Page 29 of Flash and Bang
The term of endearment made Thayne’s heart beat faster. “Not exactly… but I know how to keep my head down and watch my partner’s back.”
Jarrett smiled. “That’s what I need from ya then. I’ll be watching yours too and when this is all said and done, I’ll be needing a much closer inspection of your handsome back, Thayne.”
Thayne’s stomach tumbled again. He had no idea where this sexier, more effusive Jarrett had come from but he was thoroughly enjoying him. “It’s a promise.” Thayne looked side to side and when he was certain they weren’t being observed, he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Jarrett’s. “You be careful, Jarrett.”
Jarrett lingered that way for a moment and then pulled back. The emotions on his face were startling and Thayne watched his eyes for a moment before turning back to watch the road as he replaced the earwig. They sat there for twenty minutes before they heard engines.
“Here they come,” Terraciano said into the earwig. “Everyone ready!”
There was a murmuring among the men and Thayne exchanged one more glance with Jarrett before lights appeared as the massive tractor-trailer rig appeared on the road they’d driven up only a half hour before. The truck was carrying the cargo container as they’d been told it would be and it was followed by three black SUVs with blacked-out windows. The tractor-trailer rumbled up to the barn and shone its high beams on the huge double door, coming to a screeching halt in front of it as the air brakes stopped the massive truck. Two of the SUVs drove around to the front and parked. Men wearing all black hopped out and began opening the doors to the barn. The truck pulled inside as soon as the doors were wide enough and Thayne turned his head when he saw more lighted vehicles coming up the road. The SUVs with the truck pulled into the barn and severalmen appeared at the door in a long line holding semi-automatic rifles a lot like their own. Five black Humvees came up the road and Thayne watched as they pulled to a stop in front of the barn.
“Get ready. On my count,” Terraciano’s voice said into the earwigs. Thayne stood up and prepared for the assault as Jarrett stood tall right beside him. The air was virtually thrumming with anticipation coming from the entire tree line where Group B waited. It was so palpable, you could cut it with a knife. Once all the militia had gotten out of their vehicles and shut the doors, they began to move into positions in front of the barn. Thayne was trying to count how many he saw and was only slightly surprised to find more than they’d expected by half.We’re outgunned two to one. Son of a bitch!He knew Snow’s men couldn’t be seen in the shadows but they were so close to some of the Brigade’s men, they could have reached out and touched them. Thayne’s heart was pounding.
“One.” Terraciano’s voice came through the earbuds. “Two.” Thayne took a deep breath. “Three!” Thayne followed Jarrett out of the trees and they hit the ground running, rushing toward the barn as all hell broke loose. Snow’s men were up and shooting their way through the line of men at the barn door as the sound of bullets and screaming hitThayne’s ears. Jarrett ran in front of him, firing his weapon at the line of militia guys on the very perimeter. Two of them dropped to the ground instantly. Thayne was surprised to see the men were wearing full body armor and somehow, Jarrett had managed to drop them anyway. If they could all shoot that well, the good guys would stand a chance.
One of the militia stepped right into Jarrett’s path and just as he raised his weapon to shoot, Jarrett rushed forward and slammed the butt of his gun sideways, catching the guy on the side of the face and sending him sprawling. He stopped only a second to bend over and end his life with a vicious swipe of his KA-Bar across the man’s left carotid before jumping over the body and charging forward. He spared a second to glance back at Thayne who gave him the thumbs-up and then turned back, charging toward a line of men blocking the doors. A massive firefight was going on inside the barn and men were falling all around them as spits of automatic rifle fire lit up the landscape like the Fourth of July with a cacophony of sound and orange flashes.
“It’s too heavy out here!” he heard Terraciano screaming into his earbud. “We need air support now!”
Thayne took a deep breath as he raised hisweapon and fired, hitting one of the Brigade members in the face just as he aimed his weapon at Jarrett. The man was thrown back onto the ground, dead before he ever even hit the dirt. Adrenaline washed through Thayne’s veins as he caught up to his partner, catching sight of Adael as he dropped two militia members who were coming straight at them. Gratitude rushed through Thayne as Jarrett’s friend saved their lives. Jarrett stopped in place, dropping to the ground and taking out a man who was lining up a shot to take out Terraciano. Blood sprayed out of the man’s mouth and his semi-automatic pointed into the air, firing off several shots as his finger compressed the automatic’s trigger in the throes of death.
Suddenly a massive explosion lit up the side of the barn and Thayne turned to see one of the CIA guys holding a rocket launcher on his shoulder. Chills went through him as Jarrett stopped right beside him. In horror, they watched Terraciano’s body catch fire as the man was caught in the reverberation and blowback. Two of Group B launched themselves at their leader, falling on his body and rolling him until the flames were out but the interval allowed the militia guys to press the advantage and make their move. Within seconds, Thayne and Jarrett were surrounded and running for their lives as bullets hit the ground all around them and whizzed past theirheads.
“What in the hell do they think they’re doing?” Jarrett screamed. “If that RPG hits the container, we’ll all go up in a fuckin’ mushroom cloud!” He glanced over at Thayne and then instantly lifted his weapon. “Wolfe! Duck!”
Thayne dove for the ground as Jarrett shot a volley of bullets over his head. He turned just in time to see a Brigade member scream and hit the ground, his gun thrown out to the side, right behind him. If Jarrett hadn’t taken him down, Thayne would have been hit in the back. When he turned back to his lover, he noted another militia man coming toward Jarrett and Thayne raised his own autoloader from where he lay on the ground and fired, taking the man down before he could get off a shot and kill his partner. The man screamed and fell in the dirt at Jarrett’s feet.
