Second Chance, the next book in my Griffin Force series, is coming out in just over two weeks and I'm so excited to share the first chapter with you today. This book has been such a labor of love. I can't wait to hear what you think of it!
Chapter One
Copyrighted Material
All Rights Reserved
Augie Taylor had
criss-crossed the world with Griffin Force chasing terrorists, but this would
be his first time in Libya---well, it would be if they actually made it out of
Libyan airspace and onto Libyan soil.
He peered out of
the tiny airplane window, but he couldn’t see much. A few flares were the only
light on the ground to guide the pilot of their six-seater plane. There
appeared to be some sort of struggle between the pilot and the elements,
though, since the airplane was catching air and getting farther away from the
lights instead of closer to them. Were they going to overshoot the landing
zone? His stomach twisted into knots and he thought he might throw up. Don’t
think about it.
He took a deep breath
and tried reciting Abel’s Binomial theorem to himself. Anything to distract him
from thinking about the statistic that almost half of fatal crashes happened on
final descent or landing.
Nate reached
across the aisle and patted him on the arm. “Try to relax."
Augie gave him a
smile, hoping it didn’t look as weak as he felt. The plane bobbed a bit more
and Augie gripped his armrests. “Abby, what did you say your contact’s name
was?" Maybe if he concentrated on the reason he was going to Libya, he
could take his mind off of the nausea roiling through him.
She glanced back,
her eyes full of sympathy. “Malek. He’s meeting us as soon as we land. We'll be
at the safe house in no time.” The plane took a final lurch before it touched
down and rumbled over the uneven ground of the field. "See? We made
it," Abby said, grinning over at him.
Augie took a
breath. “Sure did.” When the plane finally stopped, he nearly jumped from his
seat. Grabbing his laptop bag from the floor, he straightened. The doors
weren’t open yet, but standing in a stationary plane felt much better. Colt was
stretching in the seats near the front and hadn’t noticed Augie’s distress.
That was the only good thing about sitting near the back. He didn’t want Colt
to think there were situations he couldn’t handle in the field.
Colt,
Abby, and Nate were first to exit the plane. They all quickly walked to the front
and helped offload their bags and equipment. When they were finished, the group
moved back as the pilot readied to take off again. Augie watched him go, the
plane climbing higher into the sky before disappearing into the night. They
were safely on the ground. Sort of. How safe was anyone in Libya, really?
The
others had already begun walking toward the van that shone its headlights at
the edge of the field. Augie caught up and kept pace with Abby. “I’ve been
monitoring all the usual channels, but so far no new chatter on Atwah.”
“I
think we would have heard whispers if he'd left Libya," she said. “But my
contact will have the latest.”
They
walked toward the man who was leaning against the hood of a small van, his arms
folded. Dents marred the van’s front bumper and, if Augie had to guess, it
hadn’t been washed in at least a year. There was barely enough clean space for
the driver to see out of the windshield. But it was hard to tell anything more when
there were only headlights, the moon, and dying flares penetrating the darkness.
Abby
held out her hand. “Malek, it’s been too long.”
He took her hand
and bowed over it slightly. “We have much to discuss, but we can’t linger here.
Let’s get you to the safehouse.”
She nodded and
Nate opened the van’s sliding door. It was then that Augie noticed the driver,
a young man wearing a long white shirt and vest, as well as a keffiyeh. He met
Augie’s eyes for just a moment before he looked away. Augie got into the van
and sat down on a stained and torn seat right behind the driver. The faint
smell of old gunpowder filled his nose. This van had seen some action at one
time or another. Juggling his laptop bag on his legs, he shut the door.
Malek
and the driver spoke quietly to each other in Arabic before the van started up
and got moving. The driver’s voice had an odd timbre, like he’d been caught
between puberty and manhood. Not low, but not high, either. He kept glancing at
Abby, too. What was that about? Augie watched the back of the driver’s head,
wishing he had a view of the guy’s face. Maybe he should run a background check
on him. Abby knew Malek, but how much did she know about the driver?
Filing
that on his mental to-do list, Augie turned to watch the shadowy scenery
flashing past him. They’d made it to a paved road with soft edges broken by a
few trees. It didn’t take long until they were passing storefronts, most that
were little more than a shell with a wall or two surrounded by rubble.
