Chapter 35
SPOV
I'm carrying around a bag full of my hair, which is kind of creepy, but we need a way to burn it. I didn't have a lighter or matches on me, but I wouldn't be surprised if Binkie did. He's been an excellent friend throughout this process.
During our flight, Mallory gave me some important information. She told Binkie to grab the map someone thoughtfully stashed in his bag. He lay the map on the floor and we sorted through the area from the place where she planned to land the plane. It would take a few days to get to Ranger, but we knew he could manage until we arrive.
"Have you done any tactical plans before?" Mallory asked me.
"Only the times I helped dad, but none since, why?" I wondered.
"Because you're really good at finding a way around the obstacles," she replied.
"Do you have a plan to catch this fucker?" Manny asked.
"Unfortunately not. I know what kind of man he is, but until we get on the ground, we really don't know what we're dealing with. For all we know, we could be placing ourselves in the middle of his trap," I answered, feeling the truth in my words.
Everyone was silent for several minutes before Mallory said what I feared. "Mitch," she started, using my military name, "He's been fixated on finding Sly Fox and Eclipse for the last 8 years."
"Are you sure?" Manny asked her.
"Positive. My first mission after basic was gathering intel. Major Dietz was our CO and he had us patrolling the area where Billy Bernstein was located. We gathered a lot of information and sent it along the chain of command. It took several years to finally discover what he was doing," she stated.
"Let me take over the flight so you can tell her," Manny encouraged Mallory. Something in their exchange told me they were very close, but they didn't give much away. We had to focus on our mission.
Once she relinquished control, she continued, "Around 8 years ago, talk about a genius military programmer started circulating. This officer was able to locate and track the activities of a known hacker."
"Invictus," I said, finally making the connection. I've been tracking this man for years. He wasn't particularly skilled, but he did have an inside man. I spent the better part of a year trying to connect him to his contact to no avail.
"That would be correct. Except all the intel we gathered didn't support him being the hacker," she added. "It indicated someone was giving him the credentials to get into our system. Until a brilliant programmer, Eclipse, closed the loophole."
"Are you okay Mitch?" Binkie asked.
"We need to stop him Mallory. I know who he's after," I stated without emotion.
"Sly Fox and Eclipse? You know who they are?" Mallory asked.
"Definitely," I answered. It was time to share the truth with her and Manny. "Dad… and me. Dad's Sly Fox. I'm Eclipse," I admitted for the first time.
"Mitch we need to neutralize him before he gets to you. I didn't spend all those years trying to find you, just to lose you so soon after I did."
"We'll get him sis. You'll see. Don't worry so much about me. I'm really good at getting myself out of dangerous situations."
Mallory resumed control over the plane as Manny and Binkie shared some of the stories from my days working with our cousin Vinnie. She laughed at all the right moments, and was concerned with others. I could tell she was slightly confused about a few things. While they exchanged stories, my phone rang. I gave Ranger a quick update. He wasn't aware they were still in the line of fire.
"You're wondering why I didn't use my military training."
"Yup… so why didn't you?" she asked.
"It would have given me away. I used only what was absolutely necessary to capture the skip," I answered honestly.
"Mitch, when all this is done, do you want to get matching tattoos?" she asked out of the blue.
"What type of tattoo?" I asked out of curiosity.
"The Wonder Woman symbol and her lasso," she replied. I could tell she was smiling even though I couldn't see her face.
"On the left butt cheek," I added before we started laughing.
"Buckle up boys, we're getting ready to land this beast."
She landed the plane smoothly. We grabbed our duffles and slug the straps over our shoulders. Manny and Mallory were grabbing camouflage tarps and rope. Once they checked the plane to remove our personal items, we disembarked and got to work. Within 30 minutes, we had the plane covered in tarps secured by rope and covered haphazardly with loose brush we found in the area.
Binkie grabbed his compass and pointed us in the right direction. We headed south bound from our current position. Mallory walked just behind Manny and Binkie followed behind me. We remained as quiet as possible to get through the area.
A few hours after dark, we found a location to camp for the night. I huddled in the tent to show Mallory and Manny the intel I compiled. Manny carefully studied the map I pulled onto the screen. He pointed to an area where he knew Ranger and the team would be hiding. It was just outside a known enemy camp.
