Hemingway - Zoe Dawson Page 0,97

what a hell of a mess her hair was in? It looked like it had been styled with an eggbeater and run through a wind tunnel.

He was laughing now. Bending down, he kissed her long and hard. “I’ll see you soon. Be good.”

“What’s the fun in that? Stay safe.”

He zipped and snapped his jeans, pulling his T-shirt over his head. “Brush your hair,” he threw at her before he opened the door. She leaned to look in the mirror and her soft exclamation chased him down the hall.

Epilogue

“We’ve gotten a lucky break,” CIA liaison,” Kelly Sparks said. A picture went up on the screen, and Hemingway studied the craggy face. “This is forty-five-year-old Muhammad Angar Said, the most wanted terrorist in the world right now. He’s Pakistani and was born in the Waziristan area, a hotbed of tribal rebellion and terrorism in that country. He heads up a fledgling organization called Al’Irada. It means The Will. He’s Bin Laden 2.0. Extremely dangerous. We got a tip that he was in Ciudad del Este, cementing relations with other terrorist groups, but is now on his way to Asunción. He’s got many wives—six and counting. He has a granddaughter in the region.”

“Damn, I can barely handle one woman,” Pitbull said.

“My dad always said, behind every successful man is a surprised woman,” Saint offered with a chuckle. “He’s a brave soul.”

Dragon said, “It’s easy to get along. Whenever you’re wrong, admit it. Whenever you’re right, shut the fuck up.”

Hemingway said, “Shea’s the only magic I have ever seen, with the exception of the mysterious force that snatches one of my socks between the washing machine and the dryer.” Everyone including Kelly laughed at that one. “I asked her to marry me.” There was a round of congratulations.

Fast Lane growled, “Are we done with this knitting circle, ladies?” He looked at Kelly. “Continue.”

“Believe me. This is refreshing. Our business is so serious, a little levity is welcome.” She turned back to the screen. “Said is going to be here at this remote cattle ranch north of Asunción. It’s on thirty thousand acres of land, on the Paraguay river, a seven-room house for the family, a home for the manager, and houses for the employees of which there are twelve. The only armed men will be Said’s bodyguards. The ranch backs up to the dense jungle to its north, which is full of drug runners and smugglers. Stay clear of it if possible. You will be helo inserted, fast repel, then SPIES extracted.”

Hemingway had done the Special Patrol Insertion & Extraction System procedure during SQT. When the terrain or the environment wasn’t conducive to a landing, the SEALs, wearing harnesses that clip to a rope from the helo, were picked up and dangled below the vehicle. The chopper then flew them out and they were lowered down to the ground to unclip from the rope.

“The layout is in your brief packages.” She clicked the screen off. “The Paraguayans don’t know we’re going to snatch this guy, and if you’re discovered involved in this mission, they will be royally pissed, to use the vernacular. The US gets a black eye and gentlemen, we don’t like black eyes. So, do what you guys do best.”

“As long as the intel is good,” Mad Max said, “We’ll smash and grab.”

“The intel is the best that we have up to now. We’re taking this opportunity because it’s opened up to us. There were many chances to stop Bin Laden, and we didn’t take those, so it’s a new mind set.”

“Get them before they get us?” Max asked.

Kelly tilted her head and nodded with a wry smile. “Something like that. Good luck.”

She left and Fast Lane said. “We’ll do this dark and dirty. We’ll assault the house, take down the bodyguards and grab Said, then we’ll head to the LZ and extract. We’ll have twenty minutes.”

The chopper hovered at the edge of the property as Hemingway and the rest of his team hit the ground running. They covered the distance at a punishing sprint, arriving at the ranch house in record time, Max and Jugs taking point. The team had been briefed on their roles, and they moved into position automatically. They took out the armed guards, and Dodger picked the lock to the back door while Pitbull, Dragon, Saint, and Hemingway took out the patrolling bodyguards at the front, entering and neutralizing the guards inside. Saint and Hemingway went upstairs, pulled Said from his bed, gagged and cuffed him and