Mike had to smile at Hector's response.
"'Sacrilegious defiler of all things sacred'?" He outright laughed, a rocky, rumbling sound. "I think I could get used to
that. Think they'll let me put it on my name tag? Hell though, its not my fault you're the weird southerner that has to put
lemons or limes into your pies, smear your words together, call it 'soda' instead of 'pop' and insist on naming all your
kids, and dogs, by two names instead of just one. I'm just pointing out that all our museums and historic buildings and
landmarks and what not happen to be a bit further north. That's all. And that's without pointing out that I always
pictured Andi more a Red Wings fan."
"That's hockey. Its not hockey season." Hector said with a laugh. It was a bit de-stressing, which he realized might be
Mike's whole objective. "And I only have one name, as do all my sisters and my brother. Cassie, Beth, Diane, Sarah
and Pete. See? Nice and normal. And we have plenty of history in the south. New Orleans is full of it, now that it’s fully
dried out. Birthplace of Jazz and Cajun cooking...you're such a small minded person." He said with a chuckle. "We
almost there?"
"Ask me one more time and I'm going to turn this car around." Mike threatened with a passably good impression of a
father. But he was smiling. "And sure, you claim everyone's only got one name but how many of those middle names
are either Lee or Beth?" He glanced at the mileage on the truck to gauge how far they'd gone. "And you tell her New
Orleans represents the entire US and I'll personally come over there and kick your ass. Cajun cooking." He muttered.
Then he pointed. "That smudge on the horizon. That's where we're headed. Should reach it just before nightfall, which
is good considering. Red Cross doesn't come this way so we'd stand out like - well, white boys. If the compound is
where I think it is, we should be able to stash the truck and head in on foot without too much of a problem. Recons
going to be tricky but we might be able to find a tall building nearby and get a look over whatever kind of walls he's got
in place. You have any bright ideas or are we just doing this by the book and playing it by ear until we've got more
intel?"
"Screw by the book." Hector said darkly, folding his arms back over his chest as he leaned back against the seat. "If
we're there and I think we've got a chance, we're taking it. No time to abide by some stupid UN rules or government
shit." He said, shaking his head. "This is war, even if we're the only ones fighting it."
It should have concerned him. Not so much the statement as the attitude behind it. Rushing in without thinking about
the angles could do worse then get them killed. It could get Andi killed. And that was why Mike wasn't half as
concerned about Hector as he knew he should be. As he knew the others probably were. Because it was Andi on the
line and Mike expected the Delta next to him to be much more careful of her than he normally would of even his team.
You couldn't rescue the hostage if you got yourself killed.
"All right." Mike agreed mildly. "So we hide the truck, get ourselves a recon spot, figure out the lay of the land, and
take it from there." There wasn't any doubt they were going to go in. Just a number of variations on the way they could
go about it. Fast and bloody would have been more satisfying but if they wanted the Suit alive and talking, quick and
quiet worked better. Mike just wasn't willing to go in without recon first. Bad intel got you killed.
Or shot in the chest and put out of commission until a friend got kidnapped.
"I'm gonna say we should strip the radio out of the cab too while we're at the 'hiding' stage. We find something good,
we'll want to radio it in and get pick up immediately instead of having to hoof it back to the car and drive all the way
home."
"Hopefully they'll be with the program. If Pettyworth is at the radio, its no problem. Baker...he might ask for the intel
before he arranges pick up, which will lead to a stand off between me and him. And we'll end up walking anyway."
Hector said, for he wasn't giving anything up to Baker of all people. "We'll take the radio with us, that's a good idea. I
just need this to be over before I blow."
Swanson, who was only resting, heard that and looked at Hector, the first vocal indication that this was getting to him.
He knew it was, it was obvious, but to hear Hector say it was a completely different ball game as far as he was
concerned.
Mike nodded at Hector's assessment of Baker. He wasn't about to get left behind. When they went in for Andi he
intended to be there.
And frankly, he intended Hector to be there too. No one else he'd rather have with him on something this important. He
trusted the dark Delta, but more, he trusted the way he felt about Andi. At his last comment, Mike's eyes went grim.
"Save it." He commented softly. "I get the idea we'll have plenty of room for it in just a little while." And he wasn't talking
about their contact. He was talking about the actual men that were holding their doctor. Mike felt no mercy or pity when
it came to the people that had dared waltz in and take her. And he intended, unprofessional and heartless as it was, to
make sure they weren't left around to make the same mistake a second time.
Steady, he turned the truck off the 'main' road and started it in a circle that would bring them in a forgotten side of the
town if he remembered right.
Hector nodded and took a few breaths. He was a man who thrived on causing the unexpected, but when he was
thrown into the chaos, he didn't like it, and it made him want to fix it. Quick. Which he was trying to do, even if it was
taking forever in his mind.
He looked at the winding unbeaten road, casing the environment even as they drove. "Recon, wait for a moment, and
fly in. Quick, quiet, no prejudice." He said. "No one gets out. Think we can do that with four?"
"Easy". Mike agreed. Taking a winding approach. If he remembered right, there was a dump around these parts. Good
place to hide the vehicle. "As long as there aren't any nasty surprises waiting for us." He was, after all, a firm believer
in Murphy's Law.
Jet sat up in the back and stretched, all loose liquid moves.
"Let me head in first. Find the specific compound while you boys hide the truck. I'll double back and lead you in."
Mike stopped to let Jet out and Jet moved smoothly until he was out of sight.
"Couldn't happen in Russia, or Europe, you know, someplace populated by white people where I have a better chance
of blending." Hector said, shaking his head as they pulled up into a junkyard.
"Might have to scratch this up." Swanson said. "This heap looks a little too good for these parts."
