Page 45 of Keel

Terrorists sucked. He was lucky to have made the cut and become a Delta operator. In most classes, the acceptance rate was lower than ten percent. There were a few times during the selection process when he’d been walking through the North Carolina wilderness that he’d wanted to quit, but he’d stuck with it and was damn proud of having staying power. It was the toughest thing he’d ever done, but it showed him what he could accomplish, how far he could push and still succeed.

Their resting place turned out to be an excellent stopping place, allowing them to rest in peace until darkness fell. Trusting these men came easily. Going into a situation like this didn’t scare him. Instead, he looked forward to taking this terrorist cell off the map.

“Time to move,” Chase said about an hour after darkness fell.

Delta team members were trained to remain calm, even when they were moving into an exciting phase of their mission. None of the guys were hyped up. They were all cool, calm, and collected.

He wasn’t superstitious, but the one time the hair on the back of his neck had risen before a mission, everything had gone to hell. That had been back when he was a Ranger. Since becoming an operator, not once had he felt anything other than calm before a mission. If he felt a twinge, he would have said something to Chase, and he expected his buddies to do the same.

They took off, moving swiftly toward the compound and setting up in the positions they’d agreed upon based on surveillance of the area. Everything was going just as planned.

Chase gave the signal, and they moved out. Scott set the charges, and they stepped back, waiting for the door to blow. He’d done this so many times it didn’t surprise him when the explosion popped.

They moved in with precision, Stanley going to his left, him moving to the right. Operators learned to take a room fast and efficiently. Regular military members didn’t have the training to do what operators did. Operators were so precise that it was like they were conducting symphonies with their movements.

Stanley took out two terrorists while he took down the guy on his side of the room. When Chase moved in, he took down their main target. The three women in the room were left unharmed. Bean checked the women, making sure they didn’t have weapons. Mick and Scott cleared the rest of the downstairs while he and Stanley headed up. Link stayed outside, making sure they weren’t interrupted.

Keel found two women upstairs, and they checked them for weapons. Both women, who looked way too young, had probably been trafficked and sold to these men. They weren’t putting up a fight and didn’t seem to even care what was happening to them. That was a sure sign these women were used to being told what to do and where to go.

He hated the position these women were put in, and there wasn’t much his team could do for them. They tried to help as much as they could, but sometimes people were just lost in the dark cracks of society that obscured the true depths of depravity of this world.

Sometimes, the Army would come in behind them and relocate the women to shelters, if there were any available. This mission, a group of Army members would come in to clean up, but there was only so much they could do.

He was back in the room with Chase, staring at the two men on the ground. Terrorism created so much waste.

“That’s our man,” Chase said as he snapped a photo to send in.

“When is our ride coming?” Stanley asked.

“Should arrive in twenty minutes, so we have a little time to go through their documents,” Mick said.

“Gather computers and phones. We might be able to get intelligence off them,” Chase said.

Keel was proud of the work they’d done. One more terrorist was gone. There was so much work left to do, though. It was hard to judge how many terrorist groups there were. Some groups wanted notoriety, but others just wanted to strike but not be known. There were so many agendas that made little sense to him. He was glad this group hadn’t had the chance to enact their first operation.

He gathered the devices they’d found and prepared to head out. This was the type of mission he loved. He wished all missions could turn out this successfully.

Now that they were done with the main part of the mission, his thoughts turned to Frankie. He hoped she could find success in her recovery. When he got home, he would do what he could to help her. She deserved more than she’d gotten out of life.

Chapter 25

Frankie texted Ansley like she’d promised before she headed out. On the porch, she turned and checked the door twice, making sure the lock was engaged.

Sonja’s lights were on, and she hoped the woman was having a good evening. With Mr. Wiggles home, at least Sonja had someone to talk to. She knew the cat wasn’t a replacement for a human, but Mr. Wiggles seemed almost like he could carry on a conversation.

The door to Ansley’s place swung open, and Garnet stepped out. “Hey, girl,” Garnet said as she waved her in. “Get in here. We’re ready to have some fun.”

The place smelled wonderful, like Ansley had opened an Italian restaurant and was serving up the best food. She placed the dessert she’d brought with her on the counter.

“It smells wonderful in here.”

“It does, doesn’t it,” Garnet said. “Ansley is a great cook.”

“I’m passable.”

Garnet shook her head. “Oh no, she’s an excellent cook.”

Frankie patted her belly. “Well, it smells great. I’m ready to eat.”