Page 82 of The Team

Just then, Chen put a plate in front of Rhett and grinned. “Special order. Unseasoned chicken.”

Everyone laughed, though Jay’s laughter was the loudest. Even Yin smiled.

And Rhett didn’t even mind. If it gave his team a moment of levity before shit got real, he’d take it. “Thanks,” he said, but he certainly wasn’t about to eat it. Thankfully, another officer came in and spoke to Wei.

“If you will come, please,” Wei said, gesturing to the door they’d come through.

Rhett stood up and Yin did too, looking a little nervous. Rhett guessed they were just about to learn if the hostage extraction was part of their mission.

Or if they’d be going off-script to do it themselves.

Rhett’s team waited for him and Wei to spearhead the walk back to the conference room. When he entered the room, he was surprised to see the three senior officers still there, but maybe they intended to see the entire thing through. There were other officers in there now, and more equipment: laptops, monitors.

He knew without being told, things were a go.

But to what extent, he waited for Zihao or King to explain. It was Zihao who spoke. “The PLA has graciously agreed to supplement our mission,” he said, giving a diplomatic smile to the three brass. It felt a little too smarmy for Rhett’s liking, and he had to wonder what conditions were agreed to in this deal.

But Zihao then went to the screen on the wall, which was an aerial live-feed view of Shentou Island. It wasn’t the map image Yunho had provided. It was Chinese satellite and way more detailed, showing the island fortress and a whole lot of open water.

The South China Sea was heavily guarded, and perhaps Frankston thought himself safe.

Rhett had no idea what that fucker was thinking, but one thing was certain. They couldn’t do this without the PLA’s help.

Zihao motioned toward the screen. “Wong Bo-chen’s property has state-of-the-art security: military-grade trip lasers, motion sensors, and biometric systems such as fingerprint and retina scanners, and facial recognition. He has scanners on the water two hundred metres surrounding his island. It rivals this military base and will require a dark covert drop.” Zihao pointed to a blue line on the water. “A two-man team, Ouston and Chen, will enter from here, proceed underwater, and once on land, disable the mains, which will shut down his security here—” He pointed to a specific part of the north-facing wall. “—here, and here. Thishasto be done by hand. Once that is offline, we can begin accessing the security system and we can move in.” He pointed back to the screen. “The remaining five breach by boat. Once the property is secure, the navy can intervene with drones and a Jiaolong Commando team and take over the operation. You will retrieve the hostage and retreat,” he paused for a split second. “And targets Frankston and Wong are to be taken alive. Remember Wong’s personal security team is highly trained. Tan Huan will be with Wong. He is skilled and very dangerous.”

There was so much in that delivery that Rhett wanted to pull apart, but one thing in particular stuck out. “Two and five makes seven. There are eight of us.”

Zihao’s gaze hardened at Rhett. “Agent Yin will notattend. His affiliation to the hostage and bias against Tan?—”

“No,” Rhett said flatly. “We go in as eight.”

His whole team was wide-eyed, likewhat the actual fuck, both confused and alarmed. Chen had his angry face on, and Yin looked about ready to puke.

“Captain Ouston,” Zihao said quietly. “I appreciate your?—”

Rhett wasn’t having it. “We are an eight-man team,” he repeated, louder this time. “We go as eight with your help, or we go in as eight without your help. Our number does not change.”

“Ouston,” King said this time. He looked torn but erring on the side of the officials for diplomacy’s sake, no doubt, and that just fucking pissed Rhett off.

“You want the best to go in, then Yinhasto be on the team. He was Jiaolong Commando,” Rhett said, knowing the three brass understoodthatword. “A commander, and the best in his unit. We need him on that first drop. Yin and Chen.” He pointed to the line on the map where they would enter, no doubt enough distance to avoid detection, in the middle of the freaking South China Sea. “I will not send my team in there without him.”

Zihao raised his chin. “It’s not your call to make.”

What he wanted to say was bull-fucking-shit it wasn’t, but he knew that’d be a torch to already smouldering kindling. “With all due respect, itismy call,” he said calmly. “The purpose of the Milvus Division is to work outside of the rules of diplomacy other nations are bound by. It is our purpose to see that work is done that other operatives cannot do. We are entrusted to make decisions to see thesuccess of a mission, and it is one hundred percentmycall to make.” Then Rhett looked at the three brass, still sitting there, staring at Rhett intently. He had no clue if they could understand him, but something told Rhett they understood him just fine. “China petitioned to be included in the Milvus Division to be seen as a participant in the democratic good of international relations, and you sent your best. Commander Yin Tao is the best in the water, and unless you want this mission to fail—unless you want an international incident in Chinese waters on the front page of every paper tomorrow morning—then you will send in your best.”

Rhett turned to see King’s lips twitch in an almost smile before he schooled it away, but Zihao was far from smiling.

Rhett didn’t give one single fuck.

“Yin is on the team,” Rhett said, his gaze now locked on Yin’s. “And Chen. We need them both.”

“Milvus is eight,” Sid said, surprising Rhett. Then Sid turned to King. “We’ll need all of us. Especially in the water.”

Rhett’s eyes darted to Jay to find him smiling back at him, not attempting to hide his pride and adoration.

“We can do this.Yincan do this. And I go where he goes, always,” Chen said. Then he looked right at Zihao and said something in Chinese—that Rhett didn’t understand at all—but it made Jay smile some more, so he could only assume it was good.

But Rhett was done. He was done with the bureaucracy. He was done with the diplomatic rules. In that split second, he remembered what Harry had said to him in that chopper when they’d pulled him out of the bunker.He’d said the political power of running the Milvus Division was not good and that no good would ever come of it.

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