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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“It’s been a fucking week !” Casper seethed, as he paced back and forth in a conference room aboard the destroyer.

The Navy SEALs who’d been extracted, including Mustang and Pid, were all going to be fine.

They were flown to Germany, to the military hospital there, and then flew home shortly after.

Casper learned that Mustang and his team were stationed in Hawaii, while the other team they’d extracted was from California.

He was glad for them, but frustrated beyond belief at the situation with Laryn. The colonel was also concerned, and he’d brought her abduction to the highest levels of the Navy and Army. But, as with most things in the government, decisions about next steps were slow in coming.

There’d even been an attempt at diplomatic talks, trying to get Laryn released peacefully, but the members of the Turkish government communicating with their own wouldn’t even admit she was in the country.

Could it be possible that Osman was acting independently?

And his superiors didn’t even know what he’d done ?

In the end, it didn’t matter who knew what—all avenues had been met with stonewalls. And Casper was done.

“Let my team and I go in,” Casper pleaded with the captain in charge of the ship.

The room was full of more high-ranking officers than Casper had seen in one place in a long time, but he wasn’t intimidated. Not in the least. He was more concerned about Laryn.

Pyro put a hand on his arm, and Casper took a deep breath. If he was going to help Laryn, he needed to get control of his emotions.

“Look, I understand Laryn Hardy isn’t a member of the US military.

But she was in the past. And she currently has knowledge about every top-secret modification the US has made to the helicopters we use on missions.

That’s why this Osman character was so desperate to get his hands on her in the first place.

She’s not some random mechanic. She’s just as valuable to the Night Stalker missions as the pilots.

Without her leading her team of mechanics and technicians, those helicopters might as well be ferrying tourists up and down the coast of Hawaii, checking out waterfalls. ”

The captain leaned back in his chair and looked deep in thought.

Personally, Casper thought the admiral simply looked bored.

Many people thought since the admiral outranked the captain, that he was in charge when he was onboard, but they’d be wrong.

The admiral was in charge of the fleet of ships in the area, but the captain commanded the ship itself.

So the fact that the admiral didn’t look inclined to raise a finger to help Laryn didn’t concern Casper overly much. It was the captain he had to convince.

“We know where she is,” Pyro cut in.

“Right, because John Keegan has gotten involved,” the captain said dryly.

“Yes. He’s been watching the hangar where they’ve stored the MH-60s they’ve bought. There’s been a lot of activity there, trucks coming and going, but also personnel,” Chaos said.

“Which doesn’t mean she’s there,” the captain countered.

“True. But Altan Osman has also been there twenty-four seven. He hasn’t left once, which is highly unusual,” Buck pointed out.

“How the hell does Keegan know the whereabouts of a single person in the middle of a huge city? One in Turkey, at that?” the admiral asked.

“How does Tex know half the things he knows?” Obi-Wan countered. “He just does. And if he says that’s where Laryn is being held, that’s where she’s being held.”

“I’m not encouraging anything at this point, but let’s say she is there.

How do you propose to find her and get her out without blowing up the entire building, killing possibly hundreds of innocent civilians in the process?

” the admiral asked. “Because I’m telling you right now, the president isn’t going to want to do anything that would ramp up tensions in that part of the world… any higher than they already are.”

This was Casper’s chance. He leaned over the table and looked the captain in the eye. Not the admiral, but the man who had the power to approve any mission leaving from his ship.

“We take one chopper. Buck and Obi-Wan fly it in—at night, of course. The four of us—Pyro, Edge, Chaos, and myself—will be dropped off on the outskirts of the city, in the hills. From there, we’ll then make our way to the hangar.

From intel given to us by Tex, we know the east side of the building backs up to a neighborhood that’s seen better days.

That’s our in. We enter, find Laryn, get to the roof, and Buck and Obi-Wan will drop in and pick us up,” he finished.

There was, of course, a lot that could go wrong with the plan. But he had no doubt he and his team would figure things out on the fly if they had to. The main issue would be getting into the hangar without alerting anyone. Once inside, they’d do what they had to in order to liberate Laryn.

