Triple Team: A Military Reverse Harem Romance, page 21
Ernest pulled out rolls of maps from a bin and tossed them aside until he found the one he wanted. He carried it to his work desk—which was the only surface not covered in dishware or beer bottles—and spread it wide. On it was a wide swath of the Amazon, cut in half by the border between Colombia and Brazil. He’d annotated the map with red sharpie.
“These are all the non-sanctioned runways in the region,” Ernest explained. “This one, north of Puerto Cordoba, looks to be the closest to the drop point. Problem is they’re not the friendliest of folks even on the best of days, especially if y’all intend to poke the hornet’s nest.” His finger moved east along the blue switchbacks of a river until reaching a point on the Brazilian border labeled Vila Bittencourt. “If y’all can get 15 clicks downriver I can pick you up here. Technically it’s a Brazilian military runway but I’m real chummy with those guys. A case of beer, a few hundred of Uncle Sam’s crispest dollars, and they’ll Birdbox while we do whatever we want. Know what I mean amigos?”
“I never know what you mean,” Gregor said. “But I trust you.”
Michael pointed. “We can drop water gear here. By Puerto Caiman. Two FC 470 rafts would suffice.”
I nodded along. “Drop there, set the rafts up, complete the mission, then book it downriver to the evac point.”
Ernest was all smiles. “Can do, hombre. Can do. How long y’all gonna be?”
I shared a look with Michael. “Six hours at most,” I said. “Assuming everything goes smoothly. That going to be a problem for you?”
“Shit, no problem at all, amigo. Just need to know how many crossword puzzles to take while I wait. You do those New York Times crossword puzzles, honey?” he said, looking at Juliana. “I buy ‘em down at the market in Quito, though I’m about six days behind right now. Stuck on one this morning. Three-letter word, clue is fraction of a bite.” All I can think of is nibble, but that ain’t exactly fit.”
“Bit,” Juliana said without missing a beat. “A fraction of a byte is a bit.”
Ernest scrambled over to the puzzle and stared. “Aww, shit yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about, amiga. Y’all got a good one with her.”
“Don’t get too excited,” Gregor said. “She’s a hacker, so that question was a softball for her.”
He pointed at Juliana. “Don’t let these jack-offs take you for granted, alright? And if they do, just come see ol' Ernest. I could use a computer whiz around these parts. Lots of work to be done for a girl who can stick her digital nose into a digital crack, know what I’m sayin’? Hey, you like beans in your chili? I make a mean chili, but it’s got three kinds of beans in it, which pisses off some chili fanatics.”
“Back off,” I teased. “Jules is with us. Aren’t you, Jules?”
“No place I’d rather be,” she replied with a smile.
Ernest put up his hands. “No problem, no problem. We don’t got no problem here. I’m just making sure you soldiers of fortune are treatin’ the little lady right.” He gave Juliana a hilariously obvious look of doubt.
“They treat me okay,” Juliana said with a smirk. “Now that I think about it, though… I do like a good chili.”
“Don’t encourage him,” I said. “We need to land early in the morning so we can make our approach in the dark. If we want to be on the ground by 0400, when should we meet you here for takeoff?”
“If you wanna pre-game, the party starts at 2100,” Ernest happily announced. “But if y’all are a buncha losers? The flight’s three hours on account of our route over Peru, and the low altitude we’ll be flying for the jump. So be back here at midnight.”
“Pre-gaming sounds fun…” Juliana said.
“The last thing you want to do is drink with this man,” Gregor said. “You’ll wake up four days later in a different bar, on a different continent, with the worst hangover of your life.”
“Don’t go blamin’ the party animal, amigos,” Ernest said. “Y’all are grown-ass adults. You can make your own decisions without no scapegoat.”
“We’ll party after the job’s done,” Juliana promised.
“I’ll save a beer for you, you bet your sweet tushy I will!” Ernest said. “I like her. She’s a lot more fun than you pricks.”
“Wait until she hacks your network,” Michael said. “Then you will have a different opinion.”
