When he heard her mention Saheed Mohammad Al-Balshera, he stopped and took notice. What the hell does the CIA want with Saheed? He is nothing but trouble and sure won’t make a difference in getting relief supplies and equipment into the villagers. The only thing Saheed is good for is as a target for shooting. He’s bad news all around. How does the CIA think that sending a woman to negotiate with Saheed will get them anywhere? There is something a lot more involved here than just getting relief supplies into the region. I am gonna have to watch my six and watch hers, too. Well, I suppose it could be worse. She could be a barrel-chested bald man from New York. At least she was nice as hell to look at and smells like heaven.
Logan moved closer to the open door so that he could hear what was going on in the commander’s office when Colonel McCloud called him in.
“Wolverine, get in here, man. This concerns you and your guys.”
Logan moved quickly and stood in front of the colonel’s desk. “Yes, sir. What are we looking at? A mission? I will be damned glad to go out and kick some ass. Who we gettin’?”
“Just hold up there, cowboy. You ain’t getting no one. You’re going to accompany Miss Roberts to a meeting with Saheed Mohammad Al-Balshera,” the colonel explained. “She is meeting with Mr. Al-Balshera to help facilitate the shipment of relief supplies and equipment.”
Logan stood silently as he listened to the colonel’s words, growing more and more angry until the colonel’s words became less and less clear to him. His face grew an amber red, and his teeth gritted as he stood and listened to the entire scenario.
“You and your team are to accompany Ms. Roberts to the village elder’s house and arrange for Mr. Al-Balshera’s support in the movement of materials and equipment. This mission comes right from the top brass, like White House top brass, so don’t fuck it up, Logan.”
“Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me after all the shit that went down a few weeks ago with Fitz and Tommy that I have to go meet with the son of a bitch and broker an agreement? No. No fucking way, sir!”
“Logan, calm the fuck down!” the colonel screamed.
Mackenzie stood in silence as she watched the exchange between the two soldiers. What was he talking about? What had happened a couple of weeks ago to cause such a reaction?
The colonel continued. “Logan, my brother, I understand, and I know I don’t like it either, but we don’t have a choice. The fucking CIA runs shit around here. We don’t.”
Logan shot a look at Mackenzie that burned right through her, but she stood and watched as their exchange continued. She was curious about what had happened, but she wouldn’t interrupt them to find out. His face was cold and chiseled, and his eyes pierced hers, and she felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. Not an effective way to start a working, let alone a personal, relationship, she thought. Wait, what? What are you thinking, woman? You just met him ten minutes ago! “Oh, my gosh. It’s been so long since I’ve been fucked that I’m already thinking of screwin’ this one. Lord, help me!” she whispered.
“What was that, Ms. Roberts? If you have something to say, don’t whisper it. Tell me to my face,” Logan spat.
“No! No, it wasn’t about you! I am sorry; it’s nothing. I am just new to all this! I sure don’t want to send a signal that I am not a team player or that we are adversaries. I am here to broker a deal with a friend of the CIA, not cause issues with the Ninth and the CIA,” she responded.
Logan’s face turned bright red, and his fists clinched as he stepped closer to Mackenzie. “You’re here to what? Broker a deal with a friend of the CIA? That motherfucker killed my buddies and torched two others! What do you mean ‘friend?’” he yelled.
Mackenzie’s heart sank, and she felt sick to her stomach. Her eyes started to well up, and a lump formed in her throat, but she forced it down and then spoke.
“I…I…I didn’t know. I am very sorry. I had no idea, and I was not briefed on that, only that I was to come here and meet with y’all and then coordinate with Al-Balshera. That’s it. I am very sorry for your loss. I truly am. I never meant any disrespect. I am just trying to do my job,” she replied.
“See, that’s the problem with you agency folks. Y’all don’t give a rat’s ass about us little guys, only the bottom line—the numbers, not the people.” He snorted back at her.
Mackenzie quickly snapped back at him, shaking her finger at him as she stepped closer, unafraid. “You can’t lump me in the ‘you people.’ You don’t even know me, so go fuck yourself. I understand you lost people, and I am sorry about that, but don’t go putting that on me. I am here to do my damn job, and for that matter, so are you. So do your damn job, Sergeant.”
Logan stood for a second, stunned and, surprisingly, now as horny as ever, and started to reply, but the colonel interjected before he could utter another word.
“Sergeant First Class Macalister, can you please go and make sure the billeting area for Ms. Roberts is ready and come back here in ten minutes so that you can show her to her quarters and to the shower?”
Logan straightened his stance, looked at the colonel, and saluted along with a terse, “Yes, sir,” before walking out the door.
Mackenzie watched as he walked out the door. She felt bad for ripping into him, especially knowing that he had lost fellow soldiers recently, but she had a job to do, and she also was not going to put up with being treated that way. But she was resigned to the fact that it seemed she had already made an enemy of the hottest guy she had ever laid eyes on. There wasn’t anything she could do about it, so she got down to business and finished briefing the colonel with what she knew and what the plan was.
“Sir, if you give me just a few minutes, I can finish telling you what my mission is as I know it,” she explained. “I have been ordered to meet with Saheed and to negotiate his assistance in getting relief supplies and equipment through to the village, as well as gaining his support for the local mayor. It is in the best interest of the United States that we cooperate with Saheed and his group to garner their support, and to not only support our mission, but that of the local mayor. Does that make sense to you, sir?” she asked, waiting for his response.
“Yes, that’s fine. Why don’t we finish this conversation in the morning? I know it’s getting late, and you have been dragged from one plane to the next for last two days. So go relax, and we will pick this up in the morning.”
“Ah, Logan, did you find Ms. Roberts a bunk?” he asked as Logan returned.
“Yes, sir, she will be just down the hall from the squad. The guys set up a private area since she is female, and it will allow her to have some privacy. Jackson and Bryant even built a door so she can get naked if she wants,” he said, laughing as he bent down to grab her bag that she had placed on the floor. He looked up at her, flashing her a smile then winking as he said, “It’s nice and private, Ms. Roberts. No one will bother you, I promise. Follow me.”
Mackenzie flashed him a smile in return, then proceeded to follow him out of the building. She hadn’t noticed that the walkways were lined with planks of wood. She quickly realized it made for an easier time getting back and forth between buildings; plus, it kept down the amount of dirt, sand, and debris that got tracked into the buildings. She looked around as they made their way to their building. It wasn’t a huge building, and it was surrounded by sandbags, and out front, it had a unit flag that said