Chapter 1: Covert Ops

Disclaimer: I'm not making any money off this so I don't need a disclaimer.

This is the long-overdue sequel to Desperation and Desire, and I bet you guys thought I was never going to do it.

...

Rachael pulled back on the collective, forcing the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to climb above the rapidly-approaching mountain top. Clearing the peak by what seemed like mere inches she pushed back forward and followed the mountainside down into the valley. "Thirty seconds" she announced to her passengers.

"Copy that" Richard replied "Okay, we get in, destroy the target and get out, quick and simple, let's try to keep it quiet until the fireworks start."

"Copy" replied Toni, Mark and the new guy, Mal Duncan.

"Ryuku check in" Richard said into the radio.

"Sniper One ready" a voice replied.

"Alright... Let's make this happen!" Richard said as the chopper stopped and hovered above an alley. The doors slid open and ropes fell to the ground on each side. Richard hooked up to one while Toni hooked up to the other, two seconds later his feet hit the ground.

...

"Done with your light reading?" The President asked as he walked back into the Oval Office.

Richard paused, shaking his head, he could hardly believe what he was reading. "Mr President I... I don't even know how to put this into words."

"Oh come on, I know my strategic planning might be a bit rusty but it can't be that bad, it is just a basic outline" the President replied, almost laughing.

"You want a small team to operate covertly in Mexico, right in the epicenter of the drug wars, working to dismantle the Cartels and destroy the drug trade..."

The President stared blankly at Richard and took a long pause before flatly replying "yup."

"And you're not even going to tell Mexico about this?"

Again the President paused and stared blankly, then replied "nope."

Richard stared back at the President in disbelief, "I'm supposed to lead this thing... Who am I even working with? This doesn't list any operatives aside from a Walter West... Why does that sound familiar?"

"You get to pick your team..." The President said with a smile. "Walter will be down there with you to tap CIA resources... You don't remember meeting him? Last time you were in London?"

Richard looked straight ahead and tilted his head back, remembering "the driver..."

"Yes sir" the President said, sitting down behind his desk. "Other than him you get to pick your team, you'll need a helicopter pilot and somebody good with ground vehicles... I can give you a recommendation on that second one."

"The weapons you're equipping this team with look like something out of Star Wars... I've never even heard of this company, Desert Tech?"

"Oh yeah, they make REALLY high end stuff out in Utah, they have a huge facility out there that you and your team will actually be training at."

Richard shook his head. "So how many people do I need to find? And how long do I have to convince them to come?"

"You can recruit as many people as you want, but I would advise against taking in too many, we want to keep this quiet remember."

Richard nodded slowly, taking in all the information, he spoke after several seconds. "Okay, I have someone in mind for a helicopter pilot... And I can think of three others... I'll take that suggestion you have for a driver."

The President smiled and pulled out a pad of sticky notes, he wrote down a phone number and a name then handed it to Richard. "You call that number, introduce yourself with your title and just say you want to arrange a meeting with that guy."

Richard looked at the note "Garth Tempest?"

"Yup, Army driver, his career started off innocent and routine enough until the invasion of Tikrit, where he rose way above the challenge... I'll let him fill you in on the rest... You have until the end of the month to get your team together and here, take this..." He wrote down another phone number. "That's my personal cell number, please don't use it unless you need to, but call me when you're ready."

"Yes sir Mr. President."

...

Richard scanned the area around him, his Micro Dynamic Rifle chambered in .300 Blackout at the ready, but aside from the dust being kicked up from the chopper there was no activity. His team was right behind him and the ropes they repelled down dropped to the ground.

Rachael pulled back on the collective and turned to the left, pulling away to make her way to her holding position on the other side of a mountain. As she departed, she recalled when Richard approached her for this mission.

...

"You want me to do what?" Rachael asked in disbelief.

"I want you to join a team I'm putting together under orders from the President" Richard replied innocently.

"And what exactly is the purpose of this team?" Rachael queried.

"To eliminate a threat to the United States" Richard said, feeling awkward about not being able to reveal more.

Rachael looked away and shook her head, trying to process what she was hearing, or rather, what she was not hearing. "Rich, what threat?"

Richard sighed, "I can't say... Not unless you're in."