“Ohh,” Ernest said, cocking his head. “Nothin’ sexier than a dangerous woman.” He punctuated it with a wink.
“Don’t tempt me!”
When we were in the car, Juliana said, “I like him. He’s a character.”
“That is one way to describe our friend,” Michael said.
“So…” Juliana said. “Now might not be the best time to mention I’ve never jumped out of a plane before.”
“There’s nothing to it,” I said. “They’re active-release ‘chutes. Just jump and they deploy instantly.”
“I won’t break my legs on landing? I knew a guy in Airborne who spent a month in medical after a bad landing.”
“There are no clear landing spots in the jungle,” Gregor said. “We’re landing in the river, kiddo.”
“The river!” Juliana sputtered. “What about, you know, piranhas?”
“We will be fine,” Michael said. A heartbeat later he added: “Probably.”
“Probably?”
“Piranhas aren’t as common as everyone thinks,” I said. “There’s only a 25% chance we land near some.”
“33% tops,” Gregor agreed. “Plus it’s not like you need all your toes.”
We managed to keep a straight face while Juliana sputtered and argued.
32
Juliana
Our hotel in Quito had adjoining rooms and stocked mini-bars, but the guys didn’t touch any of the alcohol. For all their jokes about pre-gaming, they seemed deadly serious while preparing for the mission. They dumped all of the gear onto the bed and worked in silence, picking out what they wanted: M4A1 assault rifles with tactical scopes and extra magazines taped to the side. Industrial flashlights. Long hunting knives with grooves on the spine which could be strapped to an ankle. Dark blue camouflage ACUs. Heavy duty boots and helmets.
My gear was the same, though the ACUs were a different size. Selecting my gear and filling my pockets with the supplies I would need reminded me of being back in Basic. We’d unloaded and reloaded our gear a thousand different times, searing the muscle memory into our bodies. Even now, four years later, it was second nature to me.
I can do this.
Once our gear was ready Michael picked up some food and Donovan pulled out his laptop. Open in a browser was a website for a place I recognized.
“Hey, the Veterans for Mental Health clinic!” I said.
“Oh, right,” Donovan said.
“They helped me when I was getting over my father’s death,” I said. “Did the best they could. Better than most, even.” I frowned at him. “You visited them before?”
“No, I…” Donovan blushed and cleared his throat. “I was checking something. It’s nothing.”
I was going to ask what he was hiding, but then he pulled up the tactical photos of the region, which banished any curiosity about the VMH. Across the top of the map the Caqueta River flowed east, switching back and forth in a natural wave. South of that was nothing but thick green jungle completely unmarred by human activity. At least from aerial view.
“We’ll drop in here, at this bend in the river,” Donovan explained as we gathered around the map. “First order of business will be collecting the raft and readying it so we can make a quick getaway. Once it’s moored along the river, we’ll march due south into the Amazon itself. The terrain is going to be wet and slow, with limited visibility. This will work to our advantage.”
He paused to see if there were any questions.
“Unfortunately, we’ve got no idea what the compound itself looks like,” Donovan continued. “So we’re totally blind there. We will need to scout the compound, determine the best method of entry, execute the plan, and then escape. Normally I don’t like proceeding without a detailed plan…”
“No shit,” Gregor grumbled.
“…But in this case we have no choice. This might be the best chance we ever get. We’ll just have to make do. What we do know from our limited intelligence is that the compound has a reasonably new security system. Infrared cameras are positioned around the perimeter. Our night advantage doesn’t mean much if they can see us in the dark, so we have to find a way to hack into their system and disable the cameras.”
“I was wondering when my skills would be needed,” I said. “Are you sure the security system is digital, and not analog? I can’t hack into a system that records everything on VHS tapes.”
“We found some documents in the emails from JGB to Suarez,” Gregor chimed in. “They brought in an outside consultant to set everything up. Sent him their requirements ahead of time so he could buy the right gear. Their security system uses 720p wireless network cameras on a 2.4 GHz channel. Everything is local though: no connection out to the internet.”
