Without law 17, p.17
Without Law 17, page 17
“The ships have been equipped with plasma weapons, but they should also still have their anti-ship missiles still intact,” I said.
“You think?” Anna asked.
“Yes.” I nodded. “Even with plasma weapons, it’d be stupid to remove other weapon systems from the ship.”
“I guess that’s true,” the redhead agreed.
“So, we go in, take out the crew, use Minji to figure out the controls so we can point the missiles at the other ships, then we take them down,” Tara said with a shrug and a grin. “Easy peasy. Also kind of poetic, eh?”
“I’m glad you think so,” I laughed.
“We can handle it,” Anna assured me seriously.
“I know,” I told her.
“I do have one other question,” Paige said.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“How are we going to choose teams?” the brunette inquired.
“I say we line them all up like middle school soccer,” Tara said. “Except we’re the captains this time.”
“I was the captain then, too,” Anna chuckled.
“Of course, you were,” Tara laughed.
“Hm.” I thought for a moment. “We could just separate them randomly. Unless there’s anyone in particular you girls would like on your team.”
“Nobody comes to mind,” Paige said. “I was just curious.”
“Is there somebody you don’t want on your team?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Weelllll,” Paige said, and she bit her lip.
“What?” I laughed.
“I’d rather not have Hammer on my team,” she admitted. “He’s their leader, and I just would feel too weird having him on my team.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I understand.”
“I’ll take him,” Anna said, and she flashed me a competitive smile.
“Oh, you will, huh?” I chuckled.
“I’m an athlete.” The redhead shrugged. “And a team captain. It’s pretty much in my DNA to show off.”
“I think it’s a good idea for him to be on your team, too,” I told her. “I know you can handle the pressure.”
“Oh, are you saying we can’t?” Tara asked.
“I--” I started to backtrack, but the platinum-blonde cut me off with a laugh.
“I’m totally kidding, I don’t want that kind of responsibility,” she chuckled. “I feel like he’d scrutinize every move I made.”
“Right!” Paige exclaimed.
“Is this how you all felt when I took over?” I asked.
“No.” Tara shook her head. “You trained us, so it was totally different.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Okay, maybe it’s not totally different,” Tara admitted. “But we like you, and we wanted to impress you. Hammer has sway with these guys though, so I guess more than anything I’d be concerned he would try to undermine you.”
“Yeah.” Paige nodded. “I think that’s the real issue I was having as well.”
“I assure you,” I said. “Hammer wouldn’t do that. He might be their Lieutenant, but the captain ordered the SEALs to follow our plan. At least for the next twenty-four hours.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Tara joked. “Anna already said she’d take him.”
“And Navy SEAL or not, I’ll punch him in the face if he tries to take over my crew, too,” the redhead laughed.
I shook my head and laughed along with the girls.
We had the plan all figured out, now the only thing left to do was execute it. Once we got back to camp, we’d relax for a few hours during the day and catch up on some sleep, then, come evening, it was go time.
I had confidence the girls could handle their teams easily, and even though they were clearly concerned about the SEALs not listening to them, I didn’t think that would be an issue. The men definitely had warmed up to us over the past few days, and being a Ranger got me a bit of respect from the majority of them right away. The rest of them had come around, though.
It was still dark by the time we arrived back at the Coca Cola factory we were staying at, and I pulled around back and found a fire was still going at our camp. Ben sat nearby and tossed a small piece of wood on the flames, but he looked up and waved when he saw our headlights.
“Ben,” I chuckled as I hopped out of the jeep. “You know you don’t have to wait up for us, right?”
“I know,” he said with a wave of his hand. “But you all were out in the cold all night, I thought you might want something warm in your bellies before you went to bed.”
“That was nice of you,” I said with a smile.
“It was nothing,” he assured me. “Come, take a seat and get warm. Fire’s nice and hot.”
“Thanks,” I told him.
The girls and I made our way to the fire pit and took our seats.
I sat down next to Ben, and Tara sat next to me and laid her head against my shoulder.
Anna sat on the other side of Ben, with Bailey next to her, and Paige after that.
The girls and I all stuck our feet out toward the flames so they could get warm, and after a few minutes, I held my hands out, too. The heat from the fire sent tingles through my fingers and toes, and the feel of freshly warmed appendages was enough to make me let out a sigh of relief and lean back on the makeshift bench.
“Here,” Ben said, and he handed me a warm cup of clear liquid.
I handed the first cup to Tara and then took the next one he offered to me. After we all had our glasses, I lifted mine to take a drink but stopped when I smelled it.
“What is this?” I asked. “It smells… very alcoholic.”
“Oh, it is,” Ben chuckled. “It’s--”
“Wait, let me guess,” Tara said, and she smelled the glass and took a tiny sip. “Is it sake?”
“Yes!” Ben exclaimed.
“I never would have guessed that.” Anna shook her head.
“What’s sake?” Bailey asked, and her head cocked to the side as she investigated the contents of her mug more thoroughly.
“It’s rice wine,” Ben said.
