Chapter 15

Chapter

Fifteen

A very had to focus on flying the chopper as opposed to preening under Thom’s praise, but the minute she switched the radio system back to interior only, she couldn’t help it. “Thanks.”

“Part of being a daddy, and specifically yours, is that I’m your biggest cheerleader. I appreciate where Noah is coming from, but you were part of this team long before you were my little girl. I’ve always admired your skills and your ability to hold it together under extreme conditions, I just want you to be as safe as you can be.”

“We’re coming up on Fariq’s.” She flipped some switches, turning on the monitor. “I had them install a camera on the belly of the chopper, so let’s see if we can’t get a better look at what we’re up against.”

She flipped on the camera and a clear picture of the broken compound below popped up.

“The good news is I don’t see Fariq’s yacht, but you sure did a job on that fortress,” Thom said with a grin.

“Well, there was this guy I’m kind of sweet on, so I went in and saved his sorry ass,” she teased. “His way of saying thank you was to whoop mine.”

“Yeah, he’s kind of a bastard that way.”

She reached over and punched him in the thigh. She’d forgotten how muscled he was and shook her hand to alleviate the pain she’d caused herself. Thom caught her hand and kissed it.

“That’s rule five, baby girl.”

She blushed. “And back to rule seven.”

He laughed. “Let me amend that, he’s one very lucky bastard.”

“Yeah, he is, but so is his little girl. I’m going to fly directly overhead. I want to keep the cloud cover, but I suspect we’re going to hit bumpy air.”

“Go for it. I think I’ve almost cracked their communications. Holy shit!” he said as the chopper suddenly bounced, fighting Avery for control.

“Sorry, like I said, bumpy air.”

“Not your fault, and I’m in.” Thom pressed the headset against his ear. “Avery, get us out of here, they’re tracking us. I’ve got their communications jammed, so they should be cut off.”

Avery banked the chopper in a hard dive, getting under the clouds and into more stable air. Almost immediately, the missile lock beeper went off. Thom grimaced, but he said nothing. Grinning, she jettisoned chaff and banked again, this time going into a steep climb. The missile took the decoy and exploded. The resulting air disturbance shuddered through the aircraft, making Thom grab first his laptop and then his chair, but she got them through it.

Diving back below the clouds, she skimmed just above the water, looking for the launching point of the missile. She spotted the two guards on one of the turrets as they tried to get another lock on their position.

“I don’t think so, boys!” she crowed. Taking aim on their position, she strafed the tower with a hail of bullets. The men fell, as did several others as the wall along the top of the tower exploded. The structure crumbled in a hail of broken rocks, falling down into the sea.

“Get ‘em, Avery!” Thom cheered, admiring the ruin back over his shoulder as Avery took the chopper back out over the water.

“Hang on. I thought I saw something,” she said.

Wheeling the chopper around, she came in low and fast, approaching the walls of the fortress from sea level. She definitely needed one of these prototypes for her own. As responsive as it was, the lightest touch had the helicopter climbing the cliff and compound walls like a spider. “Ark One, Mustang Sally. Incoming! I say, incoming! Two launch boats…”

“Avery, one of those guys has another rocket launcher. Remember last night, when one of us said this might have been a stupid idea…”

She banked hard to get behind the man, now fumbling with his weapon. Before he or the boat could turn to strike at them, Avery fired her guns into the boat just above the waterline. The men on board started jumping off and the boat began to sink. Before the other boat could marshal some sort of attack, Avery had rolled away and headed back above the clouds.

Her headset crackled right before Noah’s amused voice came over the airwaves. “Mustang Sally, Ark One! Hey, leave some of the fun for us.”

“Hey, Noah,” Thom cut in. “I think we should let the boat go and take the compound. I didn’t see Christian and I’m still getting indications that their tech and comm systems are operating at full speed. I’d like to get in there and see what we can salvage. I’ve got their comm system jammed and the compound is cut off.”

“Wait for us. Once we secure the compound, Avery can land her new toy and we can find Christian. The launch is coming right at us, I’d like to get around them and to the fortress.”

“Hang tight,” Avery said, boosting the engines again. “On my way.”

It felt good to be back in her element. At one point, she glanced over at Thom to see if he seemed at all put off by actually seeing her in action, but he was grinning. The proverbial Cheshire cat, he beamed with pride and instead of a thumbs up, he flashed her seven fingers. She laughed when he waggled his eyebrows. Goosing the engines, she climbed back into the clouds to chase down the launch.

“There they are!” Thom said, pointing off her starboard side.

“Hold on.” Almost directly over the launch, she sent the chopper into a steep dive, pulling up to come close behind Fariq’s boat. Once again firing at the boat instead of the people, she peppered the hull along the waterline and flew straight past as the shouting men aboard the now sinking boat scrambled to put on life jackets. “Ark One, you are clear. Mustang Sally going up to keep an eye on things until you give us the all clear.”

