Page 44 of Cole
“Double for me, Dad. Make sure Angus comes home?” Ham just smiled at his girls, nodding.
“I’ll do my very best.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
With new seniors on the Legacy team hanging back and allowing the new leaders to take over, they sent more than twenty men to Syria. They would arrive in Türkiye, cross the border at night, and hike up that damn mountain, hopefully finding the entrance to the cave with the plutonium and uranium.
“One thing you’ll need to be careful of,” said Erin, standing beside Ryan and Paige, “is if he sees you coming, he could be tempted to blow it all. You’d be within the blast zone.”
“We are worried about that,” said Gator.
“Well, don’t be,” smiled Susie. “We’ve been working on radiation protection suits for the last year and you now have in your possession on the plane, enough for everyone. We’ve tested them over and over again and zero radiation enters. It won’t protect from an explosion but you won’t be exposed to the radioactive levels.”
“That’s amazing,” said Angus staring at the thin suits. “What about the stealth vests? Can they be worn with it?”
“Yes,” said Paige. “Put the stealth vest on first, then your shirts, then the radiation suits. There are readers that will alert you on each suit if you’re getting unhealthy levels of radiation. If the plutonium and uranium are encased in protective covers, that’s the best possible outcome. Leave them in the covers and put them inside the lead-lined totes that we sent. They’re heavy, but no one will die.”
“What happens if we get into a fire fight with him inside that cave?” asked Gator. “If we hit the devices, will they blow?”
“In theory, it’s possible. But as long as they are not connected to a reactor or some sort of incendiary device, youshould be alright.” Paige stared at the faces on the screen. None of them looked very certain of their path.
“Listen to me. You’re all smart. You’re always safe in your approach. Don’t change who you are and what you do. With any luck, he’s got this stuff deep into the cave near the water source that runs through the mountain. If that’s the case, he won’t be close to it. You can eliminate him, easily get to the others and remove the devices.”
“Thanks, Paige,” said Patrick. “Thanks to the entire team for ensuring that we’re all safe.”
“That’s my job, honey. You all just get home when you can. Safe and sound,” she smiled. The screen went black and they all looked at one another.
“Well, I guess we have a plan,” said Rush.
“This all needs to be done under darkness,” said Tobias. “Make sure you’re camouflaged and use the netting if we get too close. We’re not going to fuck up our first mission as the new team.”
“Speaking of,” smiled Pierre. “Have y’all come up with a new name or are we still Voodoo Guardians?”
“We’ve agreed on a rebranding,” said Tobias. He looked at the other leaders around him. Jak, Gator, Ham, Christopher, Patrick, Rush, Dan, Conor, and Moose all nodded at him.
“Well, don’t keep us in suspense,” laughed Cole.
“Shadow Warriors.”
“Shadow Warriors,” repeated Pierre. “Shadow Warriors. I like it. There’s no reference to our location. No reference to prior military experience. And we like to remain in the shadows and the whole damn ghost thing makes it seem shadow-like. I like it.”
“Me too,” smirked Cole. BJ, Matt, Kev, and Abe all agreed. They lifted their bottles of water for a toast.
“Long live Shadow Warriors,” said Pierre. Cole lifted his water, then stopped.
“Wait a minute. Does Shadow Warriors refer to the ghosts? Are we babysitting ghosts now?”
Ham laughed, shaking his head.
“You never know, son. You never know.”
With sleep being a luxury while on missions, the men tried to get catnaps here and there where they could. The beauty of their fleet was that it got them where they were going. Fast.
The bad thing was, it got them where they were going. Fast. There wasn’t a lot of time for solid napping. What it did do was place them just across the border as the sun set over the horizon. With the late fall upon them, it gave them more darkness to work in.
Autumn and Clark watched as the men gathered their gear, ensuring that they forgot nothing.
“When we’re gone, lock it up and stay inside,” said Ham. “Do not leave this plane. If you have to, fly to Italy and wait at the base there.”
