Page 12 of SEAL's Sunshine
“Copy that, Eagle 5,” Jake responded. “Eagle 1 to TOC. The threat is neutralized, I repeat threat is neutralized.”
“Never doubted you, Eagle 1,” Captain Knox replied, but the relief was plain to hear in his voice. “Head to the EXFIL so we can get the fuck out of here.”
“Copy that, TOC.”
“I don’t think we could have cut that closer if we tried,” Murph said as they headed to their plane. They’d accomplished the mission without alerting the locals or tipping off the Secret Service. Just another day at the office, except there was no going home and discussing their day with the families.
After they were airborne, Cam breathed a sigh of relief. For him, the mission never felt completed until they were in the air. He wasn’t sure why, but it had been that way since the beginning.
“We’re cleared for home. Red Falcon Team has landed at Bagram.”
“I say that calls for a celebration. Who wants a beer?” Jake asked as he headed over to the cooler. They kept a stash on board for after missions, and if any of them deserved to be celebrated it was this one. POTUS wouldn’t know he’d been in danger until the Joint Chiefs briefed him. It was a win or at least part of one, they hadn’t caught the fucktards behind the plot. Azfaar was still out there and it was guaranteed that he’d be causing more trouble.
Cam grabbed a beer, then set out food and water for Halo, before he sat down. He wanted to call Miranda and let her know they were on the way.\ While he was figuring out the time difference, Rafe sat next to him.
“You know you can’t tell her about the mission.”
“Seriously? You’re fucking reminding me like I’m some kind of newbie? That I don’t know all of our missions are top secret?”
“I’m just saying. They don’t all involve your girlfriend’s father. The temptation will be there.”
Cam hadn’t thought about it. He’d never been tempted to share information about their missions with anyone, but then this was the first time he was in a real relationship. He’d dated plenty, but nothing was ever serious until Miranda, she was different.
“How do you handle it with Meghan?”
“She knows that I can’t talk about it and doesn’t ask. It was a little different on the deployment because we were mostly training.”
“We haven’t been on any missions until now since you’ve gotten together. either.”
“True.”
“Just because I’m younger than you, Grandpa, doesn’t mean I need to be reminded,” Cam replied as he hid his irritation with sarcasm. It was true, he was a SEAL and knew the rules just as much as the rest of them.
“You’re right, kid,” Rafe said with a wink. “I just know how anxious you’ve been to get home to her.”
“No more so than you are.”
“Touché.”
“What are you two whispering about,” Murph asked as he sauntered toward them with refills. Relieved that the focus was off of him, Cam grabbed one of the bottles.
“Nothing. Just talking about living arrangements,” Cam said and gave Rafe a look that dared him to disagree with what he’d said.
“Miranda’s staying with Meghan since we were late. You never know what those women are up to.”
“No shit. Women are worse than we are. They’re probably talking about how often there will be a banana in the fruit salad.”
“Fuck Murph, how do you come up with that shit?” Ryan asked.
“Just how my mind works, bro. Can’t help it.”
“You’re just jealous,” Cam added.
“Me? Hell to the fuck no. I like buttering the biscuit as much as anyone, but I prefer a fresh one. Nothing stale for me.”
“How’s that?”
“It’s the thrill of the hunt, like a crap shoot. Sometimes you miss, sometimes you hit, but you never know until you try.”
