Page 13 of The Team (The Milvus Files #3)

“Me either,” Rhett said.

Yin smiled. He actually smiled.

“Okay, favourite place and least favourite you’ve never been?” Jay asked. “I gotta say, favourite is Brazil. Didn’t love Greenland. Pretty, yes, but I’m not built for snow like that. Gimme tropical climes, man.”

“Because you like looking at half-naked people on the beach,” Echo said.

“Correct,” Jay said without shame. “Tropical climes and half-naked people on the beach. That is one hundred percent accurate. ”

“Favourite place I’ve never been,” Sid offered. “Maldives. Worst place...” He grinned at Azrael. “Stade de France.”

Azrael snarled at him. “Good, because that’s exactly where I’m going to bury you.”

Jay chuckled, Echo and Coyote rolled their eyes, and Yin and Chen didn’t know where to look.

Azrael sniffed. “My favourite place is every stadium France has beat England in, and my least favourite is England.”

Sid glowered back at her, but before he could say anything, Echo chimed in with his answer. “My least favourite place is anywhere these two are bickering,” he said, gesturing between Azrael and Sid. “And my most favourite place is sitting at my mother’s kitchen table.”

That made Jay smile.

Hell, it made everyone smile.

“For me?” Coyote said. “There’s a bar in Tijuana where the margaritas are sweet and the girls even sweeter.” He shook his head, smile wide. Then his smile died. “And my least favourite was that place in Paraguay.”

Sid, Echo, and Azrael laughed. Rhett snorted. “We told you not to eat that,” Rhett said.

“Damn near left my innards in that motel,” Coyote added grimly.

Totoro didn’t seem to follow, so Jay explained, crudely, in Mandarin. Totoro laughed then. “Favourite place for me,” Totoro said. “Las Vegas. Crazy place.”

“You been to Vegas?” Coyote asked. “No shit.”

“Much shit,” Totoro said. “I lost money at casino.”

Everyone chuckled .

Rhett sighed. “My favourite is, without doubt, Acheron Island.”

Jay grinned and nudged Rhett’s shoulder, and Sid groaned. “We don’t wanna know what the fuck happened there.”

Jay laughed. “Want me to tell you?”

“No thanks,” Coyote said.

“Least favourite place,” Rhett said. “Belarus.”

Everyone winced. “What happened in Belarus?” Yin asked quietly.

“We had a close call,” Rhett answered.

And it had been.

“Shit went sideways,” Sid answered. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Certainly not yours.”

Rhett gave a shrug and a tight smile.

Another weight that Rhett bore on his shoulders. It hadn’t been his fault. The weather was utter shit, a truck rolled, slamming into their convoy and they’d been lucky to not have been seriously injured. It had been a freaking scramble. They were lucky to have survived at all.

“What about you?” Jay asked, giving Yin’s boot a tap with his own. “Favourite place?”

He seemed to think for a second, perhaps to consider how best not to answer. But then his eyes flashed with a glimpse of warmth and honesty. “Favourite place. Home.”

“And least favourite?”

“South Sudan,” he replied quietly, flatly. The answer came easy and fast, and everyone stared at him.

No one asked for clarification.

No one dared.

“Home, huh?” Coyote murmured. “Christ, I haven’t been home in...” He sighed. “Far too long. ”

It had been months for all of them. Six months since they’d been back in Australia long enough to attend Harry and Asher’s wedding, barely long enough to catch up with Jay’s family.

Though as much as he treasured seeing his family, Jay didn’t notice the time too much. He checked in with his mum every couple of weeks, of course. But it was hard to miss home exactly when his home was sitting right beside him.

Jay knew the others in his team didn’t have that luxury. They weren’t afforded that comfort.

Then, shifting the conversation and mood in the van, Rhett put his hand to his earpiece. “Roger that.” Then he looked at his team. “ETA five minutes.”

After meeting the Iranian squad leader, Rhett split his team into two, and they transferred to the Iranian military’s trucks. Two black vehicles, similar to the Rheinmetall’s the Australian Army used.

He’d motioned for Sid, with no more than a hand signal, to take Azrael, Echo, and Coyote in the second truck. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t have all fit in one truck, but should one vehicle come under fire or be hit with an EID, at least their entire team wouldn’t be decimated.

The other half could still carry out the mission.

Sid had always been his second lieutenant. More than capable, and Rhett knew Sid would do him proud. Despite Sid’s tendency to run his mouth, he knew when to put his head down and get shit done .

And if, god forbid, something should happen to Rhett, he knew Sid would step up and get the team home.

