Page 54 of SEAL's Patience
Quinn: How’s Africa?
He prayed she’d respond. But as he stared at his phone screen, willing the three blinking dots to show up, he struggled to swallow past the lump in his throat. No response. Not even a delivery confirmation.
He couldn’t lose her, not now, not ever. How could he have been such a fool? Did it take losing the only person who’d made him smile to wake him the fuck up? Apparently.
“Sorry, karma. You’re not winning today,” he muttered as he squeezed the phone in his hand. Willing it to vibrate with her message. They had unfinished business, and he wouldn’t let her slip away from him. She had to live. Quinn was ready to go scorched earth to ensure he found her, rescued her, and brought her home. She just needed to hold on until he could get to her.
All conversation ceased and four heads turned toward him as Quinn walked into their office.
“I know you all want to say I told you so. I get it, I do. But now’s not the time. We need to keep our heads straight and bring themallhome safely. Understand me?”
“Yes, boss,” they responded in sync.
“Go home, kiss your women. Grab your bags and be back here at thirteen hundred hours. If I hear anything before then, I’ll let you know.”
“I’ll stay. Help you go through the intel,” Doc said.
“I’m staying too,” Lucky said.
“Us too,” Ry and Josh answered together. “Five heads are better than two.”
“Yeah, we’ll go home for dinner and kiss them then. We’re not leaving you now. You wouldn’t leave us.”
Quinn blinked the mist from his eyes. There must have been dust in the air. Then he nodded, and replied, “Appreciate all of you. I’m not sure what we can find, but anything will be helpful.”
The team studied the maps and terrain of Swuyji and the rest of Central Africa for the rest of the afternoon. Their missions were primarily in Europe and Eastern Europe; Africa was new for them. Unfortunately, their deep dive only revealed more questions and no answers.
Expecting the desert, instead, they discovered Swuyji butted up against the Karre Mountain Range to the northeast, and the Lobaye River to the south. It also meant they needed a lot more intel, and no time or opportunity to get it.
He sent the rest of the team home at thirteen hundred, but he and Doc pored over every map and video they could find of the area. They’d drop near the river, hoping it would help hide their location. Without more information about the mountain range, it was too dangerous for a night HALO.
They needed more intel before they left. Quinn prayed they’d get it.
“I’m heading home to grab my bag. Do you need anything?” Doc asked.
“No, I’m coming too. I’ll see you at thirteen hundred.”
“We’ll get her back, Quinn. She’s strong. She’ll know you’re coming for her.”
“I hope so.” He didn’t want to think about the alternative.
CHAPTER 29
QUINN
The plan was to HALO close to the river from the C-17. As jumps went, it wasn’t bad, but there was always a risk. Quinn had gotten more intel from JSOC after they were airborne. The intel showed a small group, primarily women, children, and the doctors, being moved toward the mountains.
After discussing it with Tony, they stayed with the plan and drop zone they’d hashed out. Extraction would be trickier. There weren’t any bases near their location, so getting out by helicopter wouldn’t be possible. They would have to bring them out using the trucks at their camp.
Quinn’s biggest concern, besides Patience, was the current health of all those involved. Depending on injuries, a long trip could prove deadly.
The plane circled the HALO point at zero four hundred, and before they were on the ground, it was long gone. This was the riskiest part of the mission, usually. If detected after they’d deployed their chutes, they’d be defenseless.
In full mission stance, they used their usual call signs. As their leader, Quinn used the call sign Falcon 1 and assigned numbers based on their rank to the rest of the team. Except forWhiskey, the military dog handled by Ry. It had been a last-minute decision on whether to bring Whiskey, but in the end, they decided if they had to search the mountains, he’d be an enormous asset.
They weighted down their gear in the river, and put on their NVDs, night vision devices, and began their trek to the village. Quinn hoped they’d find some clues if not people. It was a major concern that the village looked totally deserted.
“Com check,” Quinn said.