“Are we in
Benghazi?” Augie asked, leaning forward.
Malek
turned slightly. “Yes. I have a safehouse here that gets electricity several
times a day. And I’ve rigged up an old satellite dish and a generator in such a
way that we can get some reliable internet.”
Augie had been told
of the outages and spotty internet, but had hoped his intel was wrong. He was
used to having the internet at his fingertips anytime he needed it on an op,
but this one was going to be old school. They’d all have to rely on their field
skills more than ever.
The driver pulled
up in front of a small unit that looked like a gated garage. Houses on either
side of it looked deserted and had several large gouge marks, as if the
buildings had survived small mortar fire.
"Here we are,” the driver announced,
turning to look at Abby once more. She nodded and opened the door on her side.
Augie did the same and waited for Colt and Nate to get out as well.
Malek led the way
up the small walk and unlocked the gate. He seemed in a hurry to get inside and
ushered them all through the front door before walking inside himself and turning
on the light. They were in a small living room with three large wooden chairs
and a worn sofa against one wall. The driver kept moving to the window, pulling
back the heavy curtain slightly to look out. Was he making sure no one saw
them?
“It's not much,
but it will have to do." Malek shrugged and turned to Abby. “I know you’re
probably tired, and since there’s only a few hours until sunrise, I’ll come
back once you’ve rested a bit and we can discuss why you’re here.”
Augie
was listening to what was being said, but he was more focused on the driver.
He’d come away from the window and arranged it so he was in the corner with a
good vantage point for watching everyone, yet in the shadows where he might not
be noticed. He was acting so strangely, it made Augie suspicious. He walked
over and stood near him, trying to get a read on what he might be after. Could
he be trusted? Should Augie say anything to Colt?
Abby shifted
closer to Malek. “Thank you. For the safehouse and for getting us into the
country. This mission is time-sensitive and with all the military checkpoints
and curfews across Libya, we couldn’t have gotten here in time without your
help.” Abby looked at Colt. “Before you go, I’d like to introduce you to
Captain Colt Mitchell. He’s the head of Griffin Force.”
Malek nodded toward
Colt, but quickly returned his gaze to Abby. “I’m sorry to be so blunt, but
this is a very delicate time for our country. We have the opportunity to build
a peace accord between General Saleh and Prime Minister al-Masli. Having
foreign operations going on while we prepare is very dangerous. For you and
us. I need to know what is going on.” He flicked his glance to Colt. “Tomorrow,
as we agreed. And then you can leave as quickly and quietly as you came.”
Colt walked over
to stand in front of Malek. “I understand what you’re saying. And I support the
peace talks. But we have reason to believe Atwah is in Libya. If that’s true,
Atwah will do all he can to destroy any steps toward peace.”
Malek immediately
shook his head. “No. Atwah is not here. General Saleh would have been informed.”
“Maybe he was
informed and didn’t choose to loop you in.” Colt glanced at Abby before
returning his gaze to Malek. “How close are you to the general?”
“I’m one of his
advisors.” Malek rubbed a hand over his face. He lifted a hand and motioned to
the driver. “And by way of my own introductions, this is Rian Dahmani. He’s a
runner for the Libyan National Armed Forces, but moonlights for anyone who can
pay. Not much happens in Benghazi without Rian knowing about it.”
Rian bowed as
well. “Thank you. I’m happy to help with whatever you need while you’re in
Benghazi.”
Augie was
fascinated by the man’s accent and couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer.
"Where are you from?” he asked, trying to keep his tone casual. “I can’t
place your accent.”
The
driver glanced at him, but didn’t answer. Abby stood and put her hand on
Augie’s shoulder. "I think we’re all tired. Before we break for the night,
can you go see what kind of internet connection we can expect? The sooner we
get our communications set up, the better."
Augie
frowned. Something was going on with the driver. He didn’t know what it was,
but he was determined to find out. He’d let it go for now, though.
“Okay," he
said. He walked back the twenty paces to grab the duffel bag that held all
their electronic equipment. "Which room is the best place to set up in?”
