Page 30 of SEAL's Spitfire
“Two reasons, one he’s a great guy and can’t resist helping anyone. And two, because you’re mine. That makes you family.”
“But we…”
“Don’t say it. We’ve talked about this. You’re not allowed to chicken out”
“Me? Chicken out. No way.”
“There’s my Spitfire. I have to go. But I’ll call as soon as I can.”
“Please be safe. I didn’t think I’d have to deal with worrying about you so soon.”
“I’ll be fine. Behave yourself.”
“What? I can’t hear you.”
“Bye, Spitfire. I love you.”
“Bye.” Meghan hadn’t said the words, but he knew in his heart she felt the same as he did. She’d taken the news better than he’d expected too. Unless she wasn’t awake enough to process what he’d said. It was a good thing she’d have Tex in case she needed anything.
It was another three hours before they landed at Naval Station Norfolk. As soon as he got off the plane, he headed to command. With no interruptions on the flight, he was able to grab some shut-eye. It wasn’t much but it was better than nothing and he’d learned years ago to sleep when he could. Not sure when they’d be shipping out, he’d take what he could get. It might be a while before he got any more.
“Nice of you to join us,” Ryan McLaughlin teased as he walked through the door. “We’ve been waiting hours for you.”
“Don’t they say the best is worth waiting for?” Rafe replied with a grin. His team was family, not by blood but something more.
“Bullshit,” Drew Murphy replied.
“Where’s Cam?” Rafe asked as he stored his pack.
“Outside with Halo.”
Before Rafe could ask if they’d heard anything else, the door opened and Master Chief Jake Warner, their boss, walked in followed by Cam and Halo. From the look on Jake’s face, they weren’t going to like what was coming.
“Good timing, Rafe. Briefing starts in ten.”
“I beat Cam, why pick on me?”
“Why are you always giving me grief?” Cam asked as he grabbed a chair and Halo laid down on the floor beside him.
“Because you’re new. It’s our job.”
“I was new two years ago, what the fuck, man?”
Jake laughed. “You will always be the new guy. Might as well get used to it.”
They were already seated at the table when Captain Randall and their CIA liaison, Bill Lynch walked in.
“By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about the missionaries kidnapped in Bamyan Province. What you don’t know is that Senator Stanhope’s daughter is part of that group.”
Jake glanced at Rafe. He knew him well enough to know he needed to keep his mouth shut. Rafe tipped his chin and Jake nodded back.
“Have they made any demands?” Murph was their bomb guy. If something needed to get blown up, he was the man. Sometimes Rafe wondered if he enjoyed it a little too much.
“Not yet. We’re not sure they realize who’ve they’ve got either. But their silence is worrying JSOC. Bill will continue the briefing with what we know.”
After a few clicks on his laptop, the whiteboard displayed a photo of Miranda Stanhope. “This is the senator’s daughter. There are also nine others in the group. But she’s the reason we’re going in. The senator has been with POTUS since state notified him. We squashed the TV coverage to try to keep her identity on lockdown. But we’ve picked up some chatter that the Taliban is trying to sell the group for weapons.”
“To who?” Jake asked.
