Page 100 of Over the Top

“Do you see them yet?” Charles asked, sounding positively gleeful.

“You mean the massive line of shooters advancing up the hill toward us?” Gunner asked.

“They’re SEALs. Well, retired SEALs. I’ve got them on a satellite video feed here. They say there’s another group of shooters taking out the same guys they’re trying to take out, but they don’t know who the new shooters are.”

“Could be Tanaka’s guys,” Gunner replied.

“You might want to get on the phone with Tanaka’s men and tell them they’ve got SEALs on the field helping them and not to kill our guys.”

“Will do. Just a sec.” Gunner took the phone away from his mouth and relayed the message to Spencer, who immediately got on his cell phone to call Kenji Tanaka.

Charles commented, “Satellite view shows the new arrivals have pretty much cleared out your bad guys. They should reach your position in a few minutes. Don’t kill the good guys, eh?”

Gunner snorted. “We have just about enough ammo left to make a smiley face in a pumpkin.”

“Good timing, then,” Charles said. “The SEALs are operating on channel four if you want to say hello.”

“Thanks,” Gunner muttered.

Drago was already dialing up channel four on his radio. “Roger. Four adult males and one toddler. On the rocky outcropping about a hundred yards above your line. We’re using IR designators if any of you gentlemen have the capability.”

Gunner got his own radio switched over in time to hear someone respond in a gravelly voice, “We’ve got a few IR capable kits. We’ll send those boys up your way first.”

“We’ll be watching for them,” Spencer replied. “And I repeat, there are friendlies coming in from the other end of the valley.”

“Roger. We see them.”

Chas frowned. “What’s happening?”

Gunner couldn’t help grinning as he answered, “Tanaka’s guys got here, and they appear to have come in from one side of the valley, and Charles Favian called a bunch of retired SEALs who live in the area. They came in hot from the other end of the valley. Between the two, they appear to have wiped out the Oshiro boys.”

Sonofabitch. Tanaka coming for his own kid was not a surprise. But the SEAL brotherhood coming to the rescue like that for him and Spencer? That was a surprise of the best kind. This was why he loved his brothers-in-arms so damned much. When the chips were down, a bunch of crusty old ex-SEALs had answered the call. He and Spencer were still part of that brotherhood. They would be until they died. Leaving his active-duty SEAL team didn’t make him any less of a SEAL. He would always belong to this very special family.

Something proud unfurled in his chest, and it felt as if he’d drawn his first real, deep breath in weeks.

It took a bit to sort out who all was who on the hillside. A few hostiles were found hiding and taken prisoner if they surrendered or eliminated if they tried to fight. But eventually a great bearded bear of a man emerged at the top of the trail, his assault rifle pointed at the sky.

“Ooh-rah,” he said by way of greeting.

“Is the hill clear?” Spencer asked cautiously.

“Clean as a virgin’s—” He broke off. “Sorry. Forgot about the kid. Yeah. Hill’s clean. Y’all can come down now.”

Gunner stepped out from behind the rock. “Man, am I glad to see you.” He couldn’t resist thumping the big ex-SEAL on the back.

“C’mon. I imagine the boys are gonna want to meet y’all. It’s not often we get an excuse to come out and run a little target practice.” He added, “Oh, and there’s a bunch of Japanese fellas down in the valley who are all kinds of worked up to see the kid y’all have up here.”

Gunner snorted. He would bet.

The hike down to the valley floor didn’t take long. The SEALs had obviously cleared out the logs, vines, and other traps on their way up. They stepped out of the jungle, and several dozen men milled around, armed to the teeth, chatting and laughing as if they were holding a team reunion. A group of similarly armed Japanese men stood apart, speaking quietly among themselves.

A big cheer went up when they stepped out of the woods.

Poppy must have sensed she was safe at last, for on cue, she popped her thumb out of her mouth and let out a wail fit to raise the dead. That made everybody laugh, and Chas hugged and joggled her until she calmed down.

The next few hours passed in a blur. The contingent of Tanaka’s men made a discreet departure before law enforcement arrived, and not long after, police showed up to take control of the scene. The retired SEALs pitched in, fetching bodies and laying them out for identification. All in all, some forty Oshiro gang members died in the valley.

As far as Gunner, Spencer, and Drago could tell, both factions of the Oshiro gang had taken heavy losses out here tonight. If nothing else, the entire Oshiro gang had been taught a painful lesson on how seriously the Tanaka family—and the SEALs—took her safety. Gunner doubted they would ever try to mess with her again.

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