Rachael leaned back on her sofa, looking up at the ceiling in a comical frustration. "Oh my god... You're killing me."

"Rae... I need a helicopter pilot..." Richard said as he sat down on the sofa "You're the only one I trust..."

She looked at him with wide eyes "You trust me but you won't tell me anything... Spectacular."

He hanged his head and groaned. "Fiiiine... It's a task force to take down the drug Cartels in Mexico."

Rachael blinked multiple times and remained silent for what felt like hours. "Okay, where do I sign?"

Richard shook his head in shock "really?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, sounds like something I could totally get behind, the drug trade causes so many problems for our country who wouldn't want to try to put an end to it?" She said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Do I detect sarcasm?" Richard asked, his eyes narrow.

"No! Of course not! We've only been having a war on drugs for about a century now, this new plan should wrap it all up easy!"

Richard sighed and stood back up, picking up the folder containing the mission details. "This can end the drug trade, I believe it can... If you're really in, read up, I think it will end your skepticism."

Rachael looked at him poutingly, she stared into his dark blue eyes, nearly into his soul and after a moment could sense the confidence he had. Her attitude changed, if only slightly, and she took the folder.

...

Toni took up the left hand side of the team, scanning the windows and doors of the buildings on her side. The area seemed abandoned, with urban decay prevalent all around. "Do we have an exact location on the target?" She asked.

"Nope" Richard answered.

Toni snorted, "Then how are we going to make this quick?"

Richard stopped and scanned the area, satisfied that the team was well outside of earshot of any potential hostiles. "We're going to ask somebody... Ryuku copy."

...

"Did I not tell you I was hanging up my rifle?" Toni asked Richard sarcastically.

"This isn't military" Richard said with a smile.

"Oh, of course not, the machine guns, body armor, Blackhawk and Humvee are all just for decoration."

Richard rolled his eyes, "Toni, you know this is something that is going to make a difference."

She nodded. "Truth... Just not quite fully understanding what made you think of me for this team, I wasn't special forces, I don't have the kind of training you should be looking for."

"You'll get the training" Richard said with a smile, "I saw the way you fought, you were noticeably ahead of your peers in combat, you could get to my level easily with some determination."

Toni chuckled "your level? Holding yourself in high esteem I see."

Richard let his shoulders fall and tilting his head back as he rolled his eyes. "You're being difficult" he said, trying to suppress a laugh.

Toni chuckled again "that's nothing new Rich."

...

"Go ahead Rich" Ryuku responded.

"I thought I'd ask one of our friends where we can find the drug lab, you see anybody who might want to have a chat?"

Ryuku looked down the scope of his Stealth Recon Scout rifle, searching the area ahead of his teammates. It didn't take too long to spot a hostile somewhat separated from the rest. "There's one guy about six hundred yards ahead of you that looks a bit lonely, maybe he's up for a chat."

...

"So how many people have you got so far?" Ryuku asked.

"Including me, you're the fourth" Richard said.

Rykuk closed the folder by dropping the back cover, "something tells me you're going to need more than four."

"I have two others in mind."

"Something tells me you're going to need more than six" the Asian man suggested.

"It's a black op, it's actually beyond a black op, too many people and we can't keep things quiet."

"Well... I guess that's true... " he said, putting the folder down on his coffee table. "But still, I know a guy who would probably be interested in being a part of this that I'm going to recommend."

"So seven is your magic number?" Richard asked, smiling.

Ryuku smiled "well, it is a lucky number isn't it?"

...

Coming to the mouth of an alley, Richard was on point, he quickly put his left fist in the air to signal the team to hold position. "Status" he whispered into the radio.

"Your man doesn't seem to want to get any closer to you, you're going to have to introduce yourself, he's facing away from you" Ryuku reported.

Richard pointed at Mark, signaling him to take the man hostage. He quietly snuck out of the alley, drawing his knife on the way. He grabbed the man from behind, covering his mouth and pressing the tip of his knife into the mans neck. "You make a sound, you die" Mark said as he dragged the man into the alley.

...

"Well Mr. Grayson you were always one for the unorthodox" Mark quipped.

"Well Mr. Logan, if the shoe fits" Richard said as he handed off his luggage to the ticket agent.

"Tell me why I agreed to this again..."

