“Bien sûr.” Quick and efficient, JP started on his right, pointing to each person as he went. “First, I present to you, Junior. Don’t stand too close to him. He stinks, and he’s new.”
“Aw, come on, JP. I don’t fucking smell, and I’ve been on the team for two years already.”
“Don’t be such a bébé. New is new. Next, we have our sniper, Shadow. If you see him. You’re already mort. Dead. Pas de question. Also, tier one assaulters, Le Roc, Renard Rouge—we call him dat because he has the red hair—and we never know where the fox he’s at. Au suivant, next up, is Greenie.”
The bearded man standing next to Cody huffed, adjusted the rifle slung over his chest, and shook his head. “It’s Greely, dickhead. It’s been Greely for eight years. Be nice if you got it right for once.”
“Pfft.” JP grinned, and flapping his hand in dismissal, he turned his attention to another man occupying a spot in the circle of trust. “Voilà, our munitions maestro, Pyro. Don’t be around when he’s blowing shit. Because again, mort.” He slid his thumb across his throat, and the explosives tech rolled his eyes.
“It’s not blow shit, you French motherfucker. It’s blow shit up.” Pyro made an exploding bomb gesture with both hands. At the same time, Renard executed a blowing dick gesture with puckered lips and a fast-moving fist.
Undaunted by the growing dissent from his team, JP pointed to the woman next. “Notre dame de vol, Ryder. She’s the best of the best in aerial acrobatics, eh.”
“Our lady of flight?” Chase echoed, his head cocking to the side as he focused his attention on the pilot. “Canadian call sign Ryder?”
“That’s me,” she replied.
“The same Ryder who, despite a US military directive to stand down, single-handedly executed an extraction maneuver to rescue seven members of SEAL Team Six after their helicopter was shot down in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan?” Chase asked.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Magoo. That’s classified information. I can neither confirm nor deny the American cluster fuck of events you describe.”
He dipped his chin and grinned. “So, you’re the one.”
She nodded a sharp gesture of acknowledgment. “I’m the one. You got a problem with me, CO Mac?”
“Not at all.” He stepped forward, his arm extended. “One of the assaulters you rescued is a good buddy of mine. I just wanted to shake your hand and say thanks.” They clasped palms and shook.
“No big. I was in the area on a training exercise.” She held up her hands to make air quotes around training.
“Hell of a risk you took.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “Worth it, sir.”
“Shaw’s wife and two kids would agree with you there.”
“Shaw? Wasn’t he the one bleeding out from the metal fragments in his spleen and a compound fracture of his left femur?”
“Yeah, you saved his life and his leg. He never made it back to his SEAL team, but he’s fucking grateful for what you did.”
“Well, glad I could help.” She pulled her scarf down under her chin. “Tell him I said he’s a terrible patient and an even worse passenger.”
“Wasn’t he unconscious the entire time?”
“That he was.” She grinned, her bright smile stunning amidst the rough faces of her teammates. “I thought he was dead right up until we landed at Bala Hissar in Kabul.”
Chase laughed. “Pretty sure he thought so too. He’s a smoke jumper stationed out of Oregon now. I’ll let him know you called him a pussy, that’ll make his day.”
“A smoke jumper? Couldn’t stay on solid ground, huh? Bet his wife was thrilled with his new career choice.”
“Yeah, let’s just say, he’s lucky to still be alive.”
“Aren’t we all?” Renard mumbled, fumbling for the cross he wore on a thick chain around his neck. When he had the gold crucifix pinched between his fingers, he lifted the religious symbol and pressed it to his lips. Probably a pre-deployment habit he’d developed over the years.
“D’accord.” JP clapped his hands together like a kindergarten teacher signaling the end of story time. “C’est tout le monde. That’s everybody. Let’s begin the planning now. Yes?”
“You forgot the Toms,” Junior mumbled, gesturing toward the man across from him.
“He always forgets the Toms,” Le Roc added as the side door burst open and a snow-crusted behemoth hitched his way inside.
