Page 4 of The Team (The Milvus Files #3)

THREE

Director King had threatened to separate them last night, and that had been enough to knock some sense into him.

The truth was, they’d become complacent. Arrogant in thinking they were untouchable.

Had they been on separate missions before?

Sure.

Had they spent a week or two apart in the last eight years?

Of course.

But separated? And sent to opposite ends of the planet for fuck knows how long?

Never.

Rhett couldn’t even stand the idea of it.

Jay was his entire world.

It had been a massive issue in the beginning. When they’d been selected for Milvus, the powers that be considered culling Jay from their list of ideal candidates.

Rhett had said he’d decline. They were a package deal or no deal at all.

The thing was, Jay was exceptional at his job. He was brilliant at this life. Covert ops, forever on the move, sleepless nights, relentless fatigue and strain on their bodies and minds.

Jay made it look easy.

He was an outstanding field medic. He was the best. And Rhett was the best leader, the best soldier, their best recruit.

And Rhett had sworn, promised and vowed that their relationship, their bond, would not compromise their work.

It would make their team better, Rhett had said. Their dedication to Milvus was unwavering, resolute, and true. But it was a two-for-one deal.

They’d warned Rhett. They’d told him, in no uncertain circumstances, that any conflict of interest or misstep because of their relationship, and it was all over.

For two years, they’d been a formidable team.

Their results were impressive and undeniable. Keeping them on the same team had been the right decision.

Until last night.

It was stupid, stupid, stupid.

And perhaps the blunt reminder that Rhett needed. On the ground, he was in charge of his team, yes. But he was not in charge of the Milvus Division. He did not make decisions.

He took orders.

The arrogance and complacency were gone .

The debriefing on the two new members of his team went about as well as expected. He was a team leader, a squad leader, with his tail between his legs.

Agent Yin looked more reserved too. Giving polite nods and subservient replies. Chen wasn’t smiling so much now, but the spark of humour in his eyes was still there.

Maybe the ass-ripping they got last night had reminded them of their place too.

Director King was there, of course, standing at the back, unimpressed. Commander Zihao was there, poised and polite. Director Depraz led the debriefing. She was French, astute, and to the point.

Agents Yin and Chen were introduced as members of the Jiaolong Commandos. The name translated to Sea Dragon, part of the People’s Liberation Army Marine Corps.

SEALS.

They were the equivalent of Navy SEALS.

Yin had been a captain, same rank as Rhett. Rhett wasn’t surprised by this. He held himself like a leader. Fought like one too.

Chen had been a first lieutenant; Yin’s right-hand man. He was a big guy, and Rhett assumed he was the brawn of the duo. Yin was the brains.

They were highly decorated, highly respected, and hand-picked as ambassadors for this mission.

King had said it was an exercise in diplomacy and international relations, an exchange of intel, but Rhett had to wonder if the Milvus council simply wanted a base on Chinese soil. A foothold in China, conveniently within striking distance of Russia, perhaps ?

Rhett knew one thing for certain: nothing ever happened without subterfuge, ulterior motives. Personal gain.

And that went both ways, Rhett had no doubt.

What the Chinese were getting out of this deal, Rhett could only guess.

There was no word on duration. Were they here for a week or a year, or a permanent inclusion? Rhett couldn’t even guess. He could only assume, given he had not been told, that he didn’t need to know.

At the end of the day, it didn’t matter. They would adapt to their inclusion as well as adapt to their departure.

Every member of Rhett’s team listened as he knew they would. None would argue. They were soldiers, all of them. They each knew decisions were made over their heads and they would obey without question. Personal beliefs and prejudices were not a factor.

Not according to the hierarchy anyway.

How the team adapted and the cohesion, or lack thereof, that followed was Rhett’s problem.

Bringing two new members into an established team was never easy. But Rhett knew, as always, that any failure was a failure of his leadership skills.

And Rhett didn’t fail at anything.

Director Depraz looked directly at Rhett. “Agent Ouston, anything you’d like to add?”

In other words, reinforce everything she’d just said.

“Thank you, Director,” Rhett said. He faced his team. “My expectations remain unchanged. I expect no issues because there will be no issues.”

Every member of his team gave a nod. Even Jay.

And Rhett knew Jay’s opinions on this. He wasn’t thrilled, but Rhett knew Jay would just roll with it, adapt, and push on.

“Right, then,” Director King said, walking forward, using his cane a little heavier than normal. His lack of sleep from having to extract Rhett and Jay from the Met at two o’clock in the morning, no doubt.

It reminded Rhett to tread carefully around King today, and probably for the foreseeable future.

“You’ve got thirty minutes to get acquainted,” King said, “before I want to see Ouston and Lin, and Yin and Chen in my office.”

Another ass-kicking, no doubt.

“Understood,” Rhett said with a nod.

The directors filed out, leaving Yin and Chen still standing at attention at the front of the room.

“So,” Azrael said, smiling. Then she gestured to her face, then to Rhett and Jay, then to Yin and Chen and their busted-up faces. “You boys all get your make-up done at the same place?”

