Steve turned to Marshack and embraced him, "It's great to see you Aaron, thank you for being here"
"Of course, but I wish to God it was under different circumstances buddy"
"Where's the team?"
"We were on leave when JJ called, I've talked to them all and they're meeting us in Bogota"
"Oh man, they're on leave?"
"Don't even think about it McGarrett. Not one of them didn't want to be here for you….you're our brother, always"
Steve nodded, "Thank you"
Once the plane was in the air, Jeffers told everyone what had transpired.
The team had been sent to Colombia to assassinate General Sergio Cepeda, the leader of a violent rebel faction that was quickly becoming a major player in the international cocaine market. His faction had grown from a small band of forty, to more than a hundred men in a matter of weeks and although they were fairly unorganized, they were very well armed. Cepeda had made millions already as a cocaine dealer and he was known to be extremely ruthless. They were known to kill anyone who threatened their cartel, and had already assassinated three high ranking police officials and kidnapped and killed the wife and daughter of a local prosecutor who had brought charges against him. The American Government had agreed to intercede, and SEAL Team 7 was sent in to take out Cepeda.
JJ explained how his team had arrived in Bogota a month earlier. With the aid of a Government guide they had traveled down the Atrato River in a cargo boat to avoid being seen by the numerous armed men protecting their cocaine labs along the river's edge. This river was a vital artery of transportation, as there were very few roads leading to their destination of Choco. Cocaine labs and coca plants were in vast supply down the entire route, as the river was used to move in the chemicals needed to mulch the coca into coca paste in the labs. The production of cocaine was the main source of income for many native Colombians who otherwise would live in extreme poverty. Another truly horrific reality to the Colombia's cocaine production was that thousands of young boys, many as young as ten years old, were a part of these cocaine cartels and they toted automatic weapons just as the older soldiers did. They passed Cepeda's location and camped deep in the jungle about two miles away. They scoped out their targets several times over the next three weeks before they were ready to move.
They left their camp at midnight, moving stealthfully through the darkened jungles with the aid of their night-vision goggles.
As they neared the site, three moved to the left while JJ moved with his newbie to the right, to circle the camp. The others, Owen Alexander, David Shreve and Tyler, led by Dean (Dino) Schroeder prepared to launch a forward assault.
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JJ looked into McGarrett's eyes, "Steve, we're not sure what happened but somehow we were compromised. Before we were even in position Dino's voice came across the radio. They had been captured and to alert us he had turned on his radio. We moved to the edge of the encampment and watched as our men were led at gunpoint into the camp. I notified the others to stand down as we assessed the situation. Everything happened so fucking fast and in minutes they were surrounded by forty to fifty men all armed with automatic weapons. Cepeda came from the tent demanding to know who was in charge. Dino said he was, and instantly Cepeda raised his gun and shot Dino point blank in the head. He then instructed Ty and Owen to carry Dino and they were taken to a nearby shed. The shed was very small and from what we could see, there was only one very small opening for air at the top. They padlocked the door and three men stood around it, guarding it"
Danny blurted out, "And you left them there?"
JJ looked shocked, "With all due respect sir…."
Steve held up his hand, "Danny…hold up buddy" He turned to face his son's Commanding Officer, "JJ, you did everything the way you should have. Going in for them with five men would have been a suicide mission…you did the right thing"
JJ continued, "I had my men fall back and we made our way back to our camp. I contacted Captain Kriesel and he offered any additional help needed to rescue our boys. I requested Seal Team 3 and Aaron and his men didn't hesitate, volunteering immediately to help. I also requested your help and due to the circumstances that was granted as well…..now as far as Williams….."
Steve interjected, "Don't worry about Danny. I'll clear him through Kriesel. He's my partner and he's more than qualified to accompany us"
JJ responded, "Good…" He then turned to Danny adding, "We're glad to have you on board"
Danny nodded, "I'm honored to be here with all of you and I meant no disrespect Sir"
JJ smiled, "I know that. We're all concerned about our boys…...….and, call me JJ"
"Okay JJ, how are we going to get these boys out of there alive?"
"Kriesel is also sending a ten man Marine Special Ops Recon Unit to assist us. They'll meet us in Bogota as well. We'll have twenty six damn good men for this mission, and we WILL NOT fail"
It was almost a twelve hour flight to Bogota. Danny watched his partner and the other men in utter amazement as they discussed their plan down to the most intricate detail. Steve took a call from Kriesel and cleared Danny's participation in the mission. Seven hours into the flight, Steve and Danny moved to the back of the plane to try to sleep.
Steve handed Danny a bottle of water "Kriesel told me that Sam is part of the Marine Special Ops Recon Unit coming to help us"
Danny replied, "Really? That's great"
Steve grinned, "Yeah, he's a hell of a kid"
Sam Corbett had been Tyler's best friend since they were eight years old and the boys had always been inseparable. They had even decided on joining the military together and enlisted at the same time. Both men were very relieved to hear that this fine young man would be a part of this mission.
As they laid down on not too comfortable mats Danny asked, "How are you holding up Steve?"
"I'm fine partner…I'll be running on instinct and adrenalin until this is over. How about you….you okay?"
"Yeah…and hey, thank you"
"For what? I'm the one who should be thanking you"
"Thank you for trusting me enough to let me be here. You won't be sorry"
"I trust you more than anyone in this world Danno, you know that. I'm very glad you're here"
Danny's voice dropped, "Steve, what's going on in that head of yours?"
Steve hesitated before saying softly, "These Colombian warlords are ruthless D'…they have no respect for life"
"We're going to find him and bring him home"
Steve's response terrified Danny as his voice cracked with emotion as he said, "One way or another, I'm bringing him home"
JJ had never given an answer to his question about how they were going to get the boys out of there 'alive' and now hearing Steve, the severity of what they faced hit Danny full force.
Several seconds passed before he turned towards Steve and said softly, "I got your six brother"
Steve chuckled softly at his buddy's use of the military term, "Back at you partner. Try to sleep now"
Closing his eyes Steve tried to get the horrible image of Ty being beaten and tortured out of his mind. They needed to get there fast…..
***** Thanks for the nice reviews ! Much more to come, I hope you're enjoying ! *****