“Sounds good,” Noah crackled over the headset. “NATO isn’t far behind us. Markoff got them to get off their butts long enough to help clean up. Have Thom send us the coordinates of both boats and he can pick up the survivors. If possible, Mac wants us to get Finn’s wedding gift and get home. NATO can have the credit for bringing down Fariq’s secret compound and dismantling his organization.”

“No worries,” she laughed as they climbed back into the sky. “Let’s take another spin around the area.”

Thom chuckled. “You’re driving, little girl. Take Daddy for a ride.”

She let loose of the controls, flashed him a seven, and said, “Meow.”

“That’s enough of that,” he teased.

Setting up a standard search pattern, she confirmed that there appeared to be no further resistance that was not contained within the fortress. Avery flew over the compound and they watched as the Wild Mustang team made a full-on assault. The skirmish was brief but decisive.

The only hitch was when Fariq’s guard, led by Christian, came up behind the assault team. Things might have gone badly but for two things. The first was that Christian was on their side and had a small clutch of men loyal to him. The second was when those still loyal to Fariq tried to trap Noah, Croft, and the others, only to watch in open-mouthed shock as Avery brought the chopper up from sea level and allowed them to get a good look at the weaponry she was already locking on them.

She and Thom watched as Fariq’s remaining men laid down their weapons and surrendered to the Wild Mustang team. At Noah’s signal, Avery landed the chopper.

“You stay put,” Thom said as he unbuckled, leaning across the controls to kiss her. Cupping the back of her helmet, he pulled her close, long enough to share a smile before exiting the cockpit.

Avery watched him sprint across the courtyard, high-fiving Noah as he went. Croft fell in behind him as they entered the main keep of the ancient castle. All of the remaining men surrendered. They were frisked, placed in restraints and allowed to sit. Avery watched as Christian was frisked and after deeming him safe, Noah sent Christian to the chopper.

“Permission to come aboard,” he said, stopping at the door into the passenger compartment door.

“Granted. It’s a good thing you’re Finn’s brother and Thom is convinced you’re one of the good guys. Otherwise I’d take you up and drop you into the middle of the ocean.”

“I did apologize to your da…”

“My colleague,” Avery snapped.

Christian smiled. “Funny, I don’t generally spank my colleagues.”

All right, now she really was going to drop him in the middle of the ocean. “I sincerely doubt you’re up to the task.”

“Ouch,” he said mildly. “I’m beginning to think we might have got off on the wrong foot, but when this all started, I thought we got on well.”

Folding her arms, she glared. “You felt me up and pinched my nipple, then drugged and tied me to a chair, and kidnapped the man I love.”

The door on the passenger side of the cockpit opened and Thom stuck his head in, assessing the situation. “Problem?”

“Your little girl isn’t as understanding about what happened as you were,” said Christian.

“Avery,” Thom said, stressing her name, “was the one you violated. If I were you, I’d watch how you deal with her. It isn’t that Noah, Croft, John, Mac, or I aren’t more than willing to kick your ass, it’s just that we know Avery not only could, but would prefer to do it herself. That being said, you might want to tread carefully with the rest of us. You’re getting a pass because of Finn, but you’re only getting one… there won’t be a second.”

Shaking his head, Christian slumped back into his seat. He rubbed his head, then his face, and for the first time Avery caught a glimpse of his exhaustion under the sarcastic mask.

“I was way out of line,” he finally sighed. “I’ve been under for so long, I’ve forgotten how to behave around civilized people. I am truly sorry that anything I felt I had to do caused any of you any distress and am very grateful that all of you have been there for Finn.”

The man looked absolutely broken.

“It can’t have been easy…” started Avery.

“I try to tell myself that nobody forced me and that I could have walked away. Markoff has tried to pull me out a couple of times. I just kept thinking that I could make a difference… that I could destroy Fariq’s operation and the world might be a little safer.” He chuckled; it was a bitter and weary sound. “Who knew all we had to do was get a prototype helicopter into the right woman’s hands. You, Ms. Jackson, are one helluva pilot, and I salute your courage and skill.”

“You want him to ride back with Noah and the boys?” asked Thom gently.

“Nah, but if he gets out of line again, I’m feeding him to the sharks.” She turned back to Christian. “Buckle up, buttercup.”

“She’s one helluva pilot, but she prefers roller coasters to merry-go-rounds,” Thom warned him, getting in beside her.

“Mustang Sally, Ark One. Markoff is here, get Finn’s wedding gift back to Arizona.”

“Roger, Ark One. Package secured. See you at home.” With that, Avery engaged the engines and lifted off, smoothly heading out over the ocean.

“Far be it from me to tell you how to do your jobs,” Christian started to say, but cut off with a yelp when she took the helicopter into another steep dive. Thom hid a smirk while putting his headset back on, but Christian was too busy grabbing his chair. “Holy shit!”