The others laughed, but all looked at Rhett to answer. “We may have had a misunderstanding,” he said.

“We saw,” Coyote said, pulling out his phone. He held up the YouTube video. “The view count is crazy. Tech’s gonna have a lot of fun trying to scrub this video.”

Rhett sighed.

“You got your ass kicked,” Sid said with a laugh.

Chen’s big smile broke out at that, and even Yin’s lips twitched.

“Hey,” Jay said defensively, both hands up. “I was well out of my weight division. We can all see that, right?”

“You fight well,” Chen said, still smiling. “For a little man. ”

Yin’s gaze went to Rhett’s, stoic as ever. He wasn’t waiting for a comment on the fighting. He was waiting for Rhett to take charge of this meeting.

Rhett hated that he was right.

“Introductions,” Rhett said. He was sure Yin and Chen had full intel, but he was doing this anyway. “Name’s Ouston, call sign is Captain. Australian, SAS.”

“You’ve met Agent Lin,” Rhett said, gesturing to Jay. “Call sign Medic. Australian, SAS.”

“Agent John Ritchie,” Rhett said, and Sid gave a wave. “Call sign Sid. English, MI6. He’s our ops and intel officer.”

“Agent Sahni,” Rhett said, and Tarak gave a nod. “Call sign Echo. He’s our comms sergeant. India’s 1B.”

“Agent Cantrell,” Rhett said, gesturing to Damian. He gave a nod. “Call sign Coyote. He’s our weapons and demolitions sergeant. American Navy SEAL.”

Coyote thumped his chest. “Hooyah!”

Chen smiled. Yin did not.

“Agent Masson,” Rhett said, gesturing to Anna, the only woman on their team. “Call sign Azrael. French BFST.”

Yin’s gaze went to Rhett’s. “Azrael?”

Rhett gave a nod. “Angel of death.”

Sid waved his hands like a magic spell. “The beautiful enigma that carries souls to meet their maker.”

Azrael shot Sid a glare. “The day I get to send you to meet yours gets closer every day,” she said.

Rhett ignored their bickering. They always bickered.

“She’s our sniper,” Rhett explained.

Yin looked at her, and only then did he smile.

Figures .

She was beautiful and talented, true. Many men admired her. She never looked twice at any of them.

Sid noticed Yin’s smile too, and Sid rolled his eyes.

Rhett wasn’t in the mood for that bullshit today. “We have two members on assignment. Kowalski. Engineer sergeant, Polish GROM. And Myles, weapons, Canadian JTF2.”

Yin gave a nod but said nothing.

Rhett was pretty sure he was waiting for permission to speak, so he gave it. “Your turn.”

“Yin Tao,” he said. “Or as you would say it, Tao Yin. As explained before, I was a captain in the Jiaolong Commandos.”

“The Sea Dragons,” Coyote said, nodding his approval. “Nice.”

Yin gave a small nod of respect. “For ten years.”

Ten years as an elite tactical officer. That was pretty hardcore, Rhett had to admit.

Then Chen gave an awkward wave. “First name Hanyu, last name Chen. I am...” He looked at Yin. “In English?”

“Breachman,” Yin supplied.

Chen grinned. “Breachman. My English is just okay, but I learn.”

Breachman? From the size of him, Rhett was not surprised.

Then Jay said something in Chinese that Rhett couldn’t follow, but Chen grinned, and even Yin gave a small, surprised smile.

Rhett knew enough Mandarin to say hello and thank you but very little else, and he knew the rest of the team had no hope. He looked at Jay for translation .

“I just told him I was happy to help with translations,” Jay said. “For a small man.”

Rhett smirked.

“You guys got a call sign or something?” Sid asked. “What do we call you?”

Chen grinned as he gestured to Yin. “His name is Fù-shé,” he said.

“For sure?” Rhett asked, wishing he hadn’t the second it was out of his mouth.

“Fù-shé. Is snake.” Chen motioned his hand like a snake striking.

“Pit viper,” Jay said. “Fù-shé is Chinese for pit viper.”

Pit viper , Rhett thought. He could see that, and it was a pretty cool name, though he still preferred Stoic.

Then Chen put his hand on his chest and proudly said, “Totoro.”

Oh my god.

Fucking Totoro.

Jay burst out laughing, and Azrael smiled. Sid, Echo, and Coyote all had no clue.

They looked to Jay for an explanation. “That’s perfect, I love it,” Jay said.

“I’ll show you guys later,” Azrael said to the others.

Rhett checked his watch. “We have a meeting with Director King.”

Jay stood up, his chair scraping the floor, and he clapped his hands. “Come on, Totoro. Let’s go get our asses kicked again.”

Chen smiled at Jay like he was his new favourite toy.

Rhett resisted smiling as he held the door.

“How’s your lip?” Jay asked, pointing to the big guy’s cut as they walked out .

“Is fine, no trouble,” he said. “You fight good.”

“For a small guy,” Jay added, and Chen laughed.

Yin gave Rhett a nod as he followed them out. Rhett looked back at his team, did his best not to sigh or roll his eyes, and quickly fell into step beside Yin.

An exercise of diplomacy, indeed.