I nodded along. “If that’s true, I should be able to break in once we’re within range. It’ll take 10 to 15 minutes depending on their security. But that means I need to bring my laptop.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve got waterproof drop bags,” Donovan said. “Once the cameras are disabled, we’ll enter the compound silently and under the cover of darkness. Stealth is our friend, both for getting inside and getting out. Assuming all goes well, we evacuate north the way we came. In the event of pursuit by enemy combatants, we will split into two teams to draw them off. Juliana? You’re with me if that happens.”
“Not fair. Why do you get the hot ass to follow?” Gregor asked.
“I doubt my ass will look hot in these ACU pants.”
“Is that a joke?” Michael asked. “A uniform is incredibly sexy on a woman.”
“Fucking right it is,” Gregor said with a wink.
“We’ll return to the river and board the rafts,” Donovan said, like a teacher who was trying his best not to get distracted by a rowdy classroom. “Vila Bittencourt, where Ernest will be waiting, is 15 clicks downriver. Any questions?”
“You didn’t answer why you get to follow Juliana,” Gregor said.
Michael nodded once. “I have no questions.”
“Let’s discuss the potential problems,” Donovan said. He leaned against the wall and crossed his huge arms over his chest.
“Problem number one: Ernest drunk-flies us into a mountain,” Gregor said.
“Problem number one,” Donovan insisted, “is we encounter resistance along the way. We believe the compound has outer patrols in the jungle, but they should be easy to spot ahead of time. We can neutralize them or go around. Problem number two is if security is overwhelmingly strong at the compound. If that’s the case we may need to utilize Gregor to create a distraction.”
“I’ve got bombs for days,” Gregor said. He pulled out his knife and began cleaning underneath his fingernails. “Honestly I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get to blow something up.”
“Problem three: the target isn’t there.”
There was a strange silence among the three soldiers at this thought. I felt the same dread at the prospect of JGB not being there when we arrived. All of this would have been for nothing.
“Not much we can do about that,” Donovan said carefully. “So when you say your prayers tonight, spare one for the target.”
It was weird how he kept calling him the target. Like he was trying to keep this as neutral as possible. Maybe that was for my benefit. Maybe they thought speaking about JGB by name would make it more difficult to stay logical about the whole thing.
He’ll be there, I thought. I refused to accept any other possibility.
“Problem four: we’re ambushed during the evacuation. Hopefully we can complete the mission with enough stealth that nobody figures anything out until we’re in the air on the way back to Quito. If not, like I already said, we’ll split into two groups to take different routes back to the river. Once we’re on the river we should be able to put some distance between ourselves and anyone who’s mad at us… Which is a good thing because we’ll be sitting ducks while we’re on the river.”
“I wouldn’t call us sitting ducks.” Gregor mimicked the motion of aiming and firing a rifle. “We’ll be able to defend ourselves.”
“Hopefully we won’t need to,” Donovan said. His face matched his serious tone. “Problem five is the one that scares me the most. Something happens to Ernest and we lose our method of evacuation.”
We were all silent for a few moments.
“What do we do then?” I asked.
“I’ve got a backup pilot I can call, but he’s flying out of Panama. It’d take him the better part of a day to reach us. Furthermore, he needs someplace to land. We would need to secure Vila Bittencourt from the Brazil army garrison.”
“Would that not be a breach of our contract terms?” Michael asked.
“Sure would. Uncle Sam’s not going to like it if we get into a skirmish with an allied country.”
“Then what do we do?” I asked.
Donovan switched maps, unrolling one that showed a larger area of southern Colombia. He pointed at a small red dot. “Next closest runway is here, a village called Sonana. It’s unpaved, full of potholes, and short.”
“It looks like it’s halfway across Colombia!” Gregor said.
“About 100 clicks,” Donovan admitted.
I looked from him to Gregor and back. “How are we going to survive traveling 100 clicks in the middle of the Amazon?”
