly intimate,
knowing
way. Vic jumped.

“Jesus, would you try to relax?”

“I
am
relaxed!”

Sean laughed, and Vic reluctantly laughed too although he was a little angry at being forced into this.

Okay, in fairness he wasn’t being forced. Sean would accept it if he said he’d changed his mind. He wouldn’t be happy but he’d take it. And he’d still let Vic have him. But…Vic couldn’t do that to him because clearly this meant something to Sean. Proved something. God knew what.

He could feel Sean’s dick, rigid as a snub-nosed lance brushing against his buttocks. His own dick was soft as a limp noodle. In fact if his genitals retreated any further from this assault he’d turn into a girl.

Actually…that felt kind of good, the way Sean’s finger was touching him there, stroking so lightly. The tip of his finger was slippery with oil and it pushed gently into Vic and then pulled out; he was getting a sort of rhythm going and Vic made himself relax into it. His sphincter muscle automatically gripped Sean’s finger — biology kicking in — but the friction wasn’t so bad. Wasn’t bad at all if he was honest.

Yeah, that was nice…

And Sean was patient. And careful. He pushed his finger in deeply and continued stroking until Vic was actually relaxed enough to permit another finger to slip inside — definitely a weird feeling, but after the initial uncertainty of whether his body would permit this transgression…it sort of felt good. Sean was touching him expertly as though feeling for something…

Vic gasped as a jolt of pure pleasure lit up inside him. All hands on deck. Sean nipped his shoulder, and oddly that felt good too.

“Do that again,” Vic ordered, unevenly.

Sean did it again and Vic gulped. Sean took the opportunity to slide another finger inside Vic’s body.

He was sort of getting used to it now, and he liked the way Sean’s fingers were twisting and stroking inside his body — weird though it was. He’d always liked Sean’s hands.

Sean pulled his fingers out. The bedsprings squeaked beneath as he moved into position, and Vic felt the alien brush of latex as the blunt head of Sean’s dick pushed at the door of his body.

The condom changed everything, made him self-conscious, made him remember what they were doing, what they were risking. He tensed, but Sean was soothing him with whispers and a caressing hand on his cock. Vic forced himself to relax, he wanted to get this over with now. Sean pushed in.

It hurt. Bright pain flashed behind Vic’s eyes and he briefly considered murdering Sean for raping him, but even as the red tide of fury rose, the pain was easing and a strange quivering awareness replaced it. Not exactly pleasure but…well, not like anything he’d ever felt before.

“Sorry, sorry. It’ll get better, you’ll see,” Sean was whispering, and his hands petted and fondled until Vic’s dick was hard again, and he was relaxed.

The fullness, the sense of being overwhelmed by another body, was disconcerting, but even that wasn’t…bad exactly. Just strange.

Sean moved, sliding in a little further, then pulling out. He cautiously rocked against Vic and Vic cautiously pushed back against him. Sean’s thrusts grew stronger, and Vic shoved back harder, and now they had the rhythm of it, the push pull, the rise and fall.

There was a temptation to wrestle for control, but he could feel Sean’s urgency, his need, and after all, this was about giving Sean what he wanted, so Vic let go and just went with it, let Sean drive it, letting it build speed like a steam engine picking up until it was rocketing along on its own momentum and he couldn’t have stopped it if he’d wanted to.

Strangely, he didn’t want to.

Sean’s cock thrust in and out, faster and harder, and then he changed the angle and Vic felt something like a fireball of intense, fierce physical delight roll up his spine and burst in the back of his skull. At the same time orgasm rushed up through him and he came in hard spurts of milky white.

Sean was still humping against him, making small, desperate sounds, and Vic, still telling himself he just wanted this over and forgotten, rolled his hips and tried twisting back. Sean arched, slamming in and out until he suddenly shouted and Vic could feel that pulse of liquid heat — contained — but there nonetheless.

