Page 8 of Rescuing Brinley

“Is there a reason the Secret Service won’t be enough on this trip?” Echo asked.

“Good question. And the answer is yes,” Zamora said. “It’s the Miss Globe pageant, and it’s an international event that’s been held since nineteen twenty-five. It’s renowned for being one of the oldest in the world. The eligible ages for participants is eighteen to thirty-five. Each country is normally only allowed one contestant, with a total number of around sixty to a hundred. But this year, for the first time, it’s been increased to two, which obviously doubles the number of women competing…not to mention their chaperones, coaches, etcetera. And with the current tensions in the Middle East, and the various countries taking sides, it’s been decided that extra precautions are necessary, just in case.”

“So Ayla Roling is one of the US reps,” Grinder said.

“Yes.”

“Who’s the other woman competing for the US?” Kodiak asked.

The lieutenant colonel consulted a stack of papers in front of him. “A woman by the name of Callista Deaton, from California.”

Shadow jotted down notes as Zamora spoke. He was the oldest member of the team and had been a Delta Operative the longest, and as such, the other guys often looked to him to lead the group, which he had no problem with. The truth was, each of the other six men were exceptional leaders as well. They took control when the situation called for it. They all had their strengths and weaknesses, and no one had any problem with anyone else taking charge when necessary.

But in everyday matters, the team was more than happy to let Shadow take the reins.

“Will we be meeting with the Secret Service before we leave?” Shadow asked.

“Yes. A few of them will come here and debrief the team before you head south. You’ll meet Ayla, VP Roling, and his wife, Nazita, when you land in Fiji. Two of you will be on Ayla, two on Nazita, and three on Roling, for the most part. I’m expecting to receive the final schedule tomorrow and will pass it on then. All the other contestants will be vetted by the Secret Service. Your only concern is the family. Permission has been granted to take out any threats to the VP, but your main objective will be to remove the family if anything happens. To get them to safety. Any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads. They’d probably have some once they got more intel, but for now, the mission was straightforward.

“All right. Take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow, we’ll meet back up once we get the reports on the other contestants and we’ll go over maps and contingency plans in case shit hits the fan. Dismissed.”

Shadow stood, along with his six teammates, and they filed out of the conference room. No one spoke until they got to the parking lot. They gathered around Shadow’s dark green Toyota 4Runner to talk.

“Are we seriously going to a beauty pageant?” Zero asked with a grimace.

“Looks that way,” Shadow said.

“I, for one, am fucking thrilled,” Torch chimed in. “At last, a deployment in paradise with beautiful women we’re literally supposed to ogle. Won’t exactly be a hardship.”

“Our attention won’t be on the women,” Grinder said dryly. “It’ll be on everyone else, making sure no one decides to use the gathering to make some damn political statement.”

“Hey, I’m guessing the women aren’t exactly meek and mild. We might have to watch them more than you think. They could harbor some deep dark hatred for their fellow contestants. They’ve probably fought tooth and nail to get to this international competition and aren’t afraid to do whatever it takes to come out on top,” Torch insisted.

“Our job,” Shadow interjected, “is to keep the VP and his family safe. But with that said, if something happens, we obviously need to do what we can to look after as many people as possible.”

Everyone nodded.

In truth, nothing about this assignment was new. They were being sent to safeguard a specific group of people, but the entire goal of every mission they were sent on was to keep casualties to a minimum and save innocent bystanders and citizens, if at all possible. A beauty pageant might not seem as if it was a dangerous environment, but any large gathering could be used by political extremists to make a point. A warped and fucked-up point, but a point all the same.

Assassinating the Vice President of the United States would be a huge boon for some terrorist groups, and killing dozens or more civilians in the process wouldn’t be a deterrent. Not at all.

“Anyone wanna meet up at The Staggering Moose tonight for dinner and a drink or two?” Echo asked. “Looks as if we aren’t going to get much down time between now and when we leave for Fiji.”

“I’m in.”

“Hell yeah.”

“Sounds good.”

“Perfect. Eighteen hundred work for everyone?” Echo asked.

Everyone agreed once more and headed toward their own vehicles in the lot.

Echo stayed behind, and once everyone was gone, Shadow looked at him and raised a brow, asking without words what was up.

“How you feelin’ about this mission?”