"Uh... Because you're my friend and I asked you to?" Richard said sarcastically.

Mark glared at him, "riiight... That was the reason..."

The group made their way to the security checkpoint, where a long line of airline passengers waited to be screened. Toni snorted, "you would think we wouldn't be flying commercially."

"This is just to training, who knows what they're going to give us once we're ready to start our operation" Richard said.

"Probably the same damn thing" Mark quipped. "So what's this training facility like?"

Ryuku spoke, "twenty-five thousand acres in the Utah mountains, any kind of firearms, survival and military training you can imagine."

"Sounds like you've been before" Mark said. Ryuku nodded.

"I have too" Toni added. "The place is amazing, seems like the kind of place I'd want to take a self-defense class as a civ... If I ever get to be a civ again."

Richard rolled his eyes, "you just have to jab."

"Get used to it" Toni said with a smirk, causing Rachael to glare at her from behind.

"Well, I'm looking forward to expanding my horizons," Mark said, "this should be a good experience."

...

"Mal, stay here and cover our backs while we place the charges" Richard ordered as he followed his team down the stairway.

"Copy" he replied. Keeping his MDR at the ready, Mal scanned around repeatedly, keeping his ears as well as his eyes open. While the rest of the team planted explosives, he heard voices coming from right outside the kitchen door. Knowing Ryuku had no visual contact on the back of the house, he deployed the tri-rotor drone he had been equipped with and flew it over to the window. Through the drone's camera, he clearly saw two armed men walking up to the kitchen door. He immediately pointed his rifle at the door, hearing the men laughing as the one in front opened it. As soon as both men were fully in view, Mal fired a constant stream of suppressed automatic fire at them, unloading an entire magazine of .300 Blackout ammunition into them. Both men were dead before they hit the ground.

"Mal, report, everything okay up there?" Richard asked over the radio.

Mal paused, looking at the two men he just killed "I'm fine... Everything is just peachy."

...

"I have to say Mal, Ryuku was not overselling your abilities" Richard complemented.

"Thank you sir" Mal replied as he stood up from his pushup session.

"Ryuku said you started in the Army?"

"I did" Mal answered, "Did two years and felt like I could do a lot more so when I re-enlisted I signed up for Ranger training, but then Delta Force approached me before that started."

Richard nodded, "how long were you in Delta Force?"

"Technically I still was in Delta Force when Ryuku asked me to come along for this... I met him after a mission where he covered us, he took out a hostile that would have got the drop on me otherwise, I bought him a couple rounds that night and we've been close ever since."

"It's amazing how we grow together like that isn't it?"

"It is, we really are all family."

...

"Garth we're approaching the rally point" Richard announced.

"I'm waiting for you" Garth replied.

The team rounded the cliff face to find the Humvee parked in the middle of the single-lane road that served as the only way in or out of the valley for ground-based vehicles. They quickly piled in, Richard taking shotgun, "clear" he announced, "Blowing the lab now" he pressed the button on the detonator, the sound of an explosion in the distance could be heard immediately after.

"Target destroyed" Ryuku called on the radio.

Rachael took her cue and headed for the sniper's position to extract him. "I'm coming for you sniper one, be ready to bolt, ten seconds."

"Great job team" Richard said, nodding to his teammates, "let's get out of here Garth."

...

Richard and Rachael watched as Garth completed the slalom course in a top-heavy SUV, somehow managing to not tip over. "Damn... The President does know how to pick people." Richard said.

"Garth's always been a car guy, when we were in Basic he showed me a bunch of pictures of his cars and trucks."

Richard nodded. "I guess you have to get it from somewhere, I know the Army doesn't teach you to drive like that."

The driver stopped in front of them and got out. "Did I pass?" He asked.

"Well..." Richard began, "you finished about twelve seconds faster than the target time, which is a new record according to the paper I have here..."

"So you're saying I have a new time to beat?" Garth asked rhetorically, "awesome." He got back in the SUV and headed for the starting line again, leaving Richard and Rachael without words.

...

Upon arriving back at their safehouse and removing their gear, the team was approached by Walter West. "So, how did it go?" He asked.

"Mission was successful, and clean" Richard said.

"Great" Walter replied, "we're off to a good start ladies and gentlemen, now we just wait for the fallout to see what our next move is."