“It’s not, and there is nothing you can say that would convince me otherwise. Your previous commander set your team up and aided in the almost second kidnapping of Hannah O’Connell. How could this be anything but revenge? I cannot allow it. If a strike team is needed, and I’m not saying they are, I’ll call another team that isn’t as invested in it.” Liam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Their new commander was willing to give their mission away to someone else? He always completed his missions. This one wouldn’t be any different. Alejandro would be shut down for good. With setting up a new base of operation he had control to the East and West. Mexico wasn’t far away so now he could make deals to the South. No, Alejandro had to be shut down. And if his commander wasn’t going to help them then they would do it themselves. It wasn’t like they didn’t have their own resources.
“Have I made myself clear, Sunshine?” Their commander glared at him from across the desk. Liam locked eyes with him. A silent battle of wiles between them. He could be court-martialed for what he was doing. Insubordination. He was only a Staff Sergeant compared to a Lieutenant Colonel. Midas should be the one speaking for the team. Not only was he the highest ranking but he was their leader. He should be the one talking to their commander, but while he was away with Hannah in Portland being reunited with her family, Liam was in charge. He had worked with Midas long enough to know he would support whatever decisions he made.
“Crystal, Sir.”
“Then dismissed.” The commander said with a wave of his hand and went back to his paperwork on his desk. Liam saluted their commander and about-faced and walked out. A plan was already forming in his mind. They already knew where Alejandro was. They just had to get in and get out before anyone noticed they were there.
Back at Hound’s house the rest of the team was waiting for him. “How did it go?” Hound asked, but by his stoic tone, he already knew the answer.
“How do you think?” Liam asked instead.
A rare smile started to crack on Hound’s face. “That good?”
Liam threw himself into a computer chair and swiveled to face him. “It was a decisive no.”
“Commander’s aren’t exactly known for being kind and generous.”
“He said that it is a revenge mission and if someone is going to go after him then it will be a different team.”
“Like hell they are,” Tiny barked from across the room. Tiny, was their youngest, and contrary to his name the tallest team member. He rivaled Hound in height, over six and a half feet tall but the bastard could fit into the tiniest of spaces. Liam would never have believed it given the man’s size but Liam had witnessed it more than once, Tiny crawled into a hole that would cause a toddler to be claustrophobic.
Tiny had been leaning against the wall casually when Liam had first walked in, and now the giant was pacing. No one wanted a pissed off giant stomping around the basement with thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment surrounding them. A bull in a China shop came to mind.
Liam stood up and blocked Tiny from pacing further. “Relax, Tiny. It’s not going to happen.”
“It’s not?” Tiny looked skeptical. Liam didn’t blame him. When your commander said jump, you didn’t ask how high; you just did it. So, for the commander to tell them to stand down and Liam was telling them otherwise was unusual.
“No, this is our mission. Hound already knows where he’s at. We can go in tonight, get him and bring him back here.”
Tiny still didn’t look convinced. “What about Midas?”
Liam tried to hide his wince but failed. “Midas has his own objective right now.”
“He’s our team leader. He has just as much right to finish this mission as we do.”
Tiny was right. Liam had seen a golden opportunity to end this thing once and for all and hadn’t cared about anything else. Liam didn’t want to call him, but it looked like the conversation couldn’t be avoided. “I’ll call him right now.”
He was pulling out his cell phone from his pocket when Hound’s voice stopped him. “You might want to hold off on that call for a minute. We have a problem.”
Liam put his phone in his pocket and walked over to Hound who was staring at his computer screen. “What sort of problem?”
“Commander Brady was killed.”
Liam reared back as if punched. “What? When?”
“An hour ago. Alejandro and his men just walked into the hospital and strangled the commander.”
“How could he know where Brady was being kept?”
“I don’t know. Alejandro could have more than just Brady on his payroll.” Liam cursed. All his plans were going to shit. This would no longer be a simple in and out mission. Alejandro was here in town. But where? Commander Brady had been killed an hour ago. Alejandro could be anywhere.
“What about the security team? There were dozens of MP’s watching him.” Liam was still in disbelief that Alejandro and his men got through the MP’s and out without anyone raising an alarm.
“All dead.”
“Fuck,” Liam growled and rubbed the back of his neck. Could nothing go right anymore?
“It’s time to warn Midas.” Tiny told him. It wasn’t anything Liam wasn’t figuring out for himself. But damn he didn’t want to have to call Midas. Hannah hadn’t seen her family since before her capture. Midas had agreed to take her home in return for her help with ending Alejandro’s terror. They hadn’t been gone long but it looked their trip was about to be cut off short.
Liam didn’t want to, but he knew he needed to. Hound pulled out his phone this time and made the call.
“What’s up, Brother?” Midas asked without preamble. He would know Hound wouldn’t be calling just to shoot the shit.
“Commander Brady is dead. Killed
