“Do we suspect that these guys have any warfare experience? Or intelligence? Are we looking at somebody who’s likely to set a trap for us?”
“We can’t discount human slyness,” Dave admitted. “But do they have any actual experience? Other than the silencer on his gun and the wetsuit, I have no clue. But it would be wrong of us to assume that taking them down will be a simple job.”
“I guess the question is, do we need backup?”
“Seeing how backup is at least thirty minutes away, I suggest we call for it now. But we need to do as much recon as we can.”
With that, Ryland was already on the phone, letting the rest of the guys know what was going on.
Dave watched the area as they walked past, both of them acting as unconcerned and as casual as they could. As they got to the other end of the village, they stepped into the trees, off the path. Then, moving carefully and watching behind them, they circled back around to the hut they had been told Leia was in. They hadn’t gotten very far, when Dave pointed to a sentry standing off to the side. “So, one guard is there for sure.”
“Interesting,” Ryland whispered. “Not exactly what I was expecting.”
“No, but, hey, the fact that they’ve even got somebody posted means they’re aware that they could be coming under attack.”
“Obviously.” Ryland nodded. “We’ve got troops coming in here any minute, so let’s set up our own positions. Then we’ll wait.”
“Good enough.” Dave glanced at Ryland as they settled down for what would likely be a twenty-minute wait. “So, are you really hoping to get married here?”
“I am,” he said, with a grin. “Tabi’s been kind of slow about it though.”
“She doesn’t want to commit or what?” Dave asked.
“No, she’s committed but doesn’t want to get married now, which seems to be a common theme at the moment.”
“Well, maybe after she sees Bullard and Leia getting married, she’ll change her attitude.”
“Maybe.” Ryland shrugged. “I suggested a multiple wedding, but she said no, that Bullard had to have his day. I’m not at all sure that Bullard cares though.”
“Nope, I don’t think he cares one bit,” Dave agreed. “He just wants to get married and call this a done deal, so he doesn’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“I wonder what Ice thinks of this,” Ryland asked.
“She’s happy for him. Ice is linked to Bullard no matter what and knows about most happenings anyway,” he noted. “The pair of them are pretty much in touch with everything going on in the world.”
“Well, that’s true with Terk as well,” Ryland said.
“And that’s a bizarre relationship. I’ve known him for a long time, and, if Terk says move, you move,” he murmured. Just then Dave’s phone rang, and he looked down at the ID. Private Number. Dave answered with a question. “Who is this?”
“You were just talking about me,” Terk said. “However, you’ve got trouble on the island.”
“Yeah, we’re just figuring that out,” he stated. “You could have told us about fifty minutes earlier.”
“Wouldn’t have changed anything,” he said. “You’re surrounding one hut, but I think it’s all happening at another place.”
“What do you mean by another place?”
“I think—I think it’s too simplistic to believe it’s all right there. I think another hut is involved.”
“Okay,” he said. “Any idea where?”
“If you head to the left, I’d say maybe”—and he stopped—“fifty yards, you’ll find another hut. It looks old, abandoned. It’s a prisoner shed.”
“Okay,” Dave said, “I’ll take a look.”
“This one isn’t a big thing,” Terk stated, “but don’t mess it up. Let’s not have all these weddings wind up as funerals instead.”
“What do you know about all the weddings?” he asked.
He chuckled. “Let’s just say, it will be an island of celebration pretty soon.”
After Terk hung up, Dave shook his head, looking at Ryland. “You won’t believe it, but that was Terk.”
“Speak of the devil.” Ryland stared at Dave with a smirk. “How the hell does he do that all the time?”
“I don’t know, but he does, and he’s just so damn good at it that I find it a little freaky. He also said that all the action isn’t in the hut we’re watching but another one somewhere in the back here.”
And, with that, they stepped a little farther away, came up behind the sentry, and dropped him easily. Propping the guy up on the ground against a tree, Dave left him in place, in case anybody was taking a look; it appeared he was sitting here, his arm resting on his knee. Then they headed off to the side.
Up ahead, Dave saw something hidden in the trees and underbrush. He pointed. “That’s it right there.”
Ryland looked at it, frowned. “Dammit, Terk is right again.”
“He almost always is,” Dave said. “We just don’t work with him that often.”
“Levi should get Terk to join his team, what with his brother Merk there already.”
“I don’t think Terk does very well working for people,” Dave said quietly. “He’s fairly tormented by everything in his world.”
“Can you imagine not having any peace and quiet from this stuff in your head all the time?” Ryland frowned.
“I know. I think that’s part of the problem. He doesn’t ever get to shut this off.”
“Let’s go take a look at what we’ve got here.” Ryland nodded toward the hidden hut. At that, he went a step forward.
Dave touched his arm and whispered, “I think we have more sentries.”
They dropped to the ground and watched two men heading in their direction.
Chapter 9
Katie was busy back at Leia’s cabin, trying to make the best use of this little space. She was turning this cabin into a prep kitchen, where they could store food off the yacht, using it more for washing and cleaning up. As Fallon and Linny walked closer, Katie looked up, smiled, and heard the two of them talking, as they walked past the cabin, not really seeing her.
“I’m not sure I want to get married right now,” Linny said.
“We don’t have to,” Fallon stated. “But there’s definitely something magical in the air here.”
“I don’t want to be caught up in the magic,” she replied in a dry tone.
“You know by now that I love you, and absolutely nothing will change that, right?”
“I know,” she said, smiling at him. “Let me think about it.”
“You do that.” He grinned broadly. “I’ve asked, and you’ve said yes. It’s just a matter of setting the time.”
She laughed at that. “That’s very true.”
Katie smiled, wondering if she needed to triple the quantity of champagne, just so all the team and their partners could gather here and celebrate this time together—and not just at the wedding but beyond. A lot of them were here, and they may extend their stays. Maybe this island vacation was just what needed to happen. For all of them.