22. Sebastian

22

Sebastian

H e had been about to tell Talia that he was in love with her and he wanted to go through the mating ceremony with her. Sebastian had been tempted to ignore his phone when it rang, but he pulled it out anyway in case it was an emergency. The number was from a top government official who never called unless there was someone in danger.

The voice on the other end was very tense. "Garner, this is Frank Hollister. We have a situation that requires your immediate attention."

Frank Hollister was a top dog for the National Security Agency. He was involved in terrorist threats and usually called Sebastian to put out fires.

"Calvin Reid, CEO of a major tech organization, called Innovative AI, was on a combined business and pleasure trip in Queswen, a small country in Southeastern Asia. His wife, Jenna, and their two children accompanied him. They disappeared two days ago. This morning, we received a ransom demand for three billion. If the money isn't delivered to their bank accounts within seventy-two hours, they will kill one of the kids. Another kid will be killed if it's not delivered within the following seventy-two hours. They want to keep Calvin alive because of his knowledge. As you know, the United States government does not make deals with terrorists."

Sebastian's jaw tightened. Queswen was a small, politically unstable country in Southeast Asia, known for its lush jungles and corrupt government. It was precisely the kind of place where the wealthy and powerful could easily become targets. Reid had been an idiot for going there and an even bigger one for taking his family.

He instructed Hollister to send a chopper. It would take them to a small charter plane that would fly them to the country. Sebastian and his team would parachute in close, but not too close to the area where the family was likely being held.

Sebastian hated leaving Talia. It seemed like every time he wanted to talk to her about their relationship, something interrupted it. He hoped it wasn't a sign from the universe telling him she wasn't the one for him after all. Dreams of a house full of pups and hanging out with Talia for the rest of his life had already consumed his nights and some of his days.

He got to his office and called Adam, Julian, Anthony, Jordan, and Lacy to come in ASAP and bring their go-bags. They rushed in and he briefed them.

"Queswen was ruled by a dictator named General Khai Sorn. He rose to power through a military coup about fifteen years ago, killing the sitting president. He rules with an iron fist and there are rumors that he does business with Isis. According to intel, he runs drugs and arms. He also has been known to detonate dirty bombs, sarin gas, and ricin gas in busy places to cause chaos. He spends a ton of money on himself and his inner circle while the majority of the country lives in poverty."

"Sounds like a charming fellow," Lacey muttered. "Right up there with Kim Jong Un's rule of North Korea."

Sebastian brought out detailed maps of the country and pinpointed where the Reids were likely being held. They made a plan on how to attack and rescue the Reids.

His phone buzzed. The chopper was five minutes out. Sebastian sent a quick message to Talia. I'm sorry. I have to leave the country, and I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. I'll make it up to you when I get back.

Hollister was in the chopper. He gave Sebastian a folder that had pictures of the family and details about the nature of Reid's business. Reid did have some government contracts, but they weren't high security. They had their experts hack into Reid's emails and it seemed that Sorn had enticed Reid with promises of a lucrative partnership."

"How stupid can you get?" Anthony asked. "Anyone with half a brain and who did five minutes of research would know that Sorn wouldn't honor any deal."

"I'm afraid Reid wasn't using his brain. He only had dollar signs in his eyes," Hollister said.

"It's going to get him and his family killed," Jordan said angrily, pulling her hair back tightly from her face.

The chopper took them to the plane, which was ready to go as soon as the six shifters boarded. The plan was that the plane would wait for them in a nearby friendly country. As soon as Sebastian called that they had the family, a helicopter would land in a specific clearing they had mapped out and would take them to the plane.

As the craft approached the small country, they checked their equipment. Tensions were high as they felt a heightened sense of anticipation, intensity, and power.

At Sebastian's signal, they leaped from the plane one by one, their parachutes deploying silently. They landed in a small clearing in the dense jungle where they would meet the chopper.

The six of them hid their parachutes and then silently made their way to the compound where they believed the family was being held. Julian shifted into dragon form and flew off to get a visual of the compound that couldn't be supplied by satellite.

They were about an hour out when Julian came back.

"There are six buildings. One is the palace. I don't think that the Reids are being held there. Instead, there is a smaller building, that's more like a shed. I saw a couple of women going in there with food, so my guess is that Sorn is holding the hostages in there."

He described the rest of the compound, including the number of guards surrounding it.

They waited until darkness and moved in. The shifters undressed and stashed their clothes and supplies in the wood surrounding the compound. Anthony, Sebastian, Adam, and Jordan shifted to their wolf forms, while Lacey became a large bear. Julian flew over the compound to provide constant reports to the ground crew and to annihilate any unexpected threats.

The five ground shifters took out the guards relatively easily. Apparently, there was very little excitement that ever happened around the compound, and the men were very bored. They never saw the attack coming. Lacey used her strength to create a new entrance through a weakened part of the wall in the back.

They snuck into the compound but were spotted. One of the inner guards raised the alarm.

Julian used fire to destroy the electric lines, causing the entire place to go dark. He swooped down and charred the guard who had raised the alarm.

