Page 78 of Tango

We had a photo of Josh Johnson and used Keith to play the part. He fit the description best. He arrived in an old Chevy and got out awkwardly. He was dressed in a bulletproof vest, a sidearm was tucked in his waistband, and he carried a laptop in one hand. He looked around as if scared then walked up and knocked on the front door. Keith was keen to be part of this, and I knew he channeled all that happened over the last days into it. He needed action and, I sure understood that.

I opened the door and gave a quick scan of the neighborhood as if I was nervous.

“Hey, Josh.” I stepped back and let him in.

“Okay. You sure it’s all right?” Keith rushed his words and looked around. He then moved to the kitchen and stood where his mark was. The lighting was enough to keep his face in shadow. From outside, you’d only see his torso and the computer. Gear sat on a chair near the table but stood as Keith came in. They made a show of shaking hands, and Gear offered him a beer. Keith declined it. I put a hand on Keith’s arm as if to assure him that he wasn’t alone in this.

I heard a noise, and Cole, who stood in a dark corner, indicated that Hill was coming around the back. I nodded from where I stood at the counter. I turned on some music to make it as easy as possible for Hill to see he’d have the advantage and could sneak in without being heard.

The townhouses were close together, but this house was on the end of the row with easy access to the back yard. We guessed that was where he’d try to come through.

Keith continued to play his Josh role and moved back and forth on his heels like a man scared to death. Keith put the laptop on the counter and began to open it, but I put an arm out and shook my head while I waved for him and Gear to move into the living room. Cole stayed low as he and Mark moved into the hallway.

I flipped on a lamp in the corner and picked up a photo album and opened it. I held it out and pointed as if to show them someone’s picture. I made sure my back was to the corner of the living room and I faced Keith. This allowed me to see part of the kitchen and allowed a small line of sight into the dining room.

My radio suddenly crackled, and it took everything in me not to react to the noise. If they were watching me, they’d have enough experience to know what a misfunctioning radio flinch looked like. I glanced around for a moment as the guys studied the book. I couldn’t spot John or Cole, but I caught movement and saw the sliding glass door behind Keith’s shoulder slowly open a crack, and the tip of a gun caught the light from the kitchen. I signaled with my eyes to Keith that he was there. We both kept our heads down as though to focus on the photos.

“Wait, yeah I remember him.” Gear looked up, and his gaze flicked over to the reflection in the window just to the left of me. “He served with a buddy of mine from high school.”

“Yeah, that’s him,” Keith, aka Josh, murmured as Hill inched through the door without a sound. Hill reminded me of a snake, silent but ready to pack a deadly blow.

“In position.” John’s soft voice found its way through the radios as Hill, dressed in a hoodie and jeans, moved through the dining room and headed for the laptop on the counter.

“Hold tight,” Cole whispered. “Let him pick it up and turn to leave.”

Gear kept the conversation moving while I faked my attention on him. It was hard not to move when I knew Hill was a mere fifteen feet from me just on the other side of the wall.

That wonderful adrenaline rush washed over me, and it felt like it had years back when we were about to move in to rescue a young woman who’d been presumed dead for nearly a year.

“I know in my heart she’s still alive,” Cole had told us just as we arrived at that house in Mexico. “Always trust your heart and gut. The two will never steer you wrong,” he’d said.

“Confirmed he has the laptop.” Mike interrupted my thoughts, as a giant spotlight lit up the entire house. The team’s shadows became large as they moved in. I grabbed my weapon and pointed it at Hill’s head.

“Hands up! Turn around, Hill!” I shouted as I quickly moved in on him. “There’s nowhere for you to run.” Slowly, he lifted his head, and Mike reached forward and ripped back his hood.

Shit. I turned to Cole.

It was Rivera.

Ty

“Beckett! Behind you!” Brown’s voice echoed off the mountains from thirty feet away. I turned just in time to see a Taliban member with a machete above me. He lunged to take a swipe at my stomach, but I rolled to the side and kicked his knee and he fell and dropped the knife. He sprang right back up and was on top of me in a flash. His hands circled my neck and pressed hard, blocking my airway. I beat his side with one fist as I used the other to desperately try to break his hold with a quick drop of my elbow. He was huge and outweighed me by a lot. His grip only tightened, and I started to see spots. Suddenly, he jerked upward, and his hands fell from my neck. His eyes went wide while a horrible sound escaped his lips. Cool air rushed down into my lungs as I gasped and gulped it in.

“Ahh!” Brown pushed the machete deeper between the guy’s shoulder blades then hauled him off me. He dropped to his knees to see if I was all right. “Jesus, Captain, if you really want to die, try to pick a better way.”

“I’ll remember that.” I coughed as I tested my voice. “Thanks, man.” I took his hand, and he helped me stand.

“I’ve always got your six, you know that.” He smiled, and we ran together to catch up with the rest of the team.

Brown’s smile stayed with me as I heard the door open. The light flicked on as the door closed behind him. The lock was turned, and his keys clacked as they hit the decorative bowl on the hallway table. I watched as his shadow grew large as he entered the living room then shrank and disappeared as he flipped on the table lamp at the bottom of the stairs.

“Shit.” Hill jumped when he spotted me in the leather chair in the middle of the room. “At least my gut was right.” He smirked and calmly removed his jacket and tossed it on the banister. “I take it my brother isn’t home?” He eyed the stairs, and I watched as he tried to piece together the afternoon and night’s events.

“Nope, he’s currently being questioned about his involvement in the bartender’s death.” I held his stare.

“They’ll find nothing.” He shrugged as he tried to play it cool.

“There was an eyewitness who spotted him leaving her apartment very shortly after she was killed.”

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