“It’s boozy as all hell is what it is,” Tara laughed.
“Usually,” Ben agreed. “It’s from Japan.”
“You’ve never heard of sake?” Paige asked.
“No.” Bailey shook her head. “I guess I didn’t eat at a lot of japanese restaurants, though.”
“You never got sushi?” Tara asked.
“Vegan, remember?” Bailey chuckled.
“Oh, right.” The platinum-blonde frowned.
“Oh, man,” Anna said, and she closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky. “I miss sushi so bad.”
“You like sushi, too?” Tara asked.
“It’s the best,” the redhead said. “I used to go like every weekend, there was a great place up--”
“In Burlington!” Tara exclaimed. “I know, right?”
“Sushi House?” Anna asked.
“Yessss,” Tara moaned. “The one that looked like it hadn’t been updated literally ever.”
“Yes,” Anna laughed. “And there was that old japanese grandpa that was always there. He made the best rolls.”
“So. Frickin. Good.” Tara punctuated each word by lifting her hand up further to the sky.
“I can’t believe we used to go to the same sushi restaurant,” Anna chuckled.
“I know, right,” Tara said. “I think I’m actually starting to like you.”
“Ew,” Anna said, then she smiled at the platinum-blonde.
We’d all been listening to the girls’ conversation, but while they were talking I watched as Bailey took a swig of the drink. Her face immediately scrunched up, and she tried hard to swallow while clearly fighting the urge to spit it into the grass.
Bailey lost that fight, though, and a second later she spun around and spat the liquid out of her mouth. She coughed a few times and then turned back around. Her cheeks were already beet red, and she looked incredibly embarrassed as she glanced over to Ben.
“Ben, I’m so sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay,” he laughed. “It’s not for everyone.”
“It’s hot,” Bailey whispered in horror. “Why was it hot?”
“That’s how you serve sake,” Tara explained. “Or at least that’s how you serve some sake. There are ones that are served chilled, too.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had hot alcohol before,” Bailey said, and she wiped some leftover spit from her mouth.
“It’s an acquired taste,” Ben said, and he took the cup from Bailey. “How about some apple cider instead?”
“Yes, please,” the blonde hippie girl said.
“You all made this stuff?” Anna asked after she took a drink. “It’s nice.”
“Thanks,” Ben said, and he poured Bailey a cup of cider and handed it to her. “We thought we’d bring some creature comforts from home, and since you guys have been out doing so much work, I thought you could use a treat. I was going back and forth between sake or cider, I guess I made the wrong choice for Bailey.”
“Sorry,” the blonde chuckled. “I feel really bad that I spit it up.”
“Don’t,” Ben said with a wave of his hand. “It’s alright. Tav, what do you think?”
“I haven’t tried it yet.” I grinned and took a swig.
The smooth alcohol hit my tongue and burned a fire down my throat as it went down. I’d had sake before, and this was some good stuff. I didn’t know how Ben and the other doomsday preppers managed to make something so delicious, but I reminded myself to ask them. The liquid seemed soft in my mouth, and it was smooth as it worked its way down my throat. He was right to serve it warm, too. The heat only added to the flavor and made it that much tastier. The warmth really brought out the sweetness.
“It’s delicious,” I told him with a clap on the shoulder, and I really meant it.
It had been a few days since I’d had anything hard to drink, and it was nice to relax, even if it was only for a few minutes.
I savored the flavor of the homemade sake while I listened to the girls chat. The fire was nice and warm, and after I finished my drink, I figured it was time to head to bed.
Tomorrow night was go time, and I knew it would be a long night regardless of how the mission went. I expected it would go smoothly, but there was always the chance it wouldn’t.
No matter how meticulously planned an operation was, there were variables that couldn’t be accounted for. We weren’t going up against robots that did the exact same thing every single day. These were really human beings, and there was always the off chance they’d change their routine at the last second.
We tended to be creatures of habit, so the chances of that were slim, but they were still there, and I had to remind myself of them to stay humble. I’d succeeded a lot in my military career, and also with my missions with the girls, but I never wanted to take that success for granted. It hadn’t come out of thin air, I’d worked hard for it, and I needed to continue to work hard to keep it going.
Whenever we went on a mission, there was a real possibility that somebody would get hurt, or possibly worse.
I’d trained my girls well, but there was still always that small chance that something could go wrong. That weighed at the back of my mind, but I pushed it to the side and focused on our plan for tomorrow.
Once nightfall hit, we’d attack.
And I’d make sure we all came out of it alive.
Chapter 12
I woke early in the afternoon and found the girls all around me, still asleep. I figured I’d let them get a little more rest, so I got dressed and made my way out of the tent.
I waved to some members of our group as I walked by, but I was headed to the Captain’s office. We’d brought our own supplies, and I’d told him as much, but I saw a couple things in his supply room that I wanted to borrow for the mission.
As I entered the building, I bumped into someone, and I immediately held out my hands to steady them, only to realize it was Minji.
“Hi,” I said with a big smile.
“Hello,” she breathed, and she looked up at me and blushed.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you,” I said, and my smile turned to amusement at her embarrassment.
