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“That went rather well,” her father says. Tony gives a grunt beside her. Mary’s head swings in her father’s direction. Was he serious?
“You’re kidding, right?” Mary asks, her voice rising in pitch. “In what universe did that dinner go well?” Tony lays his hand on her knee giving her a squeeze. Mary isn’t sure if he’s trying to reign her in or give her encouragement. Her father’s face flashes in and out of light as the car moves along the street.
“Mary Catherine,” her father’s voice chastising “You’re just not used to the way these things go. You’ll come to understand in time.” Mary stares as him like he’s grown an extra head.
“You’re right. I don’t understand,” Mary replies the sarcasm thick in her tone. “And I don’t want to understand. How dare you think you can force me to marry some random crime boss! I won’t do it, father. I won’t.” Mary is thankful her voice didn’t break. She’s so angry she’s on the verge of tears. Her father’s face contorts into a scowl. His rage barely contained.
“Don’t you talk back to me,” her father growls at her. “You will do as you are told.”
“No!” Mary yells. “I won’t do it. You can’t make me.” Mary knows she sounds like at petulant child, but she’s deadly serious about this. She refuses to marry a stranger and definitely not a member of the mob. Her father’s hand connects with her face in the blink of an eye. Mary is stunned. Her father’s never hit her before, not even a slap on the behind for misbehaving as a child. Her face stinging from the blow.
“I realize you’re dealing with a lot,” her father says calmly as if he hadn’t just struck her. “Losing your mother, learning of our life, and your pending marriage, so I’ll let you off with only that, but don’t think to speak to me in such a way ever again.” His tone is hard, unrelenting. “You will do as I say, Mary until you are wed. Then you will do as your husband says. The sooner you learn your place, the easier life will be for you.” Mary turns to look at Tony, but he’s turned his head to stare out the window not offering her any support. Mary sits in silence the rest of the way home. Silent tears fall down from her eyes staining her evening gown. What’s she going to do?”
* * *
Ruby wakes with a start.She’s apparently fallen asleep while remembering her past. Her cheeks are damp with her tears. She swipes them from her face and checks her watch. It’s only one in the morning. She turns onto her side, pulling her blanket up around her, attempting to get comfortable enough to get a little more sleep. She’s hoping she can keep any further memories from surfacing tonight. Those last few days with her family were a nightmare she isn’t ready to deal with presently. Not when her heart is still bruised from Tank’s disappearance.
16
TANK
A couple of days later, Tank is still monitoring their target. He’s more than over this op and getting sicker of the jungle the longer it drags on. Night has fallen. The compound is shrouded in darkness. There are still guards patrolling the perimeter, but as the night has worn on, the place has gotten quiet. It seems most of the workers have gone to bed for the night. Tank and Straw get the signal from Deadeye to begin their reconnaissance. The men have been studying the patterns of the guards for days and have their routine down to the minute. They will have a small window in which they can slip into the compound unseen. They’ll need to be just as cautious slipping back out, but Tank isn’t worried. They’ve done the work needed to ensure their safety in infiltrating the compound.
Mercury and Bull will be joining them, scoping out the large building. The men ease out of their hiding spot ever alert for anything that might get them caught. Making their way to the rendezvous spot, Tank and Straw don’t make a sound as they move through the dense jungle around the compound. Once they meet up with Mercury and Bull, the four of them dart across the clearing on the opposite side from the patrolling guards, taking shelter behind some crates that are stacked behind the large building.
“We need to get inside this building,” Straw says as they catch their breath. “We need intel on what they have going on here.” All the men bob their heads indicating their understanding. They split up and begin to scour the back side of the building. Tank hears a click in his ear piece before Mercury whispers over the comm. “Door located southwest corner.” Tank makes his way in that direction, meeting up with the others in a matter of seconds. Time is ticking. They need to get moving before the patrolling guards make their way back around. They try the door, but it’s locked. Mercury reaches into his pocket, extracting some tools. In seconds, he’s picked the lock, easing the door open. Tank takes point, entering the building, gun raised and at the ready.
Inside the building it’s very dark. There are no windows to let in any light. The men are equipped with night vision goggles, making it easier for them to move around the building. Tank scans the room. The walls on either side of the door they’ve entered are lined with shelves. The shelves are filled with boxes and crates. He eases to the end of the shelves looking right and left, not seeing anyone or any movement in the remainder of the building. He gives the all clear for them to move further into the building. Bull remains by the door as watchman while Tank, Straw, and Mercury scout out the contents of the building.
Clusters of crates are sitting near the center of the room. Tank and Mercury make their way to the nearest cluster. Tank pries to top off the first crate. It’s filled with guns. Specifically, Galil ACEs. Crate after crate is opened. Each one is filled with the weapons. Some crates have M16s. A few others have boxes of ammunition, but many are filled with the Israeli designed weapon. This is a huge stock pile. These weapons could do a lot of damage in the wrong hands. Tank knows they will need to stop these guns from getting into the U.S. if at all possible. They snap pictures of what they’ve found, documenting their evidence. They need all the intel they can get for the higher ups to make a decision on what to do about this. The last couple of crates they open have a stash of rocket propelled grenades and an RPG launcher. They quickly snap a few more pictures. They hear voices just outside the building. Knowing it’s the guards making their rounds, the men make their way back to the door where Bull is keeping watch.
