Chapter 24
First off, so sorry for the delay. At this point many have probably heard of Kenosha, WI due to all the media coverage over the police shooting, protesting, and riots. Well I live in the area and that first week was rough as we were under curfew and I helped my parents every night in shutting down the family business for a week straight. The family has had the business for 22 years and it was a little stressful seeing as we're 24 hours and had never had to shut down before. Things had calmed within the week. My family and I are safe and sound for the time being. Any ways, on to the next chapter and as usual thank you for the support and kind words.
Mandy was in between a dream and wake state. Doing the job long enough she developed a sixth sense. She could tell when she was being watched, followed, or she'd just get this general gut feeling that something wasn't quite right. She could tell when it was friendly and when it wasn't.
"Please tell me you didn't watch me sleep the entire night," Mandy said with her eyes closed.
Jason was laying on his side with his head propped up with one arm. He smiled and leaned over to place a soft kiss on Mandy. Mandy shifted to face him so her back was against the wall and avoided laying on her injured side. She kept her eyes closed but moved her hand up his chest towards where his heart was.
"What? Do you have some sneaky seal sniper skills you don't know about?" Jason laughed.
Mandy opened her eyes and looked him dead in the eyes, "That is highly classified information."
Jason laughed but looked at Mandy again when she didn't completely laugh with him. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you serious right now? You been holding back on me?"
"I'm capable of many things Jason Hayes," Mandy smirked. "Maybe if you're good I'll let you in on some of those secrets. I mean I think Blackburn got a taste back in Caracas."
"He was pretty impressed on how you handled yourself," Jason commented. "Kind of like Yemen. Makes me think you have a knack for finding trouble."
"Some would say the same for you," Mandy smiled back. "What time is it? I should get up and see help Lisa."
Neither really made a move to get up though. Both of them just taking the moment peace with each other as in the line of work they did it rarely happened. All of a sudden a loud knock was heard on her door causing them both to jump.
"Get up lovebirds! Lisa's got something," Full Metal yelled through the door laughing.
"I'm going to kill him," Jason grumbled as he attempted to roll off the bed to get up but Mandy grabbed him by the shirt for a kiss.
"He's not worth it," Mandy said. "We should get up though."
Jason got up and went over to a bag of stuff he had brought over. If anyone thought he was leaving Mandy's side anytime soon, they were wrong. It didn't hurt that Mandy had a personal shower in her trailer unlike him. They both got ready and Jason helped Mandy with her wound dressings. They both grabbed a quick breakfast and headed over to HAVOC.
As they entered the HAVOC building they were bickering back and forth about something or another. Jason had a hand on her back most of their walk guiding her and moving her out of the way whenever anyone came near. They had this in explainable way of moving in sync with each other as well as the unspoken communication with their eyes.
As they walked into the command center, they could hear Full Metal cat calling along with a couple other guys.
"Really guys," Jason said giving them a look as he followed Mandy who was giving the guys all a look as well.
"Finished?" Mandy asked sitting right across from Full Metal.
"Nope," Full Metal said smugly.
"October 23, 2009," Mandy said looking at Full Metal with a gleam in her eye.
"What? How?" Full Metal started stuttering. "I'm done," he conceded.
"Thought so," Mandy said with the smug face now.
"What are we missing here?" Sonny asked full of curiosity.
"Oh Sonny, you didn't think I never did my homework on all of you before starting to work with you did you?" Mandy smiled.
The rest of the team looked at her wondering just how much about them she possibly knew. They all knew Mandy was good at her job and if wanted something she'd get it. Before any more bantering could continue Lisa and Blackburn walked into the room.
"We have solid intel that Al-Hazred's family is on the move. Most likely to meet up with Junior himself but we still can't confirm the final destination," Lisa stated as she walked in with folders in her hand. She walked over towards Mandy and gave her some of files to look over.
Mandy started looking over the intel Lisa gave her and Jason leaned forward towards her to see what she was looking at as well. Lisa continued towards the tv screens showing the team where they thought the family's journey was taking place.
"We're going to intercept Junior's family and bring them in for questioning," Lisa said.
"You guys are leaving tonight to intercept them," Blackburn added.
The team started talking about tactical plans and how they'd intercept and bring them back. As they discussed those plans Mandy continued to pour over the files Lisa gave her to see what angles they'd be able to play once they had Al-Hazred's family in custody. As she read through them, Mandy's Dad came in.
"Agent Ellis, a word," he ordered as Mandy looked up at him as well as the rest of the team.
