Page 15 of Surge
It took a second for her brain to catch up. Then her jaw went slack. She eyed Crew and the scruffy guy. “Mission?”
Heath crossed his arms and shouldered in. “You trained Surge to scent the lipids the same way you did Tsunami, right?”
She blinked. Lipids . . . “Yeah, I wanted to give him a mental path other than nonresponsiveness. He took to it really well.” Like Tsunami. She lifted the scent tin and eyed it. Was this?—
“Good.” Heath waved a hand. “I have something I need you to do, but we have some questions about your readiness.”
She blinked at him. Surely he didn’t mean . . .
“A mission. You’ll go with a team and work him.”
She looked back at the stranger. “Go where?”
“I’ll explain inside, but it’ll be out of country.”
“You want to take Surge . . . on a mission?” Thoughts assailed her, but she connected the dots. “To search for these”—she widened her eyes at the meaning—“lipids.”
“With SEALs.”
Search for chemicals. With SEALs? “I don’t understand. A legitimatemission?”
“Yes.”
Cold washed through her. “I’m not cleared for operations—you’ve told me that many times.” Why was her heart thundering? “I’m not a soldier or operator. I train dogs.”
“Would I send you anywhere if I felt you weren’t qualified?” His eyes narrowed.
“No, but . . .” She didn’t want to let him down, yet . . . “I’m not really sure I even want to go.” She eyed Crew and the other guy, who were edging closer. “You need guys like them, not me.”
“Missions need operators, yes. But to work Surge, they’re useless.” Heath stood in silence, scrutinizing her. “You were the one with the instinct to bring him around. Surge does well with you, and we need Surge’s nose. You need to be there if he shuts down again. Normally, I wouldn’t send a dog who hasn’t done the quals, but this is a special circumstance, and I trust you to handle this and him.”
Okay, so Heath believed in her. She rubbed Surge’s ear. “How long will it be for? Because I can’t leave my dad for an extended period, as you know.” When Surge pressed against her leg, she dug her hand into the thick fur of his neck, appreciating that he always sensed when some comfort was needed.
“Unknown.” Heath then seemed to relax. “This is John we’re talking about, so I know he’ll be good. And we’ll check on him.”
“And Surge will have protection gear too?”
“Without a doubt.”
Delaney nodded her head slowly. “Okay . . .”
“I need your promise you’ll play by the book.”
She’d often gotten that same look from Dad when she was growing up. “Yes.” She would. She planted herself in the training yard grass and gave a nod of assurance.
“Thank you, Maverick. I know I’m asking a lot, but I wouldn’t if I didn’t think you could handle it. Too, I didn’t want to mention this until you agreed, but there’ll be a nice bonus.” He inclined his head. “It’ll put a big dent in your costs with John.” He set his hands on his belt. “Briefing here tomorrow at nineteen hundred. You leave Friday zero-five-hundred.”
“Can you tell me the country?” She squinted at him.
He hesitated, then nodded. “Keep it quiet, but Singapore.”
Whoa. Not just another country that was close, like Mexico, but in Southeast Asia.
The scruff man edged in closer.
Heath pointed between them. “Garrett Walker, Delaney Thompson.”
“Hi. Nice to meet you,” she said. She tilted her head to her black fur-missile. “This is Surge.”