RIYADH AIR BASE
RIYADH/KHALED
SAUDI ARABIA
Admiral Al-Fahid mentioned to Clayton Webb. "I see that your friends are very late."
"Yes. I don't understand. Admiral Chegwidden is very punctual." Clayton Webb muttered worried about the no-show of the JAG officers. "Something must be wrong."
"I'm afraid I don't have much time if we are to co-ordinate efforts to rid ourselves of the terrorists."
"I'll go see if they're still at the hotel." Clay replied, not sure if he would like the answer to the questions being raised in his mind.
"Yes, Mr. Webb. Do that." Admiral Al-Fahid hid a smile as the State Department representative left.
AL FAISALIAH HOTEL
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
"Yeah, it's me. Commander Burrows!." Animal growled into the phone-line. "Willya shut the hell up and let me speak, Commander?"
"Yes, sir."
"I'm here in Saudi Arabia, I need you and about ten others in the squadron to get on a plane and get your precious little fannies over here. I got a suspicion the JAG has gotten himself, his precious JAG flyboy attorney, his precious JAG flyboy attorney's wife, and my wife into big trouble. I'm gonna need some backup."
"Yes, sir."
"Get you and those ten others on a plane ASAP. I'll expect you in Riyadh in two days. Don't try contacting me other than at the hotel. I got something else to do."
"What's that?"
"I'm going to kick Webb's nuts up in the general proximity of his oral cavity. That's what." Animal snarled.
AL FAISALIAH HOTEL
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
HOTEL LOBBY
1645 hrs
Animal's alarm sense tingled when he saw the Al Jazeera news and his wife's Marine "Class A" uniform portrait photo flashed on the T.V. monitor through the static that seemed to pervade over all television transmissions in the Middle East. He couldn't understand the majority of the telecast announcement, but he could decipher just enough to know that his wife was in trouble…BIG trouble. The four were late, far later than they should have been and the fact that they hadn't made communication made Animal fear the worst. It didn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together.
At least he knew that the backup would be coming but they were still on the East Coast hopping commercial flights into Riyadh, scattering themselves deliberately through the arrival schedule. The only thing he could do was make his way to the airport. There would be extra rifles and other gear in Marine 3rd Expeditionary Force armory and they would make themselves available. Keeping a low profile was the most important part of this exercise. There was nothing he could do but wait for any sort of news until his friends got in. Until then all he could do was pace the floor in frustration.
Animal looked across the lobby to see Clayton Webb standing talking to a hotel clerk. Animal got up from his chair and strode across the hotel lobby, an angry look on his face.
"Webb!" he barked.
"Nakamura?" Webb looked up from his conversation. "I was looking…" Animal cut him off brusquely coupled with a threatening look that brooked no opposition. He didn't care that he was talking to the Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of State – as far as Animal was concerned he was talking to a no-load fumble nuts of a CIA spook.
"Upstairs. We gotta talk!"
AL FAISALIAH HOTEL
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
ANIMAL'S & MAC'S HOTEL ROOM
Animal was not happy and Clayton Webb got the brunt of it. Animal grabbed him by the scruff of his jacket, slammed him up against the wall and jammed the muzzle of his M92 Beretta into his cheek. "Just what the hell were you thinking? You sorry sack of shit!" After Animal had been told that the JAG contingent had not arrived at the scheduled meeting after reconnoitering the area, he had been more than enraged.
"I didn't know. It was supposed to be a simple discussion between the armed forces of both countries."
"Not only did you get my friends into trouble, but you also put Mac into danger. Nobody puts my wife into danger and gets away with it." Animal snarled. "You've think you've got trouble with the State Department, buddy, you ain't seen nothin' yet. You've got trouble right here, right now." Clay only had to look once into Animal's eyes to see that it was true. Animal's eyes were cold, predatory and it would only take one mistake for Webb's brains to get splattered all over the wall of the hotel room.
"I have to contact…" Webb began, but Animal cut him off with a look.
"You're going to do nothing of the sort." Animal said. "By the time your co-horts get their collective thumbs out of their behinds, AJ, Mac, Harm and Lia could all be dead."
"What can we do?" Webb asked. "What can we do except wait?"
"I have a gut-hunch, Webb." Animal snarled. "That your contact in the Saudi Arabian Navy is involved. We grab him, we hold him, then we get the information out of him, then we do a rescue of our own."
"Supposing I agree to this…" Clay started to say, but Animal silenced him with a glare that was near homicidal.
"You are going to agree to this. Webb." Animal hissed, his voice cold and sharp as a razor.
Webb felt cold as a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and pooled around the tip of his nose. He felt resigned; the admiral was right in one respect. He had put the JAG team in danger. He turned to go.
"Webb…" Animal said.
