Thank you so much for all your kind reviews. It feels so good to be welcomed back with open arms.

Warnings for language and a tiny bit of angst.

Chapter 13

Before I could say anything, we froze. From our left we could hear the bird like cry I had taught to Moxie only a few weeks ago. She was quicker in getting out her monitor than I could get to mine and stared at it disbelief.

"Show me!" She turned the monitor my way. Where there should have been only two dots, numbered 1 and 5, we could see eight other dots about a hundred yards away. My thoughts were going a mile a minute. We had made all our check-ins, every Sunday, 1600 hours EST, on the dot. Tank hadn't reached out via emergency signal. We hadn't reached out via emergency signal. There was absolutely no reason I could think of to have eight RangeMan-issued trackers so close to us.

Adrenaline was flooding our bloodstream, getting us ready to fight for our life.

"What the fuck is going on?" We drew our guns, pointing it in the direction the bird's cry had come from. Silently we got into position, Moxie low and I high. We were ready to meet whatever was coming our way.

"Numbers two, three and four are supposedly Tank, Lester and Bobby. Six should be Lil. I have no idea who seven through ten are, but we're about to find out," I whispered.

Straining my ears, I could hear the soft footfalls I knew to belong to Tank.

"Show yourself!" We kept our guns trained toward the chirping birdies, now doing the signal only our old unit ought to know in unison.

Out into our line of vision stepped not only a broadly grinning Tank, but also Santos, Brown and Lil, just as I had suspected. They had their hands up in the air, weapons holstered. Only two steps behind them were TK, Jay, Nuk and Jake, assuming the same non-threatening stance.

"What the fuck is going on?" Getting backup in the middle of a mission was highly unusual. It was a sign that the mission had either already gone FUBAR or was about to go that way really fast.

A grinning Santos was the first to speak up. "Merry fucking Christmas to you too, asshole."

We hadn't holstered our weapons. And we wouldn't do so until we could be certain that this was not some elaborate plot to get us into trouble.

Tank must have sensed that Moxie and I were not to be joked with at that moment and stepped forward before Santos could get himself into trouble. "DC changed the mission objective. They got some new intel and decided they don't just want the plans for the rocket launchers. Now they want the whole cartel down as well. But they still want the plans." So far that sounded plausible. But it didn't explain why they changed the objective while Moxie and I were still deployed.

Brown spoke up next. "Somehow it got back to DC that they've got some new kind of explosive out here. They don't want it going into circulation and are afraid just nixing the plans for the rocket launcher won't be enough."

"How do they figure this fits our contracts? Moxie and I signed one with a no-executions clause."

Tank shrugged. "They reason that they're sending in eight other people who don't have that clause." Fuckers.

Moxie nodded and holstered her weapon. Apparently her spidey senses were telling her my men came indeed on friendly business. Well, at least towards us.

I followed suit and we did the manly hug thing, clapping backs. Moxie was engulfed in bear hugs by the men, handed from one to the other. One look at her facial expression told me she could have done without those hugs right now.

"It's Christmas? I hope you brought presents!" Moxie just had to grab onto that.

Bobby was chortling. "Thanksgiving is closer, but we brought you sunscreen, bug repellent and Santos should have some chocolate somewhere. Oh, and Hector asked me to give you this. He's been playing with some new gizmos." Attached to his backpack was a black box, about the size of a single pistol weapon case. Looked like it was waterproof too. He handed it to her with a smirk.

"Gimme!" She grinned at the black box from Hector. Knowing him, there could be all kinds of stuff in there. Knowing her, whatever was in there would be properly field tested. If it could withstand Moxie, it could withstand anything.

"I can see why they'd send in my A-team, but why did they send you as well, TK?"

"We wanted in on the fun?" TK just had to pull my tail.

Moxie moved quicker than he could react and in the blink of an eye had one of her damn knives to his throat. "Why?"

TK was quick to bring his hands up in surrender again. "Stand down, Moxie. They want to be absolutely sure that neither Cardorez nor any of his henchmen survive the bust. Tank was allowed to choose a second team. He knows that I've got just as much unfinished business with Cardorez as the rest of you." Bringing TK in on this one would give him just as much closure as the rest of us.

"Ok. Now give me the chocolate!"

And with that our ranks were swollen from two to ten people. Good thing that the overhang we had chosen for camp was so big.

The guys were bustling around us, setting up camp and getting their stuff organized in quiet efficiency. Santos was indeed digging out their so-called presents.

"Moxie, how do you want to play the partner game? You usually partner with Lil, but the last weeks we've been depending on each other?" I moved Moxie a bit to the side so she could make this decision away from prying eyes.

She looked up at me, tugging her lower lip between her teeth. "We'll do usual partners. I've partnered with Lil in civilian life and on our last mission. I'll be fine. And you're used to having Tank watching your back." She leaned up to give me a quick kiss. It was unexpected and the most intimate contact we had had since the first day we slept under this very overhang seven weeks ago. Before I could blink she had moved back to the guys, ribbing TK about slowing down in his old age.