"How long will it take for us to hike there?" I whispered.
"Day and a half," he answered honestly. He seemed reluctant to tell me something else.
I looked at Mallory who quickly stated, "He's not saying once we start heading in that direction we can't stop longer than the time required to toilet."
"In other words, we need to get the few hours of sleep before heading out before the sun rises," I interpreted.
"Got it in one," Manny whispered.
Binkie was taking the first 4 hour shift. Manny will take the other. They told me and Mallory to get as much sleep as possible. I lay on the ground, using a spare shirt as my pillow.
Mallory took her position beside me and pushed my shoulder until I rolled onto my right side. She tucked herself behind me and draped her left arm across my waist. Her hand reached for mine to entwine our fingers. Manny took his position behind Mallory, spooning her. He too draped his arm around us and added his fingers to our entwined ones. Within a few minutes, we drifted off to sleep.
Four hours later, I felt Mallory shift. She release me from her grip and exited our shelter to potty. When she came back, I took my turn. This time when we lay on the ground, I was tucked behind her and Binkie was spooning me.
In the early hours of the morning, Manny passed around the MREs. It was all we were permitting ourselves to eat before we left to find our men. All our canteens were filled with water. We quickly burned my hair clippings and removed all traces of the fire. Once the tarp was folded and shoved into Manny's pack, we left our campsite.
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Ranger's point of view (RPOV)
I sent an encoded message to Babe, knowing she would decode it in time to notify General Plum. We need to move in very soon. Timing is crucial. The second I received her order, I gave Ram the signal. He took aim and shot him right between the eye. I sent Stephanie a message to indicate Compton has been handled. She replied the other threat was handled too. It was a relief to know our mission was successful.
'Call when secure,' Babe texted. We confirmed Compton's identity before cleaning up after ourselves.
When we set up camp in a secure area, I called Babe. I listened as she warned us about the other threat. It appears Billy Bernstein aka Invictus wasn't dead after all. Someone had leaked our general location. Babe said my Miami contract worker Dietz has been arrested. She finished off by saying, "Stay where you are. We're coming to get you. Your extraction site has been compromised. Two days max."
I was seeing red. If Damien was selling our location, then his dad must be involved in the coverup. The Dietz men were attempting to uncover Sly Fox and Eclipse's identity. I had a feeling they know exactly who they are. If Dietz harms one hair on Babe's head, he's a dead man.
Using very few words, I told my men what happened state side. They wore similar expressions on their faces when I mention double D, aka Damien Dietz. Before I could add another name, Lester said, "His dad too." I nodded. I intimated we needed to remain in the area since our location was compromised.
Without saying anything, they understood there was more to the story. We were ordered to remain in the vicinity for the next 48 hours. I hope they could arrive sooner. The men knew their jobs and quickly organized our sleep schedule. I was taking the first shift with Tank.
An enemy camp was several miles away and I felt drawn to the area. It was in the opposite direction of our initial extraction site. "She's coming from that direction," I quietly told Tank.
"Wonder Woman is going to save Batman?" he joked. I didn't dignify his comment with a response regardless how true the statement was.
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SPOV
A shiver radiated throughout my body. I could feel his eyes watching me. It wasn't the pleasant feeling I have whenever my husband watches me. This was a creepy, dirty feeling. As though the man behind the eyes was plotting my ultimate demise… after he plays with me first. Laughing sardonically, I wondered if that's how the mouse felt before Tank's cat killed it.
Binkie closed the distance between us. He was practically on top of me when he grabbed my arm and pulled me into a run. Manny and Mallory heard out fast footfalls and picked up their pace too. We slowed our pace after nearly an hour. I took a small swig of water and continued to power through the cramp in my side.
"I'm okay now. He stopped following us," I whispered to Binkie.
"I knew something was wrong. You wouldn't stop shivering," he quietly replied.
"Thanks hermano," I say while squeezing his hand.
We were planning to stop for a short break, but I had a feeling we needed to power through the terrain. After walking for nearly 12 hours, we needed a break. I couldn't hold my bladder for another minute. Mallory and I found a place to potty while the men stood guard, their backs to us. When we finished, Manny took his turn, then Binkie. We covered our mess with dirt before continuing on our way.
