Chapter 61

Work is super crazy. Sorry for the delay in getting this up. It's been some long late nights but we're about a month away from our big deadline. Anyways, SEAL Team news is pretty quiet these days. Seems like everyone is just chilling at the moment. Hopefully, we get something soon! Enjoy a new chapter of Moving Forward!

"Guys, get ready. We're being spun up," Jason said as he entered the cage room. He aggressively entered opened his cage lock. Then he started grabbing whatever he could and packing.

"Jace, what's going on?" Sonny asked concerned as he watched Jason.

"We're getting spun up," Jason reiterated.

"Phones haven't-," Clay began to say as all their phones buzzed.

"Jason," Sonny asked again.

Jason stopped what he was doing and hung his head down as he put his hands on his hips. He took a deep breath before speaking, "An explosion went off in Tunisia."

"Tunisia? Isn't that where Ray and Mandy went?" Clay asked piecing it together.

"Well, they're okay right?" Sonny asked.

"I was on the phone with Mandy when it went off. No one's been able to contact either of them. Mandy's Dad is here and told me we're being spun up to bring them both home."

"Well, they could just be at hospital or helping victims. It's what either of them would do," Sonny tried to reason.

"Has anyone told Naima?" Trent wondered.

Jason realized he had been so caught up over Mandy and Ray missing, he hadn't thought of Naima. He wondered who would let her know. It should come from them though. Before he could say anything, the door to the room opened. Blackburn, Lisa, Jack, and Troy all walked in.

"I know I said we'd leave and get briefed on the plane, but judging by the looks on you faces, you guys got the cliff notes version," Jack said talking to them. "Before we go, we should see Ray's wife. She should know you guys are here to support her and will do everything to bring him home. You guys got about two hours to get yourselves squared away."

"Yes, Sir," the guys said as Jack nodded and then left with Troy.

"Listen up," Blackburn started after a brief pause in the room. "I know this one is personal. Ray and Mandy are missing. We don't know anything at the moment. They're both fighters and won't give in easily. They know we're coming for them. Let's keep our head in the game on this one."

"Mission failure isn't an option," Jason stated. "Not an option."

"Damn straight," Sonny said holding his fist out to Jason. "We're bringing them home."

"Yeah, boss," Clay agreed as the other guys all gathered around as well.

The guys all stood on the porch to Ray's home as they waited for the door to be answered. Jason was in the middle of them all and had no idea what he was going to say or do. For him, he was playing the part of a worried loved one on all fronts. He was running his last conversation with Mandy over and over in his head. He knew Mandy and Ray were fighters. He hoped they could hang on just long enough for him and the team to rescue them.

The door opened and Naima gave them all a sad smile, "Hi, guys."

No one knew what to say as they were all hurting. Naima opened the door wider and let them in. A few people had come in support as news spread about Ray missing.

"Any news?" Naima asked hopefully.

"No not yet," Jason replied.

"Okay, okay. Did you guys want something to drink?" Naima started.

"Hey," Jason said grabbing her by the shoulders and bringing her in for a hug. "Susan is on her way with the kids. So is Jessica. They have it all covered."

"Why is this happening?" Naima choked out while in Jason's arms. "Warrant officer was supposed to be safer?"

"I know," Jason said pulling back.

"And how are you doing?" Naima asked with a knowing look. "And don't say you're fine because I know I'm not."

"Just believing Ray and Mandy have each other's backs and are fighting like hell to make it back," Jason answered as the front door opened and Susan came in.

"Oh, my dear," Susan said coming in and pulling Naima into a hug. "It's gonna be okay. I know I can't promise that, but this isn't my first rodeo."

"Unfortunately, that's true," Jessica said walking in with food followed by Haley and Jason's kids.

"Daddy," Emma said rushing into Jason's arms followed by Mikey. "Are you guys being spun up?"

"Yeah," Jason replied hugging them both tightly.

Jameelah sat on the stairs looking on. Haley noticed and walked over to her. She stood in front of Jameelah not saying anything.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Jameelah asked.

"Aunt Mandy says sometimes there isn't much you can say to make certain things better," Haley replied sitting down next to Jameelah.

"God, she sounds like Mandy," Jessica choked up.

"Everything's gonna be okay," Haley said confidently.

"How do you know that?" Jameelah asked.

"Cuz Aunt Mandy is with your Daddy. She's gonna do everything she can to bring him home," Haley answered. "Just like when she rescued me from the bad guys."

"Bad guys?" Sonny asked shocked as they all turned to Jessica and Susan.

"A few years back, Haley was kidnapped," Jessica breathed out as Susan grabbed her hand. "Trust me when I say when it comes to the people Mandy cares about, there isn't anything she wouldn't do. I don't know all the details and I don't want to know. I don't even think Troy knows everything that went down. Mandy and Jack kept it pretty tight lipped."

"That's a lot for a kid to go through," Clay said looking over at the girls.

"Haley had always been attached to Mandy. Probably more so after it all. She looks up to Mandy so much and thinks she's invincible. So, you guys better bring her and Ray back," Jessica ordered.

"You bet your ass we will," Full Metal confirmed.

"Plus, this little new one is not only gonna need it's god mother, but it's god father too," Jessica said touching her stomach and looking over at Jason.

"God father?" Jason breathed out.

"I told Mandy back in Nashville. And yes, God father. You've brought a lot of joy to Mandy's life, and we couldn't think of anyone else perfect for the job," Jessica smiled.

"We're gonna bring them home," Jason said. "There's no other option.

"I can't imagine what he's going through," Clay said watching Jason sit by himself. Everyone could see he was on edge.

"Not only is his brother missing, but so is his girl," Sonny added.

"If we don't-," Clay began.