Once they’ve assembled at the door, Bull peeks out checking for any movement. Checking their watches, they should be in the clear as the guards will be on the other side of the building. On Tank’s mark, the four men quickly leave the building, running for the safety of the dense jungle surrounding the compound. Reaching the edge of the jungle the men blend in with the foliage becoming invisible once more.
Once they’re far enough away to not be detected by the guards, the men slow their pace. Tank checks the time. They have an hour to reach their designated location to meet up with the rest of the team. Other groups were checking some of the smaller buildings and Ranger’s team is scouring a portion of the route the cartel will transport the weapons. Tank is hoping they will find a weak spot in the route where they’ll be able to ambush it confiscating the weapons and putting an end even if temporarily to the flow of weapons into the U.S.
“Did you guys find what we needed?” Bull asks when they take a moment to rest and hydrate before pushing on to the meeting point.
“Yeah,” Tank answers. “We got pictures of crate after crate of weapons. We didn’t find any drugs, but they’re definitely stockpiling guns and ammunition. There was one crate full of RPGs and a launcher.” Bull nods and his face pinches into a frown.
“Fuck!” Bull exclaims as he looks through the pictures the men have taken of the contraband. “These guys aren’t playing. They mean business.” Tank has to agree. He’d hoped brass had gotten it wrong. He’d hoped these assholes weren’t as advanced as they are. It’ll make it difficult to secure the shipment and rescue the hostage. Tank hopes one of the other groups has been able to get some information on the poor girl. He knows she’s likely being treated very badly and he hates to think of what all she’s enduring. Charlotte had been beaten frequently and nearly starved to death when she’d been held by this same cartel albeit different leadership. She had been fortunate enough to escape being raped, but just barely. He hopes this young girl will be as lucky, if you can call getting your ass beat everyday lucky.
“Let’s go, we need to keep moving,” Tank replaces his canteen before placing his backpack on his back. Raising his rifle to the ready, the men continue their trek through the jungle to meet up with their other teammates and Ranger’s team. Tank stays alert and focused as they move. He can’t wait until they can finish this mission so he can return to Ruby. He needs to lay eyes on her, see that she’s okay.
He can’t believe he’s allowed himself to become so enamored with the red-haired beauty in such a short amount of time. After losing his family at such a young age, he’s been determined to never allow anyone to get so close to him again. Somehow Ruby is the exception to the rule. From the first moment he touched her when she plowed into him at the shelter, he’s wanted more. More touching, more time, more of everything Ruby. He forces himself to focus on his surroundings to get his mind off Ruby as much as he possibly can, but he isn’t completely successful.
After several hours, they meet up with the others. Once the perimeter is secured, they settle in to share information and formulate their next moves. Tank relates what they’d found in the larger building. He shows the other team members the photos he’d taken. Virus gives his report, next, on the two smaller buildings on the North side of the compound.
“Those buildings are bunk houses,” Virus informs them. “We counted as many as twelve men per building. They have a lot of men on site.” Tank takes in this information. It’ll make taking the compound more difficult. He’s thinking intercepting the shipment, once it’s on the move, will be easier, but that decision is up to brass not him. His attention is drawn back to the conversation. Hack relates his group’s information.
“We scoped out the other two buildings on the property,” Hack informs them. “One is a kitchen/dining hall, and the other building is a gym/workout building.” Thankfully no more bunk houses that could hold more men.
“We need to contact Hawk,” Deadeye says after everyone has reported on their surveillances. Ranger’s team is still out and likely won’t meet up with them for another day or two. Deadeye radios in to command, alerting them to the information they have on the cartel.
“Information received,” Hawk replies after Deadeye’s report. “I’ll relay this information up the chain of command and get back with you as soon as I can. In the meantime, hang tight until we have a decision.” The men set up a makeshift camp. Deadeye assigns them shifts to take watch along the perimeter of the camp. The jungle, while remote, is teaming with cartel, rebel insurgents, and native people as well. Any of these groups can cause havoc if they stumble upon the team’s camp. It’s imperative they remain observant to keep from alerting the cartel of their presence. The element of surprise will be their greatest asset when the time comes to take them down.
Tank is on third watch, so he makes a makeshift bed near the base of a tree, intent on getting some sleep before his shift. Straw comes over to make his bed next to him. They’ve been on many missions over the years and have learned to sleep anywhere, anytime. Tank shifts trying to get somewhat comfortable, noticing Straw is doing the same.
“You think they’ll want us to take out those weapons?” Straw asks once they’ve gotten settled. Tank takes a moment to think about his answer.