The six of them faced a fierce battle with Sorn's elite guards. The close-quarter combat was brutal. One of the guards fired a gun and Anthony howled in pain. Sebastian continued to fight his opponent who had a large knife. The man sliced Sebastian's front leg. Ignoring the burning pain, Sebastian swiped the man's face with a huge paw, sending him screaming to the ground, as the claws ripped his eyes.

Sebastian whirled around in time to see Lacey use her powerful paw to send a man crashing into the side of a building. He hit the ground with a huge thud and didn't get up. Julian swooped in, blew fire on one, and picked up two others in his claws, flying them high into the sky and dropping them to the ground outside of the compound.

Anthony was still fighting, even though he had a hole in his side. Adam and Jordan were engaged with two opponents.

He had taken in the scene in half a second, just as he was being attacked by another man. Sebastian leaped to the side and then pounced on the man, ripping his throat out. The inner guards were down.

"Anthony?" Sebastian asked telepathically.

"Flesh wound."

Sebastian didn't believe him, but they didn't have time to take care of Anthony's, his wounds, or anyone else's wounds.

"Anyone else hurt?"

No one answered. They wouldn't say anything here.

Sebastian and Jordan entered the shed first. The Reids were huddled together in the corner of the small structure. Apparently, the person guarding them had run.

They shifted and Sebastian said, "We're going to get you out of here. Can you guys run?"

"Yes," the man said, his voice shaking.

"Good. You will have to follow instructions immediately as they are given," Sebastian ordered. "Stand up and get behind us."

Just as they walked to the door, a new wave of fighters arrived. Sebastian realized that the leader of this new wave bore a striking resemblance to the general and recognized him immediately. It was the general's son, Virak.

Jordan screamed, "Get back" to the Reids and shifted.

Sounds of gunfire, roars, and growls filled the air as the battle raged. Sebastian leaped and landed on Virak directly. Virak shot, but the bullet went wild. Sebastian shredded Virak's throat with his claws.

Julian had blown fire at five of the newcomers as they ran toward the shifters. They screamed as they burst into flames. Lacey, Jordan, Adam, and Anthony quickly destroyed the rest of them.

A bone-chilling scream of anger and anguish filled the air as General Sorn stared down at his son's dead body. His eyes locked with Sebastian's, burning with a promise of vengeance. "I will destroy you and the person you love most in this world," Sorn screamed

"Come quickly," Lacey yelled to the Reids. She, Anthony, and Adam followed behind them as Sebastian and Jordan led the way into the dark forest. Julian flew overhead to take out anyone who might be trying to follow them.

All but Julian shifted into their human forms and quickly got dressed. Calvin said, "You're shifters. I thought shifters were a myth."

"Lucky for you, we aren't," Jordan said harshly. She looked at the kids and in a much gentler voice, she said, "Are you okay?"

They nodded.

"If you guys get too tired to run, you tell me. Lacey is a bear and I'm a wolf. We'll carry you. I need you to be very brave."

They both nodded.

She's going to be a great mother someday, Sebastian thought.

Jordan gave him a dirty look as though she heard it.

Halfway through the journey back to the clearing, Julian swooped down and offered the kids a ride. They gladly accepted. Not only were they getting tired, but riding a dragon was awesome.

They made it to the meeting place safely and Sebastian called for the chopper. They waited for ten tense minutes. Sebastian told the Reids that they could never discuss what happened with the rescue or that they were shifters. That would put everyone in grave danger if they did. The Reids, grateful to be alive, agreed to keep their silence.

"No one would believe us anyway," the little boy said.

The rest of the mission went smoothly. They all got on the chopper, which took them to the plane. Everyone slept on the way back to The States since none of the shifters had slept for more than forty-eight hours.

Sebastian and the team escorted the Reids back home. All of their injuries were patched up. Sebastian's stab wound had almost healed itself. Anthony had to have the bullet taken out of his side, but luckily it missed all of his vital organs. Lacey, Jordan, and Adam had a couple of deep cuts that needed to be treated. Julian was the only one who had been unscathed.

Once they were given the all clear, they met with Hollister to be debriefed. The team provided details about the terrain and Sorn, although he was now down a lot of men. Sorn was the kind of guy who considered people expendable and would quickly shore up his defenses.

Finally, Hollister was done with them and paid the three million he promised Sebastian for a successful recovery of the Reids. One million would go into Sebastian's company and toward expenses, and the other two would be divided equally between his team members, so each would receive four hundred thousand. Sebastian was just glad that the mission was over. It had been invigorating, but now he just wanted to go home.

It'd been almost two weeks since Sebastian had seen Talia. He had left his personal cell phone at the office, just as the others had, so he couldn't be tracked.

The chopper ride home seemed to take forever. All he wanted was Talia, a shower, and a bed, preferably in that order. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the chopper landed on the helipad on the roof of his building. He made a beeline for his phone to call Talia. He didn't care that it was four in the morning or if he woke her up. He wanted to see her.

He noticed that he had several missed calls from Rory. Sighing heavily, he called him back, hoping the kids were okay.

"It's about damned time you got back," Rory said. "Talia's been missing for two days."