Page 86 of Acting on Instinct
Five and a half hours. That should be plenty of time, Ty reasoned.
When Delta Force was first a concept, the commanders were looking for places where they could build expertise and excel. At a time when hijackers were frequently in the news, Delta Force became the world's preeminent authority on confined-space tactics on planes.
If Kira were on a plane, Echo could get her off safely.
That is, if Spain would let them do their work.
“Hey Lynx, Gator,” Ty said gruffly, “I want to thank you for going above and beyond for Kira and me.”
“Brother,” Gator said. “That’s not above and beyond. We protect our own, and now that you’re part of the Iniquus family, so is Kira. You know how that works.”
Ty was missing something. “You’ve lost me.”
“I talked to General Elliot about Ty a couple of days ago. Ty may not know yet. It was just sent,” Lynx said softly off to the side.
“When was it signed?” Gator asked her.
“Thursday,” Lynx said, then her voice grew louder as she focused her words into the phone. “Ty, your Iniquus contracts should have been at your house Saturday.”
“Hell of a way to find out, brother,” Gator said. “But welcome to Team Delta.”
“That’s amazing news. But I can’t celebrate until I have Kira safe.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ty
White, T-Rex, Ty, and Rory made their way back over to the van.
Hands on hips, Echo shuffled away from their targets to form a tight ring so they could be brought up to speed.
“Good news and bad news,” White said as Echo focused on her.
“Good news first,” Nitro said, “because I just had to kiss Phossy Jaw to get him back breathing, and there’s not enough whiskey in the world that’s going to numb that sensation. That shit’s going to seed my nightmares from here to kingdom come.”
“Above and beyond,” White said dryly. “I’ll see if we can’t get you a special accommodation for that act of valor.”
“The good news is that when Ty and Rory retire from the services in May,” T-Rex said, “they’ll both be hanging around the Cerberus Training Center.”
The team didn’t roar their approval; they were still on a mission. But fists were raised in the universal sign of victory, and mouths opened wide to show the silent huzzah.
Ty’s face was set in a warrior’s mask.
“What’s going on, Ty, you changed your mind?” Havoc asked.
White reached up to squeeze Ty’s bicep, a sign that she’d take control of the information rollout.
The team was stone-faced and focused as they learned what happened to Kira.
“We’ve got her, brother,” Nitro said. “This is what we do. We’re what two hours away on White’s plane? We’ve got our kit.We hook up with the airport officials and plan the best place to have the Davidson jet set down for public safety without drawing undue attention from the pilots. In. Out. Kira’s back in your arms.”
Ty nodded. He desperately wanted to believe that. But off the plane didn’t keep Kira safe. No one said what was on those audio files that Iniquus found and translated. Ty didn’t know why the FBI and CIA had decided to go to the State Department. This wasn’t a business transaction that might get exposed. This wasn’t a crime committed on foreign soil, which would be held tight to the intelligence department’s vest so they could apply force on the pressure points, causing enough pain that they had well-placed moles.
Uh-uh.
And the timing. The timing was problematic. Nadir hadn’t sought to figure this out over the almost two years that Kira had innocently been working on her project, and Fatima had left sleeping dogs lie.
Something changed.
