“Let’s get settled,” Kincaid says as soon as he steps into the conference room. “We have a lot of things to discuss.”
We situate ourselves around the table, waiting for news about deployment dates and details, but Shadow hasn’t arrived yet. We never get started without him.
Tension and eagerness to be back at work fill the room as the guys enter and take their seats. We’ve been on leave for over a week, and it’s easy to tell that the guys are chomping at the bit to get back to work. Time with family is nice, but we’re all here for exactly this, the ability to help, the thrill of the ride, and this time around, the soul-deep desire to nail Cortez and Jiménez to the damn wall.
Coming in last, Shadow drops to his chair behind his computer and immediately begins to type onto his keyboard.
“We haven’t spoken much about Blade,” Kincaid begins once he has the entire room’s full attention. “His biopsy came back, and although we’re hopeful, the news isn’t good.”
“Fucking cancer,” Kid hisses.
Blade has been the main guy filtering through the jobs that are presented to Cerberus. He navigates all the channels and sets everything up for us to make things go as smoothly as possible. He’s imperative to the entire operation.
“He’s going to have to take a step back,” Kincaid continues. “They’re going to start with chemo, and as much as he assures me he can handle Cerberus and tend to his medical needs, I made the call that forces him to focus solely on his medical needs.”
“I bet that didn’t go over well,” Snatch mutters.
Shadow grins. “He’s pissed, to say the least.”
Kincaid frowns at Shadow before turning back to us. “Hopefully, it’s a temporary retirement, but in the meantime, we have someone that is capable of filling the shoes Blade leaves behind.”
I stiffen when Max sits up straighter in his chair.
“Max worked for the CIA and is well versed in the tech Cerberus uses. He’s been working with us this last week, prepping for Venezuela. He’s going to be taking over Blade’s spot with the added benefit that he’ll be here in New Mexico with us rather than all the way across the country.”
“He’s not a Marine,” Jinx interrupts.
“It’s true that a Cerberus has always required former enlistment, but times are changing,” Dominic says. “Max is more than capable of handling what we need, and he’s not going anywhere. Utilizing our resources comes ahead of anything else.”
A couple of the guys around the table grumble, no doubt agitated at the hoops we had to jump through for consideration, and here it looks like Max just slid in at the right time with minimal experience.
Max’s face is stoic the entire time this discussion is going on. He must’ve known that he would get pushback, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. Tug doesn’t open his mouth or give any of the guys voicing their opinions nasty looks. We’re a team, and we’ve always been able to voice our concerns with no threat of reprisal. I’m glad to see that hasn’t changed even when one of our guys is romantically involved with the focus of conversation.
“We leave for South America in three days,” Shadow says, refocusing the group.
“Three days?” Rocker grumbles.
“Yes,” Kincaid says. “We have a couple of guys scouting for us, and we’re still waiting to hear back from them. Both compounds have been reinforced. They’ve tripled security, but we think the added time over the holidays will make them grow lax. If anything, these guys like to party. Their constant consumption of alcohol and cocaine will take the edge off and make them sloppy.”
“It’s three more days for the women they have to get hurt. Three more days for them to get bored with what they have. Three more days for them to find new toys to play with,” I hiss.
Three days would seem like a million years to anyone stuck in those compounds with them, getting hurt, abused, and tortured. Three days is three days too long.
“We have to wait for the intel,” Shadow says after clearing his throat. “We understand that Mia makes this personal for several of you, but we won’t be any good to other women like her if we rush in unprepared. This is the shortest time period we have that still keeps us safe.”
I watch Max bite the inside of his cheek, and the sight of his slight head nod calms me some. I know he’d urge them to go in faster if that was a possibility. Mia is safe, and I need to focus on that alone.
“We have confirmed… Max, why don’t you let everyone know what we have,” Shadow urges.
“We have been able to confirm that Jiménez is in Venezuela. Some of the intel we’re waiting on is to determine which compound he’s at.”
Shadow plugs something into his computer, and the aerials of the two compounds fill the massive TV at the head of the room.
“Movement around the compounds are leading us to believe that they’re joining forces, consolidating all into Xavier Cortez’s place,” Max continues. The screen flashes several times, revealing an increase of vehicles and supplies to the single compound.
“We’ll still be hitting both even if intel comes back that Luis Cortez’s property is empty. This is another reason for the delay. Having the split of men 70/30 to the different compounds is better than splitting it down the middle,” Kincaid adds.
“And the Special Agent?” Grinch chimes in. “What’s her status?”
“Special Agent Gabriella Butler is considered to have gone rogue,” Dominic answers. “We’ve been keeping in touch with our contact at The Agency, and he’s made it clear after some things have surfaced from Butler’s past, they have no doubt she’s been turned.”
“She’s not exactly been keeping a low profile either,” Shadow mutters as pictures of a gorgeous woman flash on the screen. “This was taken yesterday.”
“She’s out fucking shopping?” I hiss when her smiling face fills the screen. The clothing racks in the background make it easy to determine what she’s been up to.
“Are we sure she isn’t still playing her part?” Jinx asks. “She’s smiling, and she left Miami before the raid with Jiménez, but couldn’t she still be in survival mode?”
“The CIA won’t disclose what they know that made them label her rogue, but they don’t do that sort of thing lightly,” Max interrupts. “They won’t know for sure until they can get her back and debrief her.”
“What does Mia say about Butler?” Rocker asks, looking in my direction.
Max is the one that growls, but I pay him no attention.
“Mia isn’t in a place where she’s able to help us with this,” I spit.
“And we wouldn’t ask that of her anyway,” Kincaid says, taking a step closer to the table, a warning for all of us to keep our cool. “Abductee perceptions are always distorted, and biased intel is dangerous for everyone involved.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Rocker grumbles. “I don’t want to cause more problems than Mia already has.”
I nod at my friend, my blood still boiling, hands still urging me to wrap them around his throat until he gives more than a half-assed apology.