He looked at Malek.
“The
back bedroom closest to the satellite dish.” Malek glanced at Rian. “Go with
him and show him the way. Then we’ll head out.”
Rian obeyed,
walking past Augie and continuing on down the hall. He was wearing the
traditional long white shirt and baggy pants and moved quickly, like a cat.
Augie quickened his step, adjusting his hold on the duffel.
The back bedroom
was a small square room with two barracks-style cots, a chest of drawers with
one drawer missing, and a wooden table near a window. The window was covered
with a heavy blanket, making the gray walls seem even more shadowy. Rian showed
him where the electrical outlets were and how to connect to the system they’d
jerry-rigged to get internet. It didn’t take Augie long to have everything set
up.
“How did you figure
out how to get internet service that wasn’t state-controlled?” Augie kept his
voice casual. He wanted to know more about this driver so he’d have something
to go on when he did a background check.
“Malek is actually
very talented in that area.” Rian stood back a step to look at the table where
the monitors and laptops were all buzzing to life. “Looks like you know what
you’re doing as well.”
“How did you meet
Malek?” Augie did a few checks of the bandwidth and strength of signal.
Everything looked great, considering the position they were in of not having
the normal infrastructure for internet.
“We’ve both been
involved with the resistance from the beginning.” Rian started to move toward
the door, but Augie stepped in front of him.
“You look a little
young to have been part of the resistance for the last decade.” Augie waited
until Rian met his eyes. “Were you recruited to the cause or coerced?”
Rian’s jaw
clenched and he glared up at him. “Do you think to rescue me? You know nothing
of what is going on in my country or what we need.” He pulled away and stalked
to the door. “You would do well to keep your opinions to yourself.”
“Is that a
threat?” Augie met him at the door, anger bubbling in his chest. “Who are you,
really? Because I think you’re hiding something.”
If Augie hadn’t
been so close, he wouldn’t have noticed Rian’s quick intake of breath, as if his
words had hit a nerve. Rian recovered quickly, though, and lifted his chin. “Be
very careful. One whisper from me into the right ears and you might find
yourself in a situation you and your men won’t like.” His words were soft, yet
deadly.
Augie leaned in,
using the two inches of height advantage he had. “Should we talk to Malek or
Abby about that? Do they know how easy you would find it to betray us?”
“What’s going on
here?” Colt’s voice cut the tension that had built between them. Augie stepped
back. He clenched his fists and kept an eye on Rian. He knew the guy was hiding
something. His body language was screaming it. But he had to be careful.
“Nothing’s going
on. I was just getting to know Rian better.” Augie lifted his brows, daring
Rian to contradict him.
Rian said nothing
and pushed past Colt, heading back to the living room.
Colt watched him
go, then stood in front of Augie. “That didn’t look like nothing.”
Augie waved a hand.
“Something’s off with that kid. He’s hiding something and I’m going to find out
what it is.”
Colt rubbed his
chin. “You think we can’t trust him?”
“That’s exactly
what I think.” Augie glanced at the door, then lowered his voice. “He said that
one whisper from him could put us in a situation we wouldn’t like.”
“What brought that
on?” Colt moved past Augie and put his duffel on a cot.
“I asked if he was
recruited to the cause or coerced.” Augie held up a hand. “I just want a little
more information on this guy so I can do a background check.”
“I’ve never seen
you react so strongly to anyone.” He furrowed his brows. “We’ll keep an eye on
him and I’ll mention your concerns to Abby. Maybe Malek could give us some
background on the kid.”
Augie nodded. “We
did manage to get our communications set up. And there’s a small generator in
the house that we can use in case of an emergency and the electricity is out.”
“That’s good to
know.” Colt walked back to the door. “We’ve got a lot of work to do on this op if
we’re going to capture Atwah.”
The sick feeling
Augie had been fighting on the plane returned. They needed everyone on deck and
all the skill and luck they could muster if they were going to catch Atwah. And
they didn’t need a little driver with no loyalty to ruin all of that.
Augie couldn’t let
that happen. He was going to be watching Rian carefully. The kid wouldn’t have
the chance to betray them if Augie had anything to say about it. And that was a
promise.
