Page 11 of Signed, SEALed, Delivered

CHAPTER FIVE

Zach

As I crossed the compound, I took in the sights that had become the norm for all of us here. A group of guys picking up a game of basketball, another cluster with a guitar with a guy strumming passionately, yet singing quite poorly, and some were working out with the wind and sand swirling around them.

"Afternoon, Sir."

Ramsey stood not six paces from me, his eyes bright while I watched in horror as he raised his right hand to salute me. As I clear the distance between us, there are at least a handful of people who had witnessed his deadly error. Twisting his wrist, not giving a shit if I broke every finger he had, my momentum forces him to stumble backward, my intent to get us safely inside of a building.

“Do that shit again and the only salute you will be able to give is when you jack off in the morning!” I seethed, tossing his hand into his chest. Ramsey had been here for about three months and he was the scariest type of soldier. The kind who wanted to see some action and stare the insurgents in the face. Guys like him had imaginary battle scenes they told their buddies about back home. Ones where they took on twelve guys, when in reality they pissed their pants and hid in the fucking sand until the shooting stopped. He boasted he wanted to be a SEAL, be the baddest of the bad, but we all knew he wouldn't make it past the front gate of training.

“Yes, Sir. My mistake, Vi—LT.” Fucker knew better than to use my call sign, something reserved for my men. “I heard you ran into some action out there. Took on a hundred men with Aarash leading the pack.”

Ramsey reminded me of the bouncing cartoon pup from Chester and Spike as he stood in the center of the room, waiting on the details of a battle he had already created in his head. "Don't believe everything you hear, Ramsey. Just keep your eyes open and your fucking hand at your side.” I turned to take my leave, a hot shower and the letter inside my pocket requiring my attention.

“Roger that, LT. Hey, I hear you have a younger sister, she dating anybody?”His words stopped me in my tracks. Just before we had gone on patrol this last time, he came into the area where I was Skyping with my aunt and sister. He took one look at Savannah and jizzed himself. Once I said goodbye to them, I made it quite clear to him to keep his fucking mind, and hands, off my little sister, the sole of my boot can be very intimidating.

“Ramsey, I told you before, my sister better not cross your mind.” It was no secret around here; my sister was pretty yet a little thick in the middle. Her desire to be in love got her heart broken, along with a few noses courtesy of my twin, Zane. While Savannah had enough love to share with the world, she was also a complete pain in the fucking ass. But I loved her, and it was my duty, as her older brother, to protect her. “It's none of your fucking business who she’s dating, cause it damn sure ain't gonna be you.”

Not waiting to hear another word, lacking confidence in my ability to not add Ramsey's name to the list of bloody knuckles I'd collected over the years. I wince as the bright rays of the desert sun blinded me instantly, even with my cover and sunglasses; the sharpness of the sun was a bitch.

Being an officer, the shower facilities were slightly better than those for the enlisted. Where they had a makeshift room, with showerheads every three feet, we were sectioned off, giving a false sense of privacy. Standing under the lukewarm water, I wash away the stench of the mission. The smell of my shampoo brings back the memory of Chief and the conversation we had on the helicopter ride home. He had been the last to board the bird, rushing to make sure we didn't leave him behind.

“You think this is a limo service now?” I shouted over the noise of the blades.“Nah,” he said, no smart assed comment or quick-witted comeback.

“Oh, hell, no.” I shoved at him as he donned his headset. Chief always had something to say; no matter if it was a strained, ‘fuck you’ or a ‘shut the fuck up’, he always said something.

“What happened to make you late?”

Chief couldn't hold back his smile, shaking his head as he looked out the side of the helicopter. “When the bullets started flying, I had already jumped into the truck with the nurses. After the first shot hit the front glass, the woman with the glasses lost her cool. I had covered her with my body and told her over and over she was safe inside the vehicle, but she was too scared to listen and started screaming how she didn't want to die. I tried to put my hand over her mouth, but she was about to hyperventilate.” I knew what he was about to say before the words left his mouth. Chief, like the rest of us, had his fair share of young ladies cross his path. He took a few home with him, but never spoke of having anything serious. “So I did the only thing I could think of to do,” he shrugged his shoulders as the knowing grin reappeared. “I kissed her.”

After the team razzed him about the timid girl who stood off to the side and never made eye contact, he caught my attention and had me switch to a secure channel on the radio.

“Her name is Rachel Alexander, I didn't plan on kissing her, but Zach...” this was Aiden talking, and not Chief, confiding his joy in a friend, “...something caught in me.” Rubbing his chest, his eyes locked with mine.

He confessed how the kiss started out as a way to keep her quiet, ensuring her safety. Combined with the heat of the moment and the sweet smell of her hair, his rules of engagement went right out the window. He’d gotten her information and gave her his, they promised to keep in touch and kissed again, thus the reason he nearly missed the helo.

As I was about to head to my rack and write a letter to Miss Forrester, my satellite phone sounded from my pack. Snatching it up, I walked back into the heat of the day, knowing the reception would be better outside. The number on the screen was familiar, a friend I hoped to see once I made it back to the states.

“Hey, dickhead, you get married yet?”

“Nah, man, I got rid of her. Sir, I got shit to talk to you about.”

Chase Morgan, Diesel, had been one of the finest soldiers I've ever served with. Early on he showed determination and responsibility, confirming my decision to include him in our missions. Late last year, he started exchanging emails with a girl from back home in South Carolina. They seemed to get serious pretty swiftly and he told us of his plans to head home and marry her.

“Sound serious, Diesel.”

“I'm gonna put you on speakerphone and let my brother Austin tell you what’s going on.”

Keeping my eyes on the ridge of the closest mountain, the dead bushes swaying in the wind, I listened as Austin told me of the list he came across and how a number of identities were compromised. Ironically, the girl who Chase had set about to marry was in the center of the theft. My thoughts went back to Aarash and how he knew about my family back in Atlanta. Could this security breach Austin spoke of be some new way the enemy found to get to our core?

“Zach, I can email you what I have if you need any proof of what I'm saying.”

“Diesel trusts you, so I trust you as well. But let me know if you have anything else come up."

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Dear Ms. Forrester,

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