Page 38 of The Team

Coyote stood up. “Then let’s go. What the fuck are we still doing here?”

“Because we’re not on extraction,” Rhett said. He was met with narrowed eyes and confused faces. “We’re on priority one.” He put his hands up before they could argue. “I didn’t give the order. We’re waiting on Alpha Two to arrive, then we roll out. We have a time and location to take down our two targets. Alive, if possible.”

Or not.

Rhett didn’t exactly have a lot of faith in the judicial and legal systems. Too many instances of money and power overruling right and wrong. Evidence rarely meant jack shit when money and power were at play.

But that was not his decision, not his problem. Not his mission.

Echo cocked his head for a second, then pointed his finger upward. “Blackhawk incoming.”

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Rhett could hear the familiar sound, and he gave a nod. “I’ll join the welcome committee. Stay here and try not to beat the shit out of any soldiers.”

He turned to leave and heard Chen ask, “How you hear before?”

“He can hear shit none of us can,” Sid replied. “Tell ’em about that time we were in Portugal?—”

Rhett smiled to himself as he went outside. Despite the stifling heat, the parched dry air, and brighter-than-hell sun, and despite the tasks at hand and the reason for being there, Rhett was pleased with his team.

He met with Director King and a few Iranian brass who were his new entourage. The chopper cut the rotors, the doors opened, and Alpha Team Two filed out and headed directly for them, Captain Mateo Giardello at the front. He’d been in the Italian COFS, and from what Rhett knew, he was very good at his job.

Rhett was better, but still.

Rhett had done some training with him when Milvus was first formed, and he had liked the guy. He ran a tight team of eight soldiers, like Rhett’s Alpha One team, from every corner of the globe.

They’d rarely been in the same hemisphere since then, let alone the same room.

“Director King,” Giardello said, shaking his hand. Then Rhett’s. “Captain.”

“Captain,” Rhett replied. “Good to see you.”

“Sorry to hear about your men,” he replied as they walked back to the admin buildings. “We’ll get them back.”

Well, that was the plan.

Part of it, anyway.

“Thank you for coming,” Rhett offered. “Pulling your team out of South America can’t have been easy. I do appreciate it.”

Once they were in the office, Giardello pulled his helmet off. His hair was a little shaggy, in need of a cut, but his blue eyes were laser sharp as always.

Director King gave him a quick rundown of events, everything the same as he’d told Rhett.

“And the extraction?” Giardello asked. “Who’s getting our two agents?”

Rhett liked the way Giardello included his men as his own.

“Iranian military,” Director King replied. “They’re preparing the go-team right now.”

“I’d like two of my team to accompany them,” Rhett said.

King cut him an annoyed look. “That won’t be?—”

“Those are my men,” Rhett hissed, trying to keep his temper in check. “My team. My responsibility. Those Iranian soldiers out there have already shown exactly what they think of us, and I won’t have Kowalski and Myles jeopardised because of those asshole’s prejudices. Two men,” Rhett repeated, holding up two fingers. “Someone on our side needs to be there.”

“Take one of mine,” Giardello said with a nod. When King shot him a look, Giardello shrugged. “If they were my team in there, I’d want someone on our side too.”

King let out a displeased, slow breath. “The Iranian military are on our side,” he whispered.