Page 28 of Flash and Bang
“It’s nothing, Jarrett. Pay attention to the briefing. I don’t want you hurt when this all goes down.” He had a desperate desire to kiss Jarrett but he settled for seeing the concern in Jarrett’s eyes. This was neither the time nor the place for Thayne to start spilling his feelings. Jarrett reached out and covered Thayne’s hand for the briefest second before letting it fall away, turning his attention back to Snow and Terraciano who stood on the other side of the table flanked by two others in unmarked vests.
There must have been twenty to twenty-five men standing around. Some wore FBI and Homeland vests marked DHS, but there were an equal number of men wearing unmarked gear and Thayne wondered who they could be. He knew that therewere some CIA operatives but he had no idea who most of them were. Jarrett had his gaze focused on Snow but as Thayne looked past him, he noted Adael Dayan watching him knowingly. Thayne swallowed hard, nodded in his direction and Adael’s lips turned up in a tiny smile.
“Welcome to Operation Sparkler. Our goal here today is to intercept the transfer of cargo from a group of smugglers to the Freedom Brigade militia and to arrest the members of both groups,” Snow said. “We have tied the smugglers to several Mexican drug cartels just so that you are all aware of the firepower they have at their disposal.”
Thayne cut a sideways glance to Jarrett at the announcement of the operation’s name and found Jarrett grinning at him. He couldn’t help but smile at him. As Snow continued, Thayne turned his attention back to the FBI agent.
“Our friends at Langley have done the intelligence gathering so I will step aside for just a moment and let Bill Webber speak to that before continuing with the briefing.” Snow looked over to the man standing beside him and nodded to him. Webber was stocky and approaching fifty with a shock of graying red hair on top of his head. He wore a long-sleeved black Henley under his unmarkedblack vest and Thayne wondered if he wasn’t just a little old to be assigned to field ops. Perhaps he had a supervisory position within the CIA. Spies played things so close to the vest, it was hard to tell who was who. He glanced at Jarrett whose eyes were trained straight ahead, watching Webber.
“We believe the Freedom Brigade militia is the intended recipient of this shipment of fireworks,” Webber began. “The shipment originated in China and has made it up to our border via Valparaiso, Chile, through Mexico. According to the container ship’s manifest, the cargo contains fireworks and we believe the militia intends on using the black powder within them to build bombs to be used on soft targets. We have reason to think that a wave of domestic terrorism in major cities all across the nation during various Fourth of July celebrations has been planned. They intend on starting with Los Angeles and then moving on to other major metropolitan areas. Not only do they intend on setting off explosions at fireworks shows and exhibitions, but they will eventually be using the black powder to build bombs to use against hard targets, buildings, buses, trains, tunnels, and others.
“We have credible intelligence to suggest that the Freedom Brigade is extremely well-armed and well-financed, meaning they will have the ultimate in 21stcentury weaponry to use against you. We know that many of the members of the militia are para-military with extensive training. They are zealots. We urge extreme caution when attempting to take down these individuals this morning. Because orders of fireworks from Chinese manufacturers must be placed a year in advance, the Freedom Brigade has waited a very long time for this cargo and they feel it is essential that they obtain it by any means necessary. In other words, they will use deadly force against you and fight like hell to get their hands on this shipment. It may be the only way for them to carry off the series of attacks they have planned. We will have aerial support but because of the noise factor, that will not arrive until late in the fight. If we are unable to retrieve the container, the barn and the container itself will be eliminated. Keep in mind that you will need to be far away from the barn and container if we have to resort to that.”
Webber stepped back and Snow stepped forward again. “Let me reiterate, the Freedom Brigade is dangerous. Take extreme caution.” He moved forward until he was standing directly over the maps on the table. “We are splitting the gathered team into two groups. Assault Group A will have the responsibility to take down the smugglers and Assault Group B will be responsible for arresting themilitia. Group A will be commanded by myself and Group B, Special Agent Terraciano. The Fernandez barn where the transaction will be taking place is here. It’s used primarily by the Fernandez farm and other local farmers for the storage of tractors and farm vehicles not in use during harvest.” Snow pointed to a satellite image showing a large building off a winding road which ran the length of the border from east to west through the hilly terrain of the country.
“This is Marron Valley Road. It is used primarily by the US Border patrol and some local farmers but at this time of night, you won’t find anyone out there but us and whoever is crossing illegally. The truck transporting the cargo container will be escorted by at least three other vehicles carrying their security. We estimate at least four men per vehicle, two in the truck itself. The militia will be waiting for them at a barn on the Fernandez farm. They number as many as twenty as well in heavily-armored SUVs. Some if not all of them will be wearing body armor, carrying automatic weapons. As our friends from Langley told you, they have access to RPGs, grenades, and a virtual arsenal. They are not to be taken lightly. These men are graduates of training camps. Many are mercenaries with extensive military training and backgrounds. Again, please useextreme caution.”
Thayne looked at the men gathered around the table. He counted twenty-five more or less. They would be outnumbered and outgunned if what Snow said was correct. Not only that, the militia would be wearing body armor and they were not. They could only assume the security escorting the cargo would be similarly armed. The element of surprise was going to be Operation Sparkler’s best defense but a sinking feeling settled into his gut. He glanced over at Jarrett who frowned back at him.He feels it too.