“You sound as if you have everything figured out,” the admiral said, sounding skeptical.

Casper didn’t respond, having no idea what kind of answer would appease his superior officer.

“What about the SEALs onboard this ship? They’ve got more experience than the four of you with this kind of extraction,” the captain mused.

Casper’s hopes soared. The man was listening to him. Not dismissing the plan out of hand. “True, but Laryn knows us. And we’ve had training, Sir. Maybe not as much as a SEAL or Delta, but enough to be able to succeed. Besides…this is personal.”

“Personal?” the captain said, raising a brow.

This was the tricky part. If either officer knew the extent of his relationship with Laryn, they’d reject any plan he came up with that included his participation.

“Yes, Sir. Laryn has been working with our team for years. Three, to be exact. She’s the reason we’ve been so successful in our missions.

It’s been her attention to detail and work ethic that’s kept the birds in such good working order. ”

“Besides the latest two choppers that were blown up, you mean,” the captain said sarcastically, a smirk on his lips.

Casper refused to be baited, even though the man was being an asshole. “Neither of which was her fault. And she was able to get the last MH-60 ready in months. I don’t know any other mechanic who could do that.”

“True,” the captain said with a nod. He drummed his fingers on the tabletop.

“You aren’t seriously considering approving this insanity, are you?” the admiral asked.

“Actually, I am. If Tex Keegan says the woman is at that hangar, she very likely is. I’ve also worked with Casper and his team several times, and I believe him when he says they can handle the extraction.

And I spoke with Mustang before he was shipped out with his team.

He told me that if Casper and Pyro hadn’t come to get him and Pid, they would’ve died out there.

Even when it was obvious shit had gone sideways, they didn’t abandon their duties.

They stayed with Mustang and Pid and ensured they were extracted.

Night Stalkers aren’t going to turn their backs on a loyal member of their team. It’s literally not in their DNA.”

Then the captain turned and studied the men before him and said, “I don’t want another chopper destroyed.”

“Yes, Sir,” everyone said at once.

“The thought of anyone being held against their will pisses me off. Especially not knowing what that young lady is going through, what her captors might be doing to make her more…receptive to helping them with their MH-60s.”

Casper refused to even think about that right now. He’d already spent too much time wondering the same thing as he lay in his bunk each night. Warm and safe, his belly full, while Laryn suffered through who knew what. It was enough to give him nightmares.

“If you can gather any useful intel while you’re there—what kinds of choppers they have, the technology they’re using, things like that—it would be good.”

“Of course.”

“And you’re to have your body cams on at all times. That’s nonnegotiable.”

Casper wasn’t thrilled with that order, but it would make gathering data easier.

All he had to do was take a moment or two to scan the place with the camera strapped to his chest and that would have to be enough, as far as intelligence gathering went.

Others could analyze the footage when he returned. He nodded.

“You realize this is gonna be a disaster, right?” the admiral said to the captain .

Casper was sick of the man being such a downer. “With all due respect, you’re wrong, Sir,” he said.

“Did you happen to see the movie The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare ?” the captain asked.

Confused, Casper nodded. “Yes, Sir?”

“Good flick. Not a hundred percent historically accurate, but entertaining all the same. What I do not want to hear about is a similar number of bodies left in your wake as were taken in that film.”

Casper’s lips quirked upward. It wasn’t exactly a smile—nothing about the situation made humor possible—but he couldn’t deny there was a lot of bloodshed in that movie.

And done so nonchalantly by the characters.

They didn’t break a sweat as they killed their way through the flick.

“Affirmative. We do plan on making sure the man who planned this kidnapping is no longer a threat, however,” he felt obliged to point out.

“I should hope so,” the captain replied.

“That’s the reason I’m approving this mission.

Yes, I’m concerned about Ms. Hardy, but I’d be demoted so fast my head would spin if I spent millions of dollars to send men who some would claim weren’t qualified, into a country they shouldn’t be entering, under the cover of darkness to rescue a mechanic. ”

Casper’s hackles rose at hearing Laryn referred to with such detachment, but he didn’t have time to comment—probably a good thing—before the man continued.