"You're flattering yourself." Mike told Hector with a chuckle. "Nobody blends like Jet. Not even in Antarctica would you
stand a chance against him." He pulled close to one of the towering piles of refuse that was tainting the night air with
its distinct odor and parked.
“Thinking maybe we could decorate. Pull some of that shit down on top. If we get back to it before the sun comes up
tomorrow we should be able to make it look like a passable mound of crap until then." He pulled on his gear. Not about
to leave anything behind because, if they did hit pay dirt, a chopper would take them out of here.
"I said better chance." Hector said with a chuckle.
"Don't discount us yet." Swanson said. "I've infiltrated a couple of cells." He shrugged and grabbed his gear and
started to pull some scrap metal down on the vehicle, Hector helping him until it was pretty well camouflaged. Then
they smeared some mud along the bumper to take the shine off.
"That'll do." Hector said and opened another bottle of water. "Now we wait."
Mike handed out the black grease sticks for their faces and then stepped back far enough to get a good look at their
vehicle. Looked like a pile of shit to him, he thought, edges of his lips shifting upward. Starting to limber up after his
drive he rolled his neck and then shoulders until everything popped before moving back to apply his own camouflage.
"Thinking - no matter what - quieter is better. Can't say anyone should be surprised to hear gunfire in this
neighborhood but - " he shrugged.
"We don't want anyone alerted." Hector finished the thought, applying the grease and slipping on his gloves and put
on the rest of his camouflage.
They waited for about twenty minutes in silence as they all prepared in their own way for the upcoming moments.
Wouldn't take long once things were underway. Like everything else, it was the waiting that was the worst. Swanson
stripped down the radio and modified it to make it a little more portable. Mike stretched. And Hector leaned against a
wreck, seeming to blend into it with his stillness, until Jet returned.
The only movement Hector did then was cut his over to Jet's returning form.
"Okay the middle one is the one we're looking for." Jet said, getting down to business and drawing in the sand. "Point
guards at the entrances. But a weak spot in what I think is a bathroom window. Two floors up."
Mike stepped in to watch the map drawn. Nodding as he pulled on his own gloves. Everything he wore, down to the
helmet, fit him perfectly and comfortably. Some things you really never did forget. Jet looked up at Hector.
"Found a good spot for a quick look if you want it." He stated, voice mellow smooth. "If you're done setting up here, I
can lead you in."
"We're ready." Hector said, sliding the safety off his weapon. Even if the others weren't, they'd have to catch up,
because Hector was sure he had done enough waiting. "Lets go take that quick look and then go cause some trouble."
"Now I remember why I like him." Swanson said with a dry chuckle as the group moved under Jet's direction toward the
compound. Night was starting to set in, which gave them shadows to work in and through, to hide their approach and
eventual invasion.
Jet led them through the ruins of the city like a ghost. Mike hadn't exaggerated. Even among people that were the best
in stealth, he was a whisper. And the men that followed him left no trace of their passage either.
The city might have once been impressive. But decades of abject poverty had taken their toll and set in deeply. Not a
building had glass in its windows, most were lucky to even have misfitting shutters. Trash had accumulated in piles and
then larger piles. Fires burned in random homes, kicking up smoky sick scents to mingle with the rot and human waste
that spoke of a forgotten city in a forgotten world. To the SEALs and Delta it was yet another town in a long line of
towns that had become so familiar it was almost routine.
They moved like living shadows.
Jet took them down winding streets and finally into the stairwell of a building. Up past piles of refuse and chipped stairs
until he was slipping sideways into a room and the others were covering him as they followed. The room was still empty
and while Jet turned to cover the door they'd entered through, he gestured to the single window and moved his hand
to indicate left side. Night goggles told the rest of the story.
The compound stood out for the simple fact that its walls were still standing and its courtyard was clear of refuse. Two
men patrolled casually but the dim glow of a cigarette gave away a third's position in a corner near some trees. The
building itself showed lights that didn't flicker through its metal shutters and the faint hum of a generator could be
heard, probably from a shed to the far side of the building. In all it was two stories tall but large enough to include quite
a few rooms in its interior. The single narrow window Jet had mentioned earlier was second story with nothing under it
to give access and lacked shutters. Whoever had decided not to replace the shutter had obviously never heard what
teamwork could accomplish. As they watched a fourth man stepped outside briefly to bump a cigarette off one of the
mobile guards and then went back inside, shutting the door behind him. Mike, on one side of the window, lifted his
night vision to look at Hector.
Fairly sure there would be some nasty surprises inside and far past the point where he cared.
Hector nodded at Mike, his night vision still on as he looked around, casing the place. They were too close to the
compound to talk, lest they risk being discovered and setting off an alarm of some sort, which was counter productive.
So he was betting his life and Andi's life on universal hand signs, hoping Mike wasn't far enough removed to forget
them.
He looked at Jet, the slimmest of them all, since it was a narrow window and passed him some rope with a grapple and
pointed to the window, then made a gesture of opening a larger window to the right of it, taking out whoever was
around in the meantime. He already knew Jet wouldn't make a sound, he'd seen it for himself. Jet nodded and took the
rope.
He looked at Swanson and put his hand on his head. Swanson would provide cover as the men moved inside. He'd be
the last to go in, but Swanson was used to being pick up man and holding up the rear. And the fair Delta nodded and
pulled a black skull cap over his blonde hair.
He looked at Mike and gestured between the two men. Himself and Mike. They'd get to the center of the building and
take out everyone but the head guy, 'Suit.' From t here the fun would really begin. Well, perhaps not so much fun for
the 'Suit,' especially as he realized that his security didn't stand much of a chance against operatives with personal
motivation.
Then he nodded. Time to start.