As Webb turned, all he could see was stars as Animal's right fist connected with his left cheek spinning Webb around and knocking him off his feet. "That's for Mac." Animal growled. Webb found himself on the floor.
"I guess I deserved that." Webb muttered.
"That and a lot more..." Animal said coldly as he proceeded to put his Beretta back in his concealed-carry holster. He was wearing civilian clothes with a tropic vest that concealed his holster so that it was not immediately apparent that he was armed. He carried four clips filled with 9mm rounds in his trouser pockets. "We're going to go see the admiral. Now...what about you?"
"What?" Webb replied. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean, you mentally retarded Clowns In Action puke, is: you ARMED?" Animal poked his face close to Clay's and snarled. "Or do you little pukes run around unarmed in allied countries?"
"Uh...no...I have my Sig with me..."
"Well, make sure you know how to use it." Animal retorted, as he walked out the door. "You coming or not? We're going to meet a few people and find out how to conduct this snatch and grab operation...They're coming in two days, you're stuck with me."
"I have a bad feeling about this." Webb muttered to himself.
MAKARIM RIYADH HOTEL
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
TWO DAYS LATER
Animal sat at the restaurant, Clayton Webb sitting a few tables over so as not to arouse suspicion by any Al Qaeda spies. Looking over, he saw a burkha wearing woman coming up to him. His right hand automatically went for his Beretta stopping just short of the butt of the side-arm. As she drew closer, Animal could see the blue eyes twinkling merrily.
"Captain." He raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, sir." She said. "You told us to meet you here." Captain Kimberly Benton grinned. "Figured since their leader was a woman, that she'd better dress like the natives. So burkha it is."
"Good choice, Captain, the locals are suspicious of foreigners."
"Look, Admiral." Commander Philip "Metalman" Burrows mentioned, motioning over at the TV. "Isn't that Admiral Chegwidden?"
"heda hew jebhh aletheryer ales'ewedyh ! wenhen alameryekyh alademyeral wethelathh men mesa'edeyh ! eda nhen la telqey 'ela etelaq serah 'eded kebyer men alesjena' alesyaseyyen an hekwemh alemmelkh al'erebyh ales'ewedyh weqd tem ejera' senqetl h'ela' alesjena'! [This is the Saudi Liberation Front! We have the American admiral and three of his subordinates! If we do not receive the release of several of the political prisoners that the Saudi Arabian government have been holding, we will execute these prisoners!]"
"Sir," Kimber's eyes, which was all that Animal could see of his Commander Air Group, looked alarmed. "They have Mac, Admiral Chegwidden, Harm and Lia! If they do not receive what they are demanding, they're going to execute them." Kimber's language skills in Arabic were from the Navy Linguistics school. She served as their air wing translator in addition to her official post as the CAG. "The Saudi Liberation Front has been actively linked to Al Qaeda. And they're probably one of the most bloodthirsty of the fringe radical Islamic groups."
Animal's blood-pressure started spiking to stratospheric heights. Kimber and Metalman were absolutely certain that steam was starting to come out his ears. "Where the fucking hell is Webb!" Animal snarled. "He never said anything about SLF being tied to Al Qaeda."
"It was a need to know; Admiral!" a voice spoke up from behind him. "And you didn't need to know."
That wasn't the smartest thing Clayton Webb had ever said in his entire life, nor would he get the chance to repeat that, because Animal had whirled around; like a surface to air missile, his fist connected to his right arm was heading; a skin, muscle and bones battering ram, directly towards Clay's nose, rocking the spy back on his heels with a resounding splat. The resultant pull-back allowed Animal to avoid the resultant spatter of blood fountaining from Clay's nose.
"OW! YOU BWOKE MY DOSE!" Clay whined.
Animal snarled venomously. "Maybe next time, you'll disseminate information crucial to the safety of United States Military Personnel." Grabbing Clay by his shirt lapels and slamming him into the nearest supporting pillar he growled with ominous intention. "I swore to high heaven that I will turn this mud-hole into a molten lava pit if they touched one hair on Mac's head! And you will be right at ground zero! You'd better hope to hell that Mac gets released from this with nary a scratch on her or you will be paying for it with a world of pain. Mark my words, Webb."
"YOU BWOKE MY DOSE!" Clay repeated, as if in shock.
Metalman retorted disgustedly. "You'll live. If I were you, I'd stay clear away from the admiral and from his wife in the future, unless you want to suffer a repeat of this."
"Understand, Webb. I want any and all information that you have on the Saudi Liberation Front and I wanted it FUCKING YESTERDAY!" Animal roared. "GET YOUR ASS ON IT!"
"You bwoke my dose!" That seemed to be all that Clay could repeat as the spy picked himself off the ground and got up.