Bringing the chopper back to level, she glanced back at him. “You do not have permission to talk in my helicopter unless it’s to answer a question. The next time you do, I’ll dump you in the drink and tell Finn you fell out because you were too stupid to buckle up. Got it? You can answer that,” she said wryly when he just gaped at her.

“Are you seriously going to let her talk to me that way?” Christian asked Thom.

“Her helicopter, her rules,” Thom answered. “And trust me, I’ll have no trouble faking our flight information to back it up.”

Realizing he was facing a united front, and one that didn’t particularly care for him, Christian was quiet for several minutes. “May I speak?” he asked respectfully.

“Go ahead,” Avery said evenly, exchanging looks with Thom out of the corner of her eye.

He gave an almost imperceptible nod as a smile played at the corners of his mouth.

“Did you get the information I gathered to Markoff?”

“We did,” answered Thom.

“What about Fariq?” asked Christian.

“What about him? We’re assuming he’s cruising outside of anyone’s territorial waters. His operation is crippled, his compound is rubble, we’ve arrested most of his men, and with the information you provided, his planned attack against the International Summer Games has been neutralized.”

Again, Christian was quiet, but again, he didn’t stay that way. “All right, look. Here’s what kept bothering me and the reason I wouldn’t get out. First, Fariq isn’t an extremist. He has no ideological doctrine that he follows. The only God Fariq worships is money.”

Thom nodded. “Noah and I talked about the same thing… that it ran contrary to what we know about him. Also, why send a hit squad after the girls?”

“What?” asked Christian. “Is Finn all right? Is everyone else okay?”

“We are; thanks for asking,” said Avery sarcastically.

“Why would he do that?” asked Christian, almost to himself.

No one had an answer, and so nothing more was said. They returned the helicopter to Cadiz, where Junior had flown the corporate jet and secured a small house for the men to reconvene. Christian was taken back to the States for debriefing. When the rest of the team arrived tired and hungry, Avery was glad to see that Thom had been right. Although everyone knew she and Thom were together, no one said a word or made her feel in any way that her place as one of them had changed.

Most of the group ate and turned in, leaving only Noah, Thom, and Avery.

“Christian’s right about Fariq,” Noah said, rolling a drink between his hands. “His funding a terrorist operation is as out of character as his attack on the girls.”

“Unless…” Avery speculated, fresh pieces to the puzzle suddenly occurring to her.

“Unless?” Thom asked, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

“Unless he was trying to flush out the traitor… you know, planting different bits of information with each of those whose loyalty he suspected. Christian might have betrayed himself by what he’s told us.”

Noah looked back and forth between them. “But how would Fariq know unless…”

“He’s got his own spy at NATO,” Thom finished for him.

“Then it was Finn he was after…” said Avery.

Noah was already on the phone, ensuring that Finn was safe at her and Croft’s home. He arranged to have a security detail pick her up as soon as they could get there. Once he was off the phone, he called Croft’s. The phone rang with no answer.

“Shit!” said Noah as the voicemail system picked up.

Noah was immediately on the phone to company headquarters, arranging for the remaining members and families to be picked up and brought into custody; Thom was busily setting up a communications system; Avery bolted up the stairs and was waking and rallying the team. She woke Croft last.

“Croft. Wake up,” Avery said, touching his shoulder.

Croft, a former SEAL, was awake immediately. “What’s happened?” he asked.

“We think Fariq set a trap to find the traitor.”

“Oh, God, Finn could be in danger. There’s no better way for Fariq to even the score with Christian than to hurt Finn.”

“We tried calling and got no answer. Noah has people in route and Thom is getting us set up. I’m going to make sure both the jet and the chopper are ready.”

Pulling on his clothes, Croft followed Avery down the stairs, diverging when they reached the bottom. Croft went to join the rest of the team; Avery headed out to the makeshift landing and heliport. The plane had enough fuel, especially considering the auxiliary tank. The chopper was another matter. It was low on fuel, but more important, the ammunition had been seriously depleted by their attack on Fariq’s compound.

Sardinia was the closest and best place to refuel and rearm, but the helicopter currently in their possession wasn’t big enough to transport the entire team. She looked up at the house. Without thinking, Avery got in the chopper, lifted off, and plotted a course for Sardinia.

“Mustang Sally! This is base. Where the hell do you think you’re going?” growled Mac.

“This chopper won’t do, boss. I established a pretty good relationship with the boys in Sardinia. They were practically drooling over this baby the last time we were in there. They also had a fully armed Sikorsky that could hold the entire team.”

“And you didn’t check with me or…”

“Or who, Mac? I wouldn’t have checked out with anyone but you in the past. And this time I wouldn’t have checked either. The chopper barely has enough fuel to get just me there. Before you guys can get together a plan and be ready, I’ll be back with our new ride. Mustang Sally out!”