“That’s alright,” she said, and she bit her lip. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“I’m just headed to speak to the Captain,” I told her. “I want to see about borrowing some of the weapons you all have.”
“Oh, of course.” She nodded, and her dark eyebrows furrowed together. “Let me walk with you, I was headed to the same place.”
“Alright,” I agreed.
We got to the stairs, and Minji took them first, which gave me a great view of her perfect ass. My cock twitched just remembering what we’d done the day before, but I pushed the thought out of my mind and focused on the task at hand.
Once we got to the Captain's door, Minji knocked three times and then waited.
“Come in!” the Captain called, and I wondered why he never seemed to answer his door.
“Sir,” Minji said as she opened the door for us and stepped through. “Tav would like to speak with you.”
“What’s this about?” he asked, and his bushy eyebrows pinched together. “Is everything alright?”
“It’s great,” I assured him. “We’ll be leaving tonight to take out the ships.”
“Oh, very good.” He nodded. “So, what can I help you with?”
“I saw some weapons in your arsenal I’d like to see about borrowing,” I said.
“Borrowing, eh?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “What is it you were looking at?”
“I was looking at the Heckler & Koch silenced weapons you have,” I told him. “Particularly the MP5SD, and the Mark 23. I noticed it was the USSOCOM version with the suppressor.”
“Right,” the Captain agreed. “What about the plasma weapons? You all seemed to have a lot of them, I figured you would use them since they’re already so quiet.”
“Normally I would.” I nodded. “But that would be particularly dangerous in this situation.”
“How so?” Minji asked, and I turned to see her staring at me curiously.
“Well, we figured out the plasma fluid will only ignite if hit with a plasma or electrical blast,” I said. “So, if we take plasma guns on board and there’s a spill, or we accidently hit someone else’s weapon, it could cause a huge explosion.”
“Quite the opposite of stealthy at that point, eh,” the Captain said with a half chuckle.
“Yes, sir,” I agreed. “It would be safer for everyone involved if we all used silenced weapons instead of the plasma weapons.”
“Alright.” He nodded. “You and your team take whatever you need, just make sure you check it out with Minji first.”
“Thank you, sir.” I smiled and held my hand out. “I appreciate it.”
“Of course,” he said, and he smiled back at me and shook my hand. “You’ve done well so far. I know you and the SEALs can handle this.”
“I’ll make sure nothing happens to them,” I assured him.
“I’ll hold you to that,” he said.
“I can take you to the supply room if you’d like,” Minji said.
“Alright,” I agreed. “Didn’t you need to speak to the Captain, though? I can meet you down there.”
“Oh, yes,” Minji said, as if she’d forgotten the whole reason she’d come with me to begin with. “I will meet you there in just a few minutes, then.”
“Okay.” I smiled and headed back out of the office, and I made sure to shut the door behind me. I didn’t know what Minji needed to talk to the Captain about, but it was always nice to have a bit of privacy, regardless of the situation.
I made my way down the rickety stairs and to the room that had been converted into the supply room.
I looked around while I waited for Minji, and I saw there were enough of the H&K Mark 23s for all the girls, but there were only a few of the MP5SDs.
These were special, tactical weapons, and I hadn’t run across any in our travels up until now. I was excited to handle one of them. The weapons were designed for stealthiness, and they’d be the perfect guns for this mission.
While I looked over the weapons, I couldn’t help but think about what Minji and I had done the day before. The table was back in perfect order, but I smiled when I remembered how it had looked less than twenty-four hours ago.
“Sorry about that,” Minji said, and I turned to see her in the doorway. She picked up the clipboard off the wall and started to scan down it with her finger.
“That’s okay,” I told her with a smile.
“So, how many are you going to need, and of what?” she asked, and I could tell she was trying to be all business.
“I’d like three of the H&K Mark 23s,” I answered. “And one of the MP5SDs.”
“Good choices,” she said with a smile.
“Oh, actually,” I said. “Make it four of the Mark 23s.”
“Did you forget one of the girls?” she asked.
“No,” I chuckled. “Bailey’s got her sniper rifle. She won’t be needing one of these. The fourth one is for you.”
“Me?” she asked, and she looked up from the clipboard with surprise. “Oh.”
“Unless there’s something else you want?” I asked.
“No, I like the Mark 23,” she told me with a smile. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, I’m borrowing them from you,” I teased.
“Good point,” she laughed, and I was glad to see her demeanor relax.
“The SEALs will need weapons as well,” I said. “And I’d like for theirs to be silenced, too.”
“Most of them already have a MP5SD and Mark 23,” she told me.
“Perfect,” I said. “I’ll make sure and bring that up when I talk to them.”
“When are you going to do that?” she asked.
“As soon as we’re done here,” I answered. “I need to go over the plan with them.”
“Should I attend the meeting, too?” the beautiful Korean woman asked.
“I would assume so,” I said with a smile. “You’re coming, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” She smiled back at me.
“Then you should most definitely come to the meeting,” I said.