Jarrett grinned at him, and he was covered with so much dirt that what little white hair was visible under the cap appeared brown. Sweat was pouring down his temples and his dimples were set in his face, showing off just how beautiful he was. His lover was beyond gorgeous and he was totally getting off on all of this. He saluted Thayne and then spun on a heel, charging toward the barn. Thayne followedhim wondering if Jarrett had heard Terraciano call in air support. They needed to get away from the building because in a couple of minutes, an F-18 was going to light the place up and they were going to become toast. He caught up to Jarrett and grabbed his sleeve.
“We need to get out of here. Terraciano called in air support!” he screamed at Jarrett.
“One minute, Thayne. I wanna get a look at somethin’.”
“What the fuck!” Thayne shouted, only to find Jarrett had vanished from his sight, obscured by smoke as he ran into the barn. Thayne spun around when someone tugged on his sleeve. Adael was standing there.
“Where’s Jarrett?”
“He ran inside! I have no idea why! He said he needed to check something!” Thayne yelled back. “The FBI has called in an airstrike, Adael. We need to evac now!”
“I’ll get him!” Adael shouted and then before Thayne knew what was happening, he’d disappeared into the barn too.
Thayne stood there undecided what to do for only a second before rolling his eyes. “Assholes!” hescreamed, charging into the barn headlong after the Israeli. Both of them were off their fucking rockers but no way was he going to let Jarrett face certain death alone. If he had to pull them both out or die trying, that’s what he was determined to do. When he got inside the barn, it was thick with black smoke and Thayne began coughing. The RPG had set the whole side of the barn on fire and flames were crawling across the rafters of the roof. Bales of hay were on fire and bodies littered the floor. He couldn’t see more than three feet in front of him as he made his way deeper into the barn. As he rushed forward, a smaller man in a black ski mask jumped into his path and before Thayne could raise his gun, the guy launched himself on top of him, tackling him to the ground where he landed hard, flat on his back. The breath whooshed out of his body and he reached up, grabbing the guy’s black ski mask, ripping it off his head.
A young man, no more than eighteen, sneered down into his face and before Thayne could process it, the man had a massive combat knife raised above his head. Thayne reached out and caught the kid’s wrist, stopping the blade only a few inches from his face as the man fought for dominance. Thayne managed to plant his feet on the ground and arched up, rolling them so that he landed in a straddle over the kid as heducked away from the vicious blade that came at him. Thayne slammed the smaller man’s hand onto the ground with a sickening crunch and the man howled with pain as his wrist snapped. He instantly dropped the blade but was back with a handgun in the other hand.Quick little fucker, aren’t you?Thayne reached down and said his tenth prayer as he grabbed both sides of the kid’s head and gave it vicious twist, snapping his neck in seconds. The handgun clattered to the ground and Thayne grabbed it, shoving the Glock into his waistband as he coughed again.
He stood up and desperately searched for Jarrett in the smoke only to find his massive body sprawled on the ground with Adael kneeling beside him. Jarrett had a bloody gash on the side of his head and Thayne’s heart nearly pounded out of his chest the moment he spotted him. For a split second he was suspicious that Adael had hit Jarrett but when the Israeli looked up, searching the area desperately, Thayne realized he needed help. One of Adael’s arms was bent at a strange angle and Thayne realized that it was broken. He needed someone to help him carry Jarrett out of the barn. Thayne called out to Adael and the man’s face lit with joy the second he saw him. Adael gestured wildly with his good arm. Thayne charged toward them and bent to grab Jarrett under the arms.
“We need to get the hell out of here! Airstrike!” Thayne screamed as Adael jumped up and followed them, covering their retreat with a hail of gunfire from the automatic he held with his good hand. Thayne dragged Jarrett toward the double doors as he heard the roar of flames, a smattering of gunfire, and the sounds of dying men all around them. He tried to look Jarrett over for bleeding wounds but could only see what now appeared to be a bullet graze across Jarrett’s temple.Jesus! If that’s all there is…Adael rushed in front of them gunning down anyone in their path as Thayne dragged his partner running backward. He was never so grateful for anyone in his life. Thayne’s lungs were filling with smoke as they got closer to the entrance to the barn and he heard a great crash as part of the roof caved in, sending up a wall of sparks at the back of the barn. The truck with its container had been abandoned by those who’d wanted the shipment and those who’d brought it and virtually everyone else had escaped the barn or was dead.
The second they got to the double door of the barn, Thayne heard the roar of airplane engines. Out of nowhere, two more men wearing FBI vests ran up to them and grabbed Jarrett, relieving Thayne of his burden.
“Move!” One of them screamed. “Sixtyseconds!” Thayne began to run, followed by Adael and the two men carrying Jarrett. They had just gotten to the tree line five hundred feet off when there was the unmistakable scream of a missile and he knew the F-18 had fired. They barely had time to duck when the entire barn and its contents went up in a massive fireball. Flames shot straight up into the sky and out at them. Thayne rolled on top of Jarrett, covering his unconscious partner with his body as the heat from the explosion reached them. He held his breath waiting for the lick of flames and certain death he expected but after four or five heartbeats, it hadn’t come. He waited for a few seconds before raising his head to look at what was left of the barn.
“Motherfucker!” Adael said from beside him.
Thayne glanced over to him and then turned his face to look back down at Jarrett. His eyes were open as he blinked up at him. Thayne breathed a sigh of relief as Jarrett revived.
“Preach it, sistah,” Jarrett said, weakly.