Shaking my head to clear the cobwebs away, I rejoined the group.

Tank had prepared us quite a luxurious meal, at least compared to what we had been living on the last weeks. Knowing how long they had to trek in, he had opted for nutrient dense foods that didn't spoil and could be eaten cold. But just having a piece of bread and some cured meats was a welcome change. They had even thought to bring a Tastykake for Moxie and a crisp apple for me.

"Are there any injuries we should take a look at?" Brown was ready for business after we had eaten our fill. "You look drowsy Moxie. What's going on?"

"Stupid cycle caught up with me. I'm crampy and grumpy. Ranger already pushed some Advil my way. And I guess the adrenaline of getting surprised by eight guys we didn't expect did me in."

That got her some grins. Jake had told us how much she had struggled during her training when she was on her cycle. Somehow, it also coincided with the incident that had gotten her the Dragon moniker. Brown, however, threw a raised eyebrow my way. He disliked handing out pain meds for things he considered minor. He was at least throwing her some chocolate to combat the adrenaline letdown.

Tank took charge. "Why don't the two of you catch some uninterrupted shut-eye. You ought to be exhausted and the adrenaline letdown isn't helping any. We'll watch your backs. Anything we need to know before you crash?"

"As far as we know, we haven't been detected. We just got back from dropping a camera bug into what we suspect is the office of the compound and we tagged one of their trucks with a tracker. Because of the downpour over the last two weeks there hasn't been any movement on that one yet." She pushed the receiver at Tank. "I suggest you guys get acquainted with the area. Good night." The map we had been working on was thrust at Lil.

Five minutes later Moxie had crawled into her sleeping bag and was sound asleep.

"Sleep! We'll get each other up to speed once you've rested. We'll rouse you if anything happens at the compound."

With a nod I pulled my sleeping bag over me. I shortly considered pulling Moxie back into my chest. Remembering her expression when the men hugged her and considering how high strung we were, I refrained. There was just no sense in provoking an unnecessary attack. With so many men there to watch our back, I fell asleep in minutes.

I awoke a few hours later to whispering. Moxie was still snuggled up in her sleeping bag. My men were poring over the map when Tank noticed I was awake and came over.

"Where's TK and the gang?"

"There was movement on the truck and they went to investigate."

"10-4. How long was I out?" I felt rested, at least as rested as you can feel after having slept on the forest floor with one eye open for weeks.

"Four hours. They left two hours ago. As soon as Moxie's up we'll fill you in on what we've learned and what's been going on at home."

Slight rustling alerted me to Moxie waking up. A blink later she was out of her sleeping bag, crouched low, her gun trained at Tank.

Tank did the sensible thing and raised his hands in surrender. Again.

"Babe!" I couldn't have her shooting Tank.

"Huh." Shaking her head, she holstered her weapon. "Sorry, Tank. You guys showing up unannounced and unexpected has thrown me."

"No worries, Moxie. You'll get used to it in no time. In the meantime, we've prepped food."

"Food?"

All my men knew the quickest way to her heart. And to be honest, I was getting tired of our jungle diet as well. At least we would switch out the avocados for other fruits now. In a few weeks' time, we would bemoan the missing avocados for the fats they gave us.

We had another gourmet jungle meal, courtesy of Tank, and the men teased Moxie mercilessly about setting up the grub farm. At least until she started sharpening her knives.

"Who's holding down the fort?"

"Hal and Ram, just like last time. Because we're looking at a lengthy deploy, I decided to have Cal and Manny carry some of the load. They're on strict instruction to call on the other offices as needed."

I nodded. Hal and Ram had done a great job while we were gone on our mission in Africa. Re-instating them as leaders was a good choice. But then, I expected nothing less of my second in command.

"Anything else staff-wise?"

"I finally brought on a physio therapist, Sam. Old buddy of Phoenix's, came highly recommended by the VA rehab center. He's rehabbing Woody right now; he twisted an ankle at a takedown pretty badly. Other than that any hiring was postponed."

Things at home seemed to be relatively calm. Phoenix was proving to be an asset. He had taken over training the men in throwing knives and darts in Moxie's absence. All the clients were secured and they'd even managed to bring on some new big clients. Business was booming.

Valerie on the other hand proved as obnoxious as ever. Judging by the tales of my men, she'd gone off the deep end. MA was pretty resilient, but she'd called for Bobby, Lester and Tank to come and get her away from her mother. Moxie was fuming when they gave us the details. After a few seconds, she had her temper under control again and I knew there would be hell to pay for Valerie once we were back stateside.

"Did you get the situation resolved before you left?"

Bobby shook his head. "No, she's still staying in Ella's guestroom. School's been informed of the alternate living arrangements. One of her teachers had noticed MA's mood deteriorating and she seems to have stabilized since."

"Ok. Back to Cardorez. What else did you find out after we left?"

"They've been using some new explosive. It looks similar to C4, but the consistency is a bit different and it's way more powerful than C4. And much more likely to explode." Seemed like Lester had been doing the research.