"Don't bring that bad juju upon us," Sonny cut Clay off. "Ray and Mandy are smart. The Navy and agency both confirmed they didn't find their remains. They're gonna fight to get back home."

"Yeah, you're right," Clay sighed. "You know, most of us have someone outside this job. Jason had that with Alana, but it didn't work out. Cut to now, he's got someone who knows exactly what this life is all about only for them to be in danger."

"Double edged sword," Sonny replied. "Both of them understand the risks. Mandy's been around to see us nearly not make it. From the sounds of it, this ain't her first rodeo."

"What do you think went down?" Clay asked in reference to Jessica talking about Haley being kidnapped.

"Probably did whatever she needed to do to bring a loved one home. I'd rather not know. If you ask me, they had it coming," Sonny shrugged. "Mandy's always had our backs despite being a spook. She's stuck her neck out for us and paid the price as well."

"Listen up," Blackburn called out. "We got something."

Jason sprung up from where he was sitting. Everyone around them paused and let him move through before making their way towards Blackburn.

"We're getting some footage of everything before and after the explosion," Lisa began.

"This is after the explosion, inside the café," Troy said turning the laptop around and pressing play.

The footage was shaky. You could hear people in distress and see smoke in the air. They were looking towards the back of the café. Suddenly, two people could be seen entering the frame as they headed for the back door. Jason immediately recognized the dark-haired woman helping a man walk out. The woman's head turned, and Mandy's face could be seen. Jason released a breath he hadn't known he was holding and then they saw Ray's face as well. Next thing they knew, both were ducking for cover as bullets started flying. Mandy and Ray returned fire before Mandy helped Ray up and put his arm around her shoulder as they shuffled out.

"They're alive," Sonny breathed out as well.

"We also have footage out back," Troy said as he brought it up.

Everyone could see Mandy and Ray come out and look down both ways of the road trying to figure out which way to go. They started moving before they saw Mandy push them into the shop.

"We don't see them after this," Troy clarified. "But we're scrubbing footage to on the back and front side to see if we got anything."

"Ray's hurt," Jason said. "But he's moving around still."

"It seems so," Lisa said before someone came up to her with another computer. "Doesn't look like anything," Lisa shook her head as footage of the front store played and Jason watched closely.

"Wait, wait. Back that up," Jason said suddenly.

"What? What is it?" Lisa asked watching Jason and the footage.

"There," Jason said pausing the screen. "That's the shop Mandy and Ray ducked into," Jason observed as the screen was paused on two people walking out.

"And that's two people coming out," Lisa said piecing it together. "Footage is blurry both could fit Mandy and Ray's description," Lisa added as she pressed play to see what happened next.

"That vehicle," Troy said. "That's one that rolled up after the explosion and guys got out and went into the café."

"Mandy and Ray stole it," Jack chimed in. "Go back to the front of the store," he asked. Jack watched closely. "That's my girl," Jack said proudly. "Troy, get someone to that shop. Mandy left a message in the corner of that window. Which way did the vehicle head?"

"Looks like it went east," Lisa said.

"See what other footage and ISR we can bring up to track the car. Mandy doesn't trust to make it back to base or she'd go towards the check points. She mentioned the ambassador was pretty frosty during their meeting. Especially when asked about Roman," Jack said.

"You think Roman has something to do with this?" Jason asked.

"We knew he may have either been in the area recently or had contact with people there," Jack replied.

"We had some agency people still in the area. You were right. Mandy left something there. It's a series of letters and numbers," Troy updated them. "Maybe coordinates?"

"She's got an asset out there she might trust. Let's go through her files and see," Jack replied.

"See, told you Mandy was smart," Sonny said patting Clay's shoulder.

Jason stood looking at the frozen picture of Mandy at the café. She was alive and seemed to be okay. He just needed her to keep fighting until he got to her.

The sun had started to set as Mandy drove through the streets. She'd driven them far away from the center of activity. Ray and she would sometimes ride in silence and other times talk about random topics. Ray had taken a look at the vehicle stolen and found that there looked to be some weapons and guns in the back should they need them.

"So, this asset of yours. They can be trusted?" Ray asked as they pulled into a more populated area.

"I trust them enough," Mandy said with a side look. "They're all we got at the moment."

"Okay, so we get a message out to base-," Ray began.

"They should know where we are already," Mandy interrupted.

"How exactly would they know already?" Ray asked skeptically.

"Left a clue in the shop window," Mandy answered casually.

"You what? How?" Ray asked trying to go over all the events of the past in his head.

"While you were changing, I stuck something in the front window. Coordinates," Mandy shrugged with a smile.

"You know, sometimes I forget that you're a spook," Ray shook his head. "This what they teach you in spy school."

"Among many other things. On top of that, my Dad is a SEAL," Mandy laughed.

"Didn't want to join the Navy and follow his footsteps though," Ray said.

"Nah, wouldn't want to live in his shadow or anything," Mandy replied.

"But you also didn't follow your Mom's footsteps in becoming a lawyer," Ray added. "Gotta say, if anyone could've been the first female SEAL, it probably would've been you."

"Of course, it'd be me, I blow you guys out of the water," Mandy joked. "My asset lives just up ahead."

"Keep your head on a swivel. Don't know who we can trust around here. For all we know, we've been blown, and word is getting out where we are," Ray said looking around.

"We'll see about touching base and figuring out a plan. I bet the team is on their way as we speak," Mandy said pulling into her asset's courtyard area. "You good to walk?"

"I can manage," Ray said as Mandy came around the car to give him a hand.

"Just lean on me," Mandy insisted as they walked up to the front door and knocked. "Hi," Mandy said as her asset opened the door. "We need your help. Can we come in?"