“The exchange is to take place at 0300. That leaves us an hour to get out there and get into place. The element of surprise is everything in this operation. Any questions?”
“You have armor-piercing rounds for us?” someone asked.
Snow turned to stare at him.
“No,” Terraciano said, from beside him. “Anything else?” He paused for ten seconds. “Good. Come this way to receive your assignments.”
Thayne looked over at Jarrett who sent him a reassuring smirk and a clap on the back. “Let’s go, Wolfe.” They turned and walked over to Terraciano who was dividing the men into groups with twice asmany being sent over to his own Group B, the one in charge of taking down the militia. He pointed at Jarrett and Thayne. “ATF will be with me in Group B.” Terraciano waved at the assembled group and he and Jarrett joined the men who were being handed semi-automatic weapons out of the back of an SUV. As soon as Thayne had his weapon, he shoved two additional magazines down into the pockets of his tac pants where he already had a KA-Bar combat knife in a sheath strapped to his thigh. Thayne wished he had practiced with it more. Jarrett was wearing a similar knife as well as a smaller one at his belt. He looked like a mighty warrior and Thayne thought he looked sexy as hell.
They were given military-grade earwigs and Thayne shoved his into his ear canal. Jarrett reached beneath his vest and pulled out a tin of something and Thayne watched him open it. He reached inside and swiped his fingers through black face paint and reached out until his fingers hovered near Thayne’s cheek. He stared into Jarrett’s glittering light eyes and a pang of longing shot through him. He prayed his lover would come out of this without injury and then he realized if Jarrett was hurt somehow, he’d just want to die.
“Close your eyes, darlin’,” Jarrett whispered.
Warmth spread through Thayne but he did so as Jarrett began painting his cheeks, forehead, and chin with his calloused fingertips. When Thayne opened his eyes again, Jarrett was smearing the black stuff over his own face. Thayne couldn’t believe how handsome he was. The dark color of the paint set off the light of his eyes and hair. Thayne was relieved when Jarrett produced a black beanie from somewhere and pulled it onto his head, covering his short white hair. Once again, Thayne prayed the operation would go smoothly and he wouldn’t need him but he was counting on nothing but his partner at this point. Jarrett was rechecking his weapon when Adael walked up, joining them as he accepted his own weapon and ammunition. He was wearing similar face paint.
“Just like old times huh, Jarrett?” he said, flashing a broad grin.
“Like old times, my friend. Just keep your head down.”
“Yes.” Adel winked at Jarrett and then looked past him at Thayne, winking at him as well. No matter how Thayne wanted to truly dislike the Israeli, it bothered him to no end that he found him disarmingly charming. Once they’d armed themselves, they piled into the SUVs and drove out tothe barn where the exchange was to take place. He, Jarrett, and Adael sat beside each other in the back of the SUV with Jarrett in the middle. Thayne was surprised when he felt a hand brush his leg in the dark. He glanced down to find Jarrett’s palm resting on his thigh and he looked up into his light blue eyes. He was staring back with an intense gaze and if Thayne didn’t know any better, he genuinely looked as though he wanted to kiss him.
As the truck bounced over a rut in the road, Thayne reached down reflexively, laying his hand over Jarrett’s. Jarrett instantly turned his palm up and laced their fingers together. Thayne swallowed hard and tore his gaze away, glancing out through the front windshield of the truck as a lump formed in his throat. They sat holding hands in the dark until a streetlight appeared and the FBI agent driving the car announced they were coming up on the barn. When Jarrett pulled his hand away, Thayne felt bereft and just a little lost.God, get us all out of this alive.
The SUV pulled up to the side of the barn, stopped, and the driver told them he’d be letting them out there. Thayne perused the landscape, noting a stand of eucalyptus trees surrounding the farm on three sides that would provide an excellent cover for the teams.
“Come on, Wolfe,” Jarrett said, pointing toward Terraciano who had exited one of the vehicles and was standing in the shadow of the barn. They walked over as the vehicles were driven away.
“We would like to take this shipment with minimal loss of life but keep your eye on the goal. We must keep this cargo from falling into the hands of the Freedom Brigade. Watch each other’s back. We’ll go on my signal and not before. Is that clear?” Terraciano asked.
The response from the fifteen men with them was immediate. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now, find cover in the trees and stay down.” He looked at his watch. “They should be here in less than thirty minutes.” He pointed to the trees and waited for them all to fade away into the dark and Thayne watched as Terraciano walked back to the front of the barn where Snow waited for him. Thayne knew that Snow’s men were hunkered down in the shadows beside the barn and were completely invisible, waiting for the opportunity to charge into the barn once the truck carrying the cargo container pulled inside. Group B would be expected to wait until the militia drove up and then engage them out in the open before they got wind of what was even happening while Group A would file into the barnand take out the smugglers. Thayne hoped the CIA’s intelligence was good. He and Jarrett took up a position in the copse of trees with Adael crouching with several other men about fifteen feet from them. Thayne looked up when Jarrett motioned for him to remove his earwig. After he’d done so, Jarrett leaned close.
“Keep your head down, Thayne. I’ll have your back but you just keep your head down.”
“I will, Jarrett. You too.”
“You ever been in a firefight like this might turn out to be, darlin’?”