"We can confirm that. They are moving it in large quantities to the compound. The truck we tagged was loaded with it. What else?" I hoped they had more info that we didn't yet know.

"There was a bust a while back where another team tried to take them down. They only managed to get his guards, but Cardorez slipped through their fingers. It was a clusterfuck of epic proportions, which is why they sent the two of you this time. After they sent you in, the Pentagon received threats, wanting money or they'd blow up all of DC. That's when they decided to send in two more teams. The objective is that we annihilate the whole operation, however we choose to do it. I got the impression, they'd love for us to bring his head back they want to be sure so badly."

"Fuck."

"That about sums it up. That was another reason for bringing in TK. I figured it wouldn't hurt to bring in a team with a sniper and as we need Ram holding down the fort, Jay will have to do."

Moxie's eyes were blazing. "Before this mission, I didn't want to do executions. Ranger only told me the very abbreviated CliffsNotes version of your first mission. That was enough for me to want to go down there and tear him limb from limb. Don't worry about me. Getting a bullet between his eyes is much too kind for what he really deserves."

We all fell silent for a moment, remembering.

Moxie got up to get the black case Hector had sent down with them. She sat down between Tank and me again, looking it over. Looking closely at it, I couldn't see a locking mechanism. How the hell were we supposed to open that? Moxie just grinned at Bobby. "Hector say anything about what's inside?"

"No. He was sure you'd know how to get into it, told you to have fun with it and you shouldn't blow up anything more than necessary."

From the looks of it, this message was just as cryptic to my men as it was to me. While we were still wondering how she'd open it, Moxie was already whistling quietly at the contents.

"What just happened?" Lil wanted to know.

"There's a finger print scanner, newest version. Looks like the rest of the case so you need to know where it's located." She bent down over the case. "And it seems like Hector finally got a handle on the far range detonators. Other than that a few doohickeys and a bit of thingamajig and a whatchamacallit. You'll just have to wait and see."

As long as TK and his team were out doing recon, it didn't make much sense to talk strategies. Dusk was nearing, so my men settled in to sleep. Moxie and I would take first watch, Bobby and Lester would take second shift.

We settled in to guard and to my utter surprise, Moxie settled down between my legs, leaning back against my chest. When she was sure the men were asleep, she started whispering.

"I've missed this." She wriggled her ass, trying to get even closer.

"Me too. How are you holding up?"

"The guys showing up threw me for a loop, but now I'm glad they're here. We need all the help we can get going up against Cardorez."

"You worried?"

"Not anymore. I was anxious before, afraid I'd lose you. Now that we've got backup, I'm still on high alert, but it's more of an eagerness to get this bastard taken care of. Do you know what I mean?"

"Hmm," I murmured in agreement. "You're getting ready to do anything and everything to protect those you love." I pressed a kiss to her temple and we fell silent for a bit. It felt good to have her in my arms like this.

I would have loved to nuzzle into her locks, but she kept them in tight braid, so I had to settle for whispering into her ear. "I've missed you. This. I'm so proud of you. You've got your head fixed in the game, nothing can distract you from the mission, from your goal. You've had no refined sugar for seven weeks and you haven't slept a whole night in seven weeks. Everything you love in civilian life has not been available to you in so long and the only struggle you've had are your period cramps. You're so damn professional. I know you went through training in only seven months, but seeing you here, doing this mission, one would never guess. You can compartmentalize like the best of them, locking your feelings down tight so they don't interfere with the objective. TK trained you well and I'm so damn proud of you."

She sighed, relaxing back into me. "Thanks, Ranger." After a moment, she added "I can only do it, because I'm here with you. I trust you, mind, body and soul. You would give your life for me, just like I would for you. I miss those things like crazy, especially our intimacy. But I keep it locked down, terrified of it thwarting what we're here to do and endangering us. I would love to throw you down and have my wicked way with you, but I know that I can't keep quiet when you make love to me and we can't be trusted to keep aware of our surroundings. Now they're here, I'm really glad we've got the A-team with us. More eyes to watch our backs, helping us. I wouldn't say I can relax now per se, but it's eased some of my anxiety."

I felt her chuckling vibrate against my chest. "Babe!"

She turned around and I could see her brilliant smile in the dim moon light. Secretly, I had been worried that she'd buried her civilian persona so deep she would never be able to pull her to the front again. But from the incessant wriggling against my groin, I needn't have worried.

We sat in silence, cataloging possible threats, keeping watch. Three hours after we had sent my men to sleep, we heard the bird cry again. A minute later TK and Jake stepped out of the thicket. As we were expecting them, no weapons were drawn.

"We followed the signal on the truck to another warehouse, about six miles down the dirt road. A gravel road ends there, didn't seem to get a lot of traffic. Jay and Nuk are up in a tree, keeping watch."

I nodded and sent them off to sleep. Who knew what tomorrow would bring, but for now I could enjoy having my woman in my arms for another hour.