Mandy shook her head and got up to leave the room with her father.
"What do you think that's about?" Ray asked looking over at Jason. "Can't imagine what it's like trying to keep the line between boss and father straight. Especially after apparently nearly losing her on the job."
"It's not easy from what I can tell," Blackburn commented. "He may seem calm and collected on the outside but inside it's another story. It helps that no one connects the two due to the different last names. He tries not to interfere in Mandy's career but sometimes the Dad side in him wins. She's the same with him though."
"Maybe he's got news on Roman for her," Clay said.
"Listen, let's stay focused on the mission for tonight. If there's something we need to know, Mandy will let us know. Part of finding Roman is finding Al-Hazred," Jason said. "We find this guy again and that gets Mandy a little bit closer to finding Roman. We take this one day and one op at a time."
Mandy and her Dad had walked into her office. Her Dad walked in and took a look at the boards of intel. He loved seeing his daughter's work and was always proud of her successes.
"Somethings never change," her Dad said chuckling at all the intel spread out across the room.
"Learned it from you," Mandy smiled back. "What's going on?"
"Supposedly we've had some reports of Roman in different parts of Europe," Thomson replied.
"Makes sense. Probably going back there to figure out how to get his funds another way since I froze them," Mandy said with a smirk.
"Don't think you're not getting a stern talking to for pulling that off despite your hunch being right," Thomson said with a slight scold but smile in his eyes.
"What else is going on?" Mandy prodded.
"Can't a Dad just want to hang out with his favorite daughter for a little while without everyone hanging around?" her Dad asked.
"First, I'm your only daughter. Second, yes you can just hang out with me but I'm pretty sure in the middle of a warzone isn't ideal," Mandy said.
"It's about Yemen and the letter sent to the Ambassador's husband. Whoever wrote it had inside details and they're looking towards Bravo. I'm sure Blackburn is already aware and probably gave a heads up to Jason but figured I'd touch base with you. CIA hasn't exactly been cleared either and with Reiss turning out to be a traitor it doesn't look good for us," he explained.
"I'm not questioning anyone on the team," Mandy stated firmly. "As far as I'm concern, the truth was set straight for the record for once on this job."
"I'd never ask you to question the team, Mandy. I know you trust them. It wasn't right how they tried to smear Ambassador Marsden. She was one of the few I liked," Thomson said.
"Maybe with everything going on here hopefully the investigation gets lost otherwise I can always leverage someone," Mandy said thinking of ways to protect Bravo. "There's something else on your mind."
Director Thomson looked at his daughter knowing the chances of getting anything past her was slim. "What if it's all connected to Roman? What if he set his sights on you earlier than we think? I mean the attack on the base happened when you were here and in the middle of interrogating Al-Hazred. You were in Yemen when things went sideways. Then we have Caracas where things went to hell as well. The last few months you've been through quite a bit. What if it's not all just a coincidence?"
"You think he's been targeting me all this time? Why come after me now?" Mandy asked.
"You've been hunting him down for a while. Whatever he's got planned, maybe it's all coming full circle soon," her Dad replied.
"So essentially, I've put everyone around me at risk. I put a target on everyone's back," Mandy concluded.
"No! This is not on you, do you understand me? I'm just saying it could be a possibility. I have no evidence the last few months have anything to do with Roman but at this point we need to work every angle. At the end of the day, he's at war with you. You've become the enemy to him."
"You're worried about me," Mandy said.
"Of course I am. I know you. I know you'll do whatever it takes to take him down and that scares the living hell out of me. Just please be careful. I'm asking as a Dad, not as your boss. I know you think you're on your own here and that it's on you to fix the situation but you have an entire team of SEALs ready to go to bat for you. You have a man who is in love with you and looks at you like you're his entire world. Don't take all that for granted Mandy," Thomson said pulling Mandy in for a hug.
Mandy squeezed her father back in the hug and could feel her eyes starting to sting. "Okay," she replied. "In love with me?" Mandy asked.
"Just cuz you and Jason got your heads on straight and are finally in a relationship doesn't mean the two of you haven't had feelings for each other in the past. Maybe it's early to say love but you both know what you have is real. You both don't think you deserve any good in this world but you're both wrong," her Dad said.
"Thanks Dad," Mandy said as she pulled back and quickly dabbed at her glassy eyes.
"Anytime sweetheart. Now do me a favor and call your Mom. She's going crazy and apparently my reports about you aren't enough and she needs to hear from you," Thomson said causing Mandy to chuckle.