Page 28 of Building Courage

Cramer placed a flash drive into the computer that operated a smart board in the room and turned it on while Harding scanned the room. “Yesterday, a diplomatic convoy was attacked in the capital city of Niger. Five people were killed, and three others were abducted. One was an American. If diplomatic avenues don’t secure the hostages’ release, our platoon is first up for the rescue mission as soon as we have more intel.”

Harding turned toward the smartboard behind him and clicked the controller. “This is what we know.” A satellite photo of the area opened on the screen. The video showed a group of four vehicles pursuing three darker vehicles. Two vehicles entered the street from the east, cutting off the darker vehicles. There was movement from all six vehicles as the men inside leaped out and surrounded the four diplomatic vehicles. The terrorists fired a barrage of shots as they converged on one of the vehicles and extracted the four passengers from the car. One man crumpled to the ground beside the vehicle. The hostages were forced into separate vehicles. After only seconds, all six of the tangos’ vehicles fled the area, moving in different directions.

Sam continued. “Armor-piercing rounds were used on the two security vehicles front and back, and the teams were killed. The driver of the embassy vehicle was shot in the head and left in the street.”

“They had someone on-site feeding them intel about when the vehicle left the compound,” Tucker murmured under his breath.

“And they loaded the hostages in separate vehicles and scattered. Talk about trying to find a needle in a haystack,” Denotti whispered.

A picture came up on the screen. Lieutenant Harding continued. “The American who was captured was Robert Collins, secretary to the U.S. Ambassador. They may have believed he was the Ambassador because he’s the same height, weight, and hair color.”

“When they find out he’s not who they think he is…” Denotti murmured.

Shit. The guy wouldn’t stand a chance.

Two more pictures were added to the smart board. “The other two hostages are Umar Saidu and Chinua Tanko. Saidu is a translator who’s worked in the embassy for five years. Tanko is the head of the country’s cultural council. He was there at the embassy for a meeting and was offered a ride to his office as a courtesy. So far, there has been no effort made by the kidnappers to contact anyone at the embassy for ransom.

“The Nigerien Internal Security Forces have taken charge of the investigation, but it’s a joint effort with our intelligence department there at the embassy. Chances are, we’ll never plant boots on the ground in Niger, but the powers that be want us ready, so keep your phones hot.”

After dismissing the meeting, the other SEAL team filtered out with Lieutenant Cramer. Sam sat atop one of the tables and propped his feet in the chair. “Lieutenant Cramer has opted to take his team through some close-quarter drills. We’ll be doing some defensive driving drills today out at Camp Billy Machen.”

Tucker suppressed a sigh. A five-hour trip up and back, plus the time out there in the heat, was never fun, even though he enjoyed the driving once they got out there.

Harding continued his instructions. “I’ve already packed the water and food we’ll take with us and booked our transport. It’ll be here in thirty minutes. Get your gear.”

Everyone scattered to get their equipment.

“Gilly,” Harding called to him.

Tucker stopped and waited for Sam to catch up with him. “Yes, LT?”

They jogged together out of the building and across the parking lot to an adjacent building. “I mentioned your idea about the transfer angle to Commander Yazzie. He’s passing it on to NCIS.”

“I’ve already been interviewed, LT.”

Sam grabbed his arm to stop him. “How’d it go?”

“I either stumbled across something they’d come up with themselves or…I’ll be their prime suspect until they catch the guy.”

“Fuck!” Sam stopped in mid-stride. “You and I both know it isn’t you. Let it go.”

Easier said than done. “Roger that.”

Sam moved on. “I heard you’re giving scuba lessons to a civilian.”

Jesus! He couldn’t take a crap without someone else in the team knowing about it. “Yes, sir.”

“You’ll need to put those on hold until we either deploy or they resolve the issue there. If we had to fly out after one of your dives…”

“I’m aware of the dangers, sir. I’ll talk to her and see if she’ll accept instruction from someone else while I’m in a holding pattern.”

“Good.”

Maybe Brynn would wait until things were resolved with this current situation. She had eighteen weeks to get ready. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as he rushed to his cage to get his gear.

Thirty minutes later, they boarded a helicopter. Cutting their travel time in half was a sign of Sam’s expert planning, even when things happened at the last minute. The hour-long trip to the desert passed quickly. The Light Strike Vehicles (LSVs) squatted on the asphalt outside the garage, waiting for them when they touched down.

Tucker shouldered his pack, leaped off the helicopter, and grabbed one handle of the cooler while Denotti got the other. They secured the cooler into the jump seat and then secured their packs into the back. The vehicles looked like dune buggies but were sturdier and faster, exactly what their name implied. Fast strikes. He preferred the Desert Patrol Vehicles, which had more armor plating for protection, but no one had called him on the phone and asked his opinion about the change. Each vehicle could carry three men. Tucker and Denotti were put in charge of the food, and only had two in their vehicle.

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