“We are not,” Michael said grimly. “We would be able to travel 15 clicks per day. Perhaps 20. We would run out of water long before then and perish.”
“Then why the fuck even mention that runway?” Gregor demanded. “Shit might as well be in Mexico City for all the good it does us.”
Donovan was blank-faced as he shrugged. “Better hope Ernest comes through, then.”
“That’s a lot riding on a man who looks like Joe Dirt celebrating the 4th of July,” I said.
“That’s why we’re evaluating the risks now,” Donovan said. “We aren’t past the point of no return yet. We can abort if anyone is uncomfortable with the risk.”
Gregor pulled out a cigar and chewed on the end without lighting it. “Shit. Ain’t gonna be me who bails the night before the dance. Not with this payday.”
I turned to him. “How big is the contract payday for you guys? More than the $250,000 you’re paying me for my role?”
Gregor opened his mouth and then closed it, glancing at Donovan. Michael studied the floor.
“Hey,” I quickly said. “It’s not a big deal. I’m not trying to negotiate more money at the last minute.”
“It’s not that,” Donovan said. Gregor gave him a look but Donovan added, “It’s fine. Jules, there are some secondary objectives we may pursue if the opportunity arises.”
“What kind of…” I flinched. “Don’t tell me you might try to capture Blanco instead of killing him.” I rounded on Gregor. “I swear to God if you try to bring him out alive I’m walking away right now.”
“Hey, woah, it’s not that,” Donovan said. He put a comforting hand on my arm. “If JGB is there, we’re killing him. End of story.”
“Good,” I said. “Then what are these secondary objectives?”
“The thing about the cartel,” Michael explained, “is you cannot simply cut off the head of the snake and expect it to die. A new head will grow in its place. You understand?”
“They want us to blow up most of his shit while we’re there,” Gregor said bluntly. “That way nobody can pick up the pieces once JGB is dead.”
“But we will evaluate those targets once we are on the ground,” Donovan said. “It’s simple for Gregor to place explosives on a timer that detonate when we are back at the river.”
Good, I thought. As long as JGB is still the primary target, I’m on board. I didn’t give a shit about anything but killing him.
“I’m in,” I said. “Regardless of the danger.”
Gregor jerked his head in a nod. Michael said, “I too accept the risk.”
“As do I,” Donovan said. “That’s that, then.”
“Do we all put our hands together?” I joked. “Shout go team Eagle Eye like a little league baseball team before a game?”
“Shut up, Ravenclaw,” Gregor said with a smirk.
Donovan looked at his watch. “We have eight hours before we need to leave. I suggest we all try to get some sleep.”
Despite his suggestion, we all mingled together in the same room. Gregor and Michael took turns showering in the adjoining room and then settled on our couch watching Ecuadorian television. For some reason Seinfeld was twice as funny with their voices dubbed over in Spanish. It helped lighten the mood.
Donovan showered next, and then I did the same just to give myself something to do. When I came out of the bathroom, Seinfeld was off, replaced by a weird Ecuadorian variety show that was like a mash-up of Mad TV and American Idol. A fast-paced song came on and Donovan jumped up from his chair.
“Aww yeah, this is my jam,” he said, popping and locking by himself. Gregor rolled his eyes but the sight made me giggle, which only encouraged him further. “You like what you see?” Donovan asked as he cabbage-patched his way over to me.
“It’s amusing seeing a big buff soldier dancing like nobody’s watching.”
“I was born with no shame.” He turned around and stuck his ass in my face, then attempted to twerk. Even though he had a big muscular butt, he couldn’t quite get the motion right. It sent me into a fit of giggles.
“Stop before you make her die from laughter,” Michael said with a grin. “We need her tomorrow.”
Donovan continued bending over, butt flapping up and down in front of me. “Like you can do better?”
“There is not enough alcohol in the world,” Michael declared.
Gregor jumped up. “Fuck it,” he said, then started twerking himself. The two of them did an impromptu dance-off in our hotel room. I laughed so hard my stomach ached and I couldn’t breathe