"I want to see that dossier on the SLF TONIGHT! Or you and I will have a repeat of this conversation and we will see how many pieces your nose can break into. Do you understand me? Webb!" Animal growled ominously. "I don't give a flying sour owl shit about your national security! You got me loud and clear?"
Webb gave him a sulky look. "Yes… I god you, loud n'clear." He sounded nasal which meant that Animal had broken Webb's nose. He walked off, though not first without a glare of hostility towards the admiral. The rest of the team that had made it to Riyadh just snickered.
"So who are the operatives?" Animal asked.
"Well, first of all, your former RIO Commander Colin "Skateratz" House." grinned Kimber as she gestured to the short, stocky dark-haired fireplug of a naval flight officer. "then of course the denizens of Seal Team Six. This is Commander Rick Wills" Kimber introduced each team member in turn. "We beat 'em in a game of two card stud".
"Two card stud? Never heard of that before."
"Any more than two requires more brain-cells than these SEALs possess." Kimber quipped.
"Y'know, sir." Metalman joked. "Their modus operandi", he looked over dramatically to see if any of the SEALs understood him. "is insert magazine, pull chambering rod, fire, eject spent cartridge, fire, repeat till empty…release magazine."
Commander Wills looked over at Metalman as if he was a turd on the floor that had just been stepped on. "Admiral, sir, we know one of ours is on the ground here in Riyadh and has been taken captive. We're here to get in, get him and his people out. We understand that your wife is one of his people. That's why we're here to do it."
"Thank you." Animal said, extending his hand in greeting.
"No thanks necessary, Admiral. We're here because we want to decimate some terrorist bastards before they get a chance to do it to us." Commander Wills said. "And sir, we respect you because of what you've done; not to mention, I've been wanting to hit that Webb character from the day I first laid eyes on him."
"Yeah, he's a putz, all right." Animal said. "I want some answers first before we start laying down fire. Maybe that fumblenuts and Admiral Ol'Fathead can give us some. Meet me at the Starlifter in eight hours and we'll see how we go from there."
RIYADH/KHALED
8 HRS LATER
C-141 STARLIFTER
Commander Phil "Metalman" Burrows poked his head out of the C-141 Starlifter parked in the corner of Riyadh-Khaled Air Base. None of the Saudis had been interested in a forlorn looking Starlifter, which parked itself unobtrusively away from the action. Captain Kimber "Ginger" Benton also peeked out. "We're not attracting any attention." Metalman's cell-phone rang twice then stopped.
"Contact, guys." Metalman grunted to his friends. "The admiral's coming over to us."
Commander Jeff "Skateratz" House and his co-hort Bill "Wild Bill" Mathers looked over at their CO. Wild Bill said. "The beagles have been snitched by the rag-heads?"
"Yeah..." Metalman grunted. "Mac and the rest of the team have been grabbed and Animal's going to deliver some pain on these guys."
TWO HOURS LATER
A knock on the door of the Starlifter caused the 9 man, 1 woman team to start and reach for their M-16A2 rifles.
"Who is it?" Metalman growled with one hand on his Beretta.
"It's me, you retard!" Animal's voice sounded annoyed. "Open the fuckng door."
"Yep, that's him." Metalman grinned at the rest of the team. Nobody else could sound that abusive. Metalman and Animal had a wonderful relationship. Metalman did things to annoy the living daylights out of Animal and Animal verbally abused the Commander for it. It was special sort of relationship.
They opened the hatch and two rather dusty civvies-clad men stumbled into the cargo hold. One was Animal and the other was a brown haired man well known to the Aces. He was one Clayton Webb, who was sporting a nice bruised and bandaged schnozz.
"Ah...Webb, I take it, Animal clocked you one?" Metalman snickered. He didn't like the Clown-In-Action either.
"I take it you brought me a rifle?" Animal growled.
"Yes, sir." Kimber replied as she pressed a M-16A2 into his hands. Efficiently he broke it down, cleaned it and assembled it back together in 2 minutes and 33 seconds. "Just making sure." Animal stated. "I need all of you in tip top condition and that includes your weapons. If we make one mistake, our friends will die. So we have to do this operation right."
"Yes, sir." The 10 Black Aces said in unison and the 16 member SEAL team nodded their heads in assent.
"I don't like moving without information, but the only way that we can rescue the JAG and his subordinates is making certain that we have the pertinent information. In order to do that we're going to have to make a raid on the only person who has that information.
"And you, Mr. Webb…" Animal grunted. "You will be entering Al-Fahid's office first."
"I really have a bad feeling about this…" muttered Webb.
"You should, Webb." Animal growled at Clay. "Didn't anyone tell you that playing footsies with sand-crabs gets you pinched?"
Clayton Webb raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, and you just got pinched. Webb" Animal finished.
"What a dork." responded one of the Aces who definitely was not in fear of the Undersecretary.
"Let's move out." Animal snapped.