The ride in the truck over the Iranian border was a quiet one.

The Iranian squad leader spoke little English and said nothing the entire ride. He and two of his men sat in the back with them, and Rhett didn’t care much for the way they kept looking at Yin and Chen, and even Jay.

Rhett didn’t care for that much at all.

Rhett didn’t doubt Jay was aware, but it was hard to tell if Chen knew he was under scrutiny. He seemed to be fighting a smile at Jay most of the way. Hell, maybe it was the reason he smiled. But there was no doubt Yin sure noticed.

He kept alert but calm, but in the end, instead of ignoring them, Yin returned their keen observations. He just stared right back at them until their leader told his men to stop.

It made Rhett smile.

And Yin. Well, as much as Rhett thought it was possible for Yin to actually smile.

The military base they were taken to was surrounded by desert mountains, and it looked small.

A row of demountable buildings on one side, most likely admin, and barracks on the far side.

There were two hangars, a mess hall, and an infirmary.

Small, maybe, though Rhett knew, like most military bases around the world, especially those in the deserts and mountains, were mostly underground.

Bunkers and tunnels, garrisoned, fully armed, and ready for action in a moment’s notice.

The soldiers stationed there all stopped and watched as they disembarked from their trucks. Rhett was led into the first of three large demountable buildings, while the rest of his team was shown to the hangar across from him.

There, Rhett was met by Director King. A friendlier face than the uniforms around him, though Rhett had to wonder if the smile was for show.

King might have wanted to wring Rhett’s neck a few hours ago but they’d be nothing short of a practised united front to the Iranian military.

King also looked as if he hadn’t slept in a week.

“Director King,” Rhett said, sharp and professional.

“Captain. This way,” King said, directing him to follow. The intel room looked like any other he’d been in, and it was air-conditioned, at least, with computers, screens, radars, and uniformed staff with headphones and headsets.

There were also other officials, and one or two national heads of state, if Rhett were to guess. Overseeing this international operation and keeping tabs on Milvus, no doubt.

Rhett was definitely in with the big dogs now.

But reputations and status aside, Rhett was more interested in the faces on the screens at the end of the room.

“Gordian,” King said, pointing to the first screen, then to the second screen. “And Askarov.”

“Gordian. Albanian national, thirty-four years old, no known family. Parents died in the First Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Never married. Came to our attention during the Istomin bust in Bosnia, and he’s been a person of interest since.

He went off-radar for a while but came out of his hole to meet with Askarov in Baku. ”

“Doctor Sadiq Askarov,” King continued. “Forty-two. Born in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. Eight-year-old sister was killed during the battle of Grozny in 1994.

“His father, a renowned doctor in the field of neural science, Doctor Ahmed Askarov, moved himself and his son to Baku, Azerbaijan. Was the department head of Baku City Hospital, awarded the Federation of Neurology medal for his research, and for outstanding contributions to the international neurology community. Died in a car accident when Sadiq was nineteen.”

Jesus.

“Sadiq studied biochemistry and molecular modelling, completed his master’s in bioengineering at Baku State University. Genius IQ. Known gambler, banned from casinos in Europe.”

“His mother?” Rhett was almost afraid to ask.

“Missing,” King said, “from what we can ascertain. She hasn’t been home in four months, and we suspect Gordian may be behind this, to ensure Askarov does as he’s told. No confirmation to date.”

Then King brought up another screen. This image was a satellite view of a residential address in Tehran, one building in particular marked with a red dot. He looked directly at Rhett. “We believe this is where agents Kowalski and Myles were held.”

Rhett’s adrenaline burst through him, but then King’s word choice hit home. “Were held?”

King made a face that was hard to read. “Taken to, yes. We cannot confirm nor deny they are still there. We lost signal, heat signatures show nothing.”

“So they’re underground,” Rhett deduced. “A basement or cellar.”

“Most likely. ”

“When do we leave?”

“You’re not,” King said. “Not for them, anyway.”

“Sir, those are my men?—”

“And we will extract them,” King said firmly. “But your mission and our main priority remains unchanged.” He pointed to the faces of Gordian and Askarov. “Teams Alpha One and Two will be tasked with bringing in these two individuals, by whatever means necessary. Understood?”

This is the part where human-Rhett warred with soldier-Rhett. The human side of him wanted to rescue his teammates, his friends. The soldier in him would do what he was told, what he was ordered to do.

“Yes, sir.”

Rhett was given the latest intel on his two targets. Last known locations, and more importantly, where they were expected to be two hours from now.