Hemingway - Zoe Dawson Page 0,7
whole new meaning to the word, Bridezilla.”
“Who is the groom? King Kong?” Ryuu “Dragon” Shannon asked with a chuckling huff.
Everyone joined in with the amusement, and Max narrowed his eyes at Dodger. “Laugh it up, ladies, but you’re all going to be bridesmaids.”
That made everyone snicker harder, and as Max tied up his boots, he thought about how this team had at least halted the fracture between them all—the new guys versus the current guys, the walking on eggshells, the sharing of personal information. He had seriously thought about asking for a transfer out of the team, not because he wasn’t willing to dig in and work with these guys, but because there was a big rift hanging over them. It was hard to get back to trust when one member had died, and the others had bailed instead of dealing with the fallout. Tactically they were solid, but there was still that undercurrent of uneasiness.
Max wasn’t a quitter, and that more than anything had kept him hanging on. He was pretty much a no-limits man, thinking that the teammates he worked with now, including Jugs, were all no-limit guys. The Malinois sat next to him, panting. He knew they were spinning up for a mission and that always got their adrenaline pumping. He reached out and swiped his hand over the dog’s head. “Ready, boy?”
Jugs barked.
He was always ready and neither of them was ever out of the fight.
They filed out of the cage area and headed toward the chopper at a jog. The bird took off as soon as the last SEAL entered.
“So, Max. What’s up with the wedding gown? Something we should know.”
Several guys grinned. He and Pitbull had pretty much put away their differences, but the ribbing would never end. That was just part of being on a team.
Max chuckled and said into the headset, “I was a mannequin for my oldest sister, Gina. She had a rush job and needed to get the gown altered quickly.”
“Sisters…” Saint drawled.
“There’s a story there,” Dodger said.
“My Little Pony.” Saint shuddered. “I had to watch them often and all they wanted to play with were those ponies. There were epic stories—saving princesses, heroic battles, and many hours of fun…for them anyway.”
“Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash…” Dragon said. Then gave Saint a sly look. “You loved it too. Come on, epic battles, man.”
Saint held up his hands and said, “I’m taking the fifth.”
All the guys looked at Dragon. “Hey, Ceri might be smart, but she’s still a little girl, and there are no boundaries when it comes to ponies and make believe. I’ve been to Canterlot and Ponyville.” He chuckled softly. “Many times.”
“I dig that. She’s like us—limitless,” Max said, envious that Dragon had a little girl. He loved his sisters, nieces and women of all kinds.
Dragon chuckled. “You have no idea.”
“ETA to target five minutes,” the pilot said, and they prepared to exit the helo. As it touched down, Jugs was off first, with Max following closely since he kept the Malinois on a leash whenever he wasn’t dealing with a squirter or involved in direct action.
In the distance, in the middle of nowhere, there were lights twinkling against the darkness. Parked just off the road were dark SUV’s with many people standing near them. The team approached, and Max recognized Special Agent Makayla “Mak” Ballentine who also happened to be Pitbull’s fiancée. He also recognized Special Agent Kai Talbot, but Special Agent Christophe Vargas was absent.
“Hey, guys,” Mak said, giving Pitbull a sweet smile. He nodded back.
“Where’s Chris?” Dodger asked.
“He’s on an assignment on the USS James McCloud and won’t be back for a while.”
“He’s all recovered?” Max asked.
“Yeah, he’s doing great.” She turned to the man next to her in full tack gear. “This is Supervisory Special Agent Nick Donovan from our Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Team. The rest of the REACT team is under his command.”
Fast Lane offered his hand and they shook. “Listen up,” Fast Lane said. “Overwatch has already scanned the NWO base and discovered quite a few recruits here. There is one main structure and five smaller ones. Looks like the outlying buildings are sleeping quarters, five people to each. That gives us twenty-five individuals to neutralize, along with roving guards. Four along the perimeter here in the forward part of the compound and four at the back. We are going in assuming all of them are armed.”
“We’d like to arrest them all, but if there is resistance, we’ll have no choice but