During the next 12 hours, we had to pause to stretch out our overworked muscles. Binkie estimated we were around 35 miles from our destination. Knowing how far we travelled, we felt as though we caught our second wind. We picked up the pace until we had no choice but to stop.
My muscles were cramping and I really wanted to eat. Binkie prepared our MREs and we sat on our heels to eat. I opened my third canteen of water and took a large drink. We were all feeling a little dehydrated from travelling. Not to mention we're exhausted.
"This way," Mallory whispered as she grabbed my hand. I allowed her to pull me into a recessed area. "You need a few hours to rest."
"We really can't spare the time," I protested.
"Trust me," she insisted. I accepted the food from Binkie and fell asleep before I finished eating.
"Hermana, it's time to wake up," Binkie said as he stroked my face.
"Hey, thanks for letting me sleep. How long did I sleep?" I asked.
"Two hours. We need to go," he reminded me.
"Okay," I gave him my hand to help me up. He gave me a hug before swatting my ass. Grabbing my pack, I pulled it onto my back and made sure all my weapons were in place. I felt rejuvenated after having my nap.
We decided to hike the remaining 20 miles in silence. I felt we needed to veer to the southwest. I motioned to Binkie to move closer. My spidey sense was practically screaming at me. If we keep heading in our current direction, we'd be in danger.
Holding his hand, I stroked my finger down his palm towards the direction we needed to go. I looked into his face. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking if I was sure. After giving him a small nod, he used a bird call to signal Manny. Binkie gave Manny a complicated hand signal to change our direction. Manny didn't question the change. They learned to trust my instincts.
I knew it meant we'd end up around 3 miles west of our desired target, but I felt it was a necessary diversion. My spidey sense relaxed the second we shifted our direction. Mallory slowed down to walk beside me for a few miles. She reached for my hand and gave my fingers a tight squeeze before resuming her position.
We walked in single file as much as possible. Manny was always in the lead with Binkie following close behind. Nobody was watching Binkie's six, but I wasn't too concerned. His hearing is impeccable and would instantly know if we had to run, duck, grab our gun or drop to the ground. If we make it through this without anyone dying, I'm definitely getting that tattoo.
The final few miles had us buzzing in anticipation. We were anxious to finish this mission. An abandoned building provided us with the necessary shelter to quietly go through our final stretch. "He's in that camp, I can feel it," I told my team.
"If he shows interest in me, I'll use it to my advantage," Mallory told me.
"Likewise," I added. She was shaking her head. "Whatever it takes," I whispered when I hugged her. I didn't want her to risk herself to save mine. He wanted me, not her. Binkie promised to have my six.
We left our shelter and make our way around the camp. I led the group around the camp to where I knew Ranger and his team was waiting for our arrival. Manny was usually the one to lead, but I needed to take point this time. They quickly followed me as I led them directly to Ranger's hiding spot.
"Babe," he whispered as he pulled me into his arms. He didn't try to cop a feel or kiss me. It was a very pleasant, platonic hug, one I haven't felt from him in a long time. Lester, Bobby, Ram, Tank and Hal took turns hugging me.
I grabbed the laptop to show the men our intel gathered. They were impressed with the amount of detail I was able to show them. Everything was already backed up to my private server at the winery. Only dad and I know it exists and it takes a lot of passwords to get into the computer. He makes regular trips to Italy to ensure it's operating properly.
When everyone said they memorized Invictus' details, I reformatted the hard drive. Then I used the tools in my satchel to take the laptop apart. I needed to destroy the hard drive. The data was removed from reformatting it, but I knew there may be residual information detectable. I used my knife to scratch deep groves into the drive. Tank grabbed the metal disc and bent it until it snapped. A few more snaps and the hard drive was destroyed. I gave a piece to Ranger, Bobby and Ram. The remaining piece was staying with me.
It was time to implement the final part of our mission. We need to neutralize Bernstein before he gets the chance to leave. Ranger led us towards the camp.
I motioned towards the right where the guard had his back to us. Manny quietly snuck up behind the man and broke his neck. He pulled the man over his shoulder and hid him in the brush. We snuck into the camp and immediately found Invictus.