They collapsed together, a sweating tangle of arms and legs, gasping for breath. Vic felt a crazy sort of triumph that he had managed this, managed to give Sean what he wanted. After he’d caught his breath, he rolled over, groggy with release and weariness, reaching for Sean, pulling him close. Sean crawled clumsily into his arms, burying his head in the curve of Vic’s shoulder and neck.

oOo

Present day, , Somewhere in the Aram Mountain Range, Kunar Province, Afghanistan

The chopper set down in a sparkling powder of fresh snow. Vic was the first one down the ramp and out into the thin, cold air, M held at ready. His team followed on his heels.

The silence in the makeshift LZ was almost eerie. Moonlight spotlighted snowy pine trees and surrounding rocky crags. Nothing moved.

“Where the hell is he?” O’Riley asked at last.

Vic shook his head, eyes raking the barren plateau for any sign of life. “Let’s fan out. Have a look for him. He’s supposed to be on his way.”

They spread out, moving quickly across the mountain top. Not so much as a ground squirrel stirred.

Vic jogged to the edge of the clearing, looking down the mountain side. He could see the nubby carpet of pine trees and conifers. Not a glimmer of light from anywhere but the moon overhead.

“Where are you?” he asked softly.

The wind made a ghostly sigh through the funnel of rocks.

Out of the corner of his eye, Vic saw the flash of white light. A blast rent the night. Vic turned as a giant, invisible hand seemed to gouge into the earth in front of the nose of the chopper, sending snow and rocks flying his way. He hit the ground as shrapnel slammed into the side of the chopper and pinged against the rotary blades.

Mortar fire.

He looked for his guys and saw them flattened behind cover. Matturo yelled across the clearing, “Two o’clock. The bastards are firing mortars from over that ridge.”

The ridge was on the other side of a gorge separating this mountain from the next.

One of the chopper’s door gunners returned fire with his M machine gun, though it was doubtful he had a viable target.

Vic considered the ridge as another flash indicated a second mortar was being lobbed their way. Light, probably hand-held mortar, and far enough away to make that strike near the nose of the chopper more a matter of luck than strategy — which wouldn’t help Vic’s team if that luck held and they ended up stranded on this mountaintop — surrounded by al Qaeda. He remembered Marsden’s words about not wanting another Roberts’ Ridge. Marsden was going to piss himself when he got word of this. Although anyone could have predicted what would happen putting a chopper down in the middle of these mountains.

Not like there was any choice about it. From the moment Vic had heard Sean Kennedy was the fox in the snare, he’d been determined to go.

The second mortar hit beneath the mountain top. Snow and rocks and shrapnel flew into the night and then rained down while Vic, Matturo, and Riley hunkered under what cover they could find.

Matturo was swearing a blue stream when he popped his head up again. “If this frogman doesn’t show up, how long are we planning on hanging around here?”

“Working on it.” No small arms fire. So far, so good. The dividing gorge between this mountain top and the ridge where the insurgents were holed up would slow al Qaeda down only briefly. And these mountains were filled with bad guys to whom the sound of those mortars and machine gun fire would be reveille.

“Any sign of our boy?” O’Riley called again from his position behind a scraggy evergreen that looked like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree. “I got nothing. Any sign of him?”

Every fifteen seconds another mortar round hit the hillside, usually beneath the crest but occasionally striking the cliffside above. Given the randomness of the impacts, Vic suspected the mortar team lacked a forward observer. What they did seem to have was an endless supply of ammo and boundless enthusiasm for their mission.

If Sean was trying to get up this mountain, the mortar fire would be one hell of a disincentive. And if he wasn’t trying to get up this mountain…

In the lull between rounds, Vic jumped up and zigzagged back to the Chinook, boots pounding gravel. Taking shelter on the other side of the ramp, he yelled into the chopper, “Somebody get on the radio and contact base. See if one of the CIA’s drones can give us Kennedy’s coordinates.”