Page 161 of Covert Mission

“How bad?”

“Fifty stitches on the right side for Seth. Fifteen in the left arm for Grant.”

“Time out of work?”

“A week for Grant. Three weeks for Seth.”

“Copy that. Seth, you and the rest of the infiltration team report to Fortress headquarters for a full debriefing within 48 hours. We’ll talk once that’s finished.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you called Burnett?”

“No, sir.”

“Do it now.”

The call to Burnett took longer than the one to Maddox. “I’m sorry, sir,” Seth said. “Teagan didn’t have a choice. King had President Martin lined up in his crosshairs. If she hadn’t fired when she did, Martin would be dead.”

A sigh. “I understand. I dread making the death notification to King’s wife.”

“You could let the feds do it, sir.”

“I volunteered to break the bad news. She deserves to hear the truth from one of us, not a total stranger. Seth, we need to talk when you return.”

“Yes, sir. We’ll need a few days. Grant and I were injured capturing men from Haven.”

“Take your time, all right? When you’re ready, contact me and we’ll meet somewhere besides the station house.”

Teagan glanced at Seth. His expression of resignation said it all. This wasn’t fair. He and his teammates had served their country by working a dangerous covert mission and saved the life of President Martin. They shouldn’t be ostracized by the law enforcement community they’d served with because she killed a dirty cop.

“Yes, sir. I’ll pass the word to the rest of my team. Watch your back, LT.”

“Copy that, Seth. See you in a few days.” Burnett ended the call.

“We’re finished, aren’t we?” Noah said.

“I’m afraid so. We knew that was a possibility before we undertook this mission.”

“Doesn’t mean I like knowing we were right. So, what’s next?”

“We’ll land on our feet. We always do.”

In their hotel suite an hour later, Seth faced the rest of their team. “Do we go home or stay here?”

“Go,” Knight said. “I want out of this town before the newsies figure out who we are.”

“I’m more concerned about the people from Haven,” Marsh said.

“Same,” Noah said. “I vote we go.”

Seth turned to Iona. “Artemis’ vote?”

“Go.”

“All right. Load up and let’s get on the road.”

While the others loaded the vehicles, Teagan, Seth, and Iona checked out. In the parking lot, they saw Phantom also loading their gear.