J Saint - Collateral Damage

"Son of a bitch, Rico. That hurt." The man's features registered in a flash and Jack hugged the man instead of putting a bullet in him.

"Damn, DT. My aim is off. That should have nailed your head."

Weston and Beck entered and slapped Rico on his good arm. Rico groaned in pain.

"Where are the boys? Angie?"

"Here. Angie, you can come out. The cavalry has arrived."

Jack turned to find the blessed sight of Matt and Mitch and Angie. All three looked frightened out of their minds. "Hey, kids. You ready to make some bad guys disappear?"

The boys gave a subdued nod. Man they were really wrung out.

Somebody else was with them.

"Who are you?"

"Friend of Bill's," Angie said. "Conrad Gardner."

Jack fought to keep his face neutral, still his skin crawled. So did his gut. This was the sick puppy whose house almost became his grave. "How did you get here?"

"Kidnapped after I escaped my burning boat. Tried to fight the man on the shore but he shot me." Gardner indicated his shoulder.

"Let's go then." Jack moved toward the boys.

"Nobody's going anywhere! They must die for their father's betrayal." Menendez/Miles ran into the room from the opposite hallway, gun raised and aimed right at Matt and Mitch.

"No!" Jack died a thousand deaths as he leaped toward the boys. Everything went in complete slow motion. Gardner dove away from the kids. Angie threw herself against the boys. Four shots were fired and pain ripped up Jack's back and hip as he landed on top of Angie and the twins.

"No!" Lauren screamed as she saw Menendez/Miles point a gun at her sons. She died in every thundering heartbeat that slammed through her as she ran and hit Menendez full force from behind. She was too late. Menendez had already shot Jack. Bullet holes riddled his back and a well of bright red blood spilled onto the carpet. She barely registered that Weston and Beck had guns pointed her way but jerked wildly up on them when Menendez fell to the ground. One of their shots must have fired because the glass dome overhead cracked.

A wild screeching came at Lauren and she twisted to see Menendez's chimp coming at her. All she could see was the man with his nose missing, Lauren ran. She jumped over a coffee table that sat in a grouping of furniture and managed to shove a chair between her and the animal when he caught hold of her wig. She pulled away, barely feeling the pins ripping at her roots.

"Get down!" Lauren heard Jack yell. Though it went against every logical thought to escape, Lauren dove for the ground, just waiting for the chimp to rip her scalp off. Inhuman hands grabbed her legs with super strength and pulled her back. She screamed.

Fighting for breath, Jack rolled off Angie and the crying boys onto his back. He saw Lauren dive for the floor. He barely registered that Rico was grappling with Menendez over a gun and that Weston and Beck were fighting three other guards hand-to-hand as he took aim at the chimp. The shot hit the chimp's shoulder and rang through the room. The chimp screeched in animal pain and let go of Lauren. It ran wildly toward a glass wall and then pushed through a framed panel, a pet door of sorts. It ran into the forest.

Menendez went insane. He broke free of Rico and ran toward the glass wall. Rico took aim at him as did Jack. They shot in tandem, but Menendez dove to the side. The bullets shattered a large glass panel and Menendez rushed through it, flying glass and all.

A second later ten men in complete tactical gear stormed the room. Christ, Jack thought, his heart sinking in dread.

"Hold your fire, mates."

Jack recognized Rashid McGuire's Scottish twang and it hit him. He sat up and looked at Rashid, who was pulling off his gas mask.

"You planned this all along," Jack said. "You didn't have enough evidence against Menendez to prove he was Menendez or the man in the yellow hat to raid, but if we went after him and found Collins's kids, who would take you to task for helping out?"

Rashid grinned. "I'll thank you later. Meanwhile, you all are under arrest. Got some hunting to do, but I'll see you stateside." Rashid and several other men followed Menendez into the rainforest.

Jack located Lauren. She had Matt and Mitch in her arms with Angie attached. She looked up at him and he nodded. A thousand words of relief, gratefulness and love were voiced in her expression. He didn't know what the fallout of everything would be but he did have something to say to the NCS SOO. The man was barreling his bald head through the room. Weston and Beck were being cuffed. Rico and Gardner were getting medical attention. Bullet wound to the hip and bruised ribs aching, Jack intercepted the man. Jack wasn't in the mood to play nice. "You take those kids out of her sight for even a second and I'm after you."

"Are you threatening a NCS official?"

"No, I'm making you a promise. She's not involved in any of this, but she's one hell of a smart woman and knew Collins on some level. If you play your hand right, she might be able to help you figure out the details and get you accolades as opposed to a demotion. So, remember, I'll be watching."

"How?" the man scoffed. "You're under arrest."

"My connection goes all the way to the White House, dickhead. You do her wrong and I guarantee you'll regret it before you die. Doubt me? Just watch. Inside of twenty-four the three of us will walk and there won't be a damn thing you can do."

The man gaped like a fish and Jack turned away, thinking there had to be a better man for the job.

He surrendered to the medical treatment and the cuffs and prayed like hell Weston's connection to the White House would prove Jack right. But then, the moment General Dekker got wind of their little venture, the White House might not be enough to save any of them.

Asheville, North Carolina

1800 hours, August 29th

Jack frowned at Bear Grylls on the TV wondering what was so great about the man's mug from the Man Versus Wild show to push Livy's button. One minute she was tapping her foot to go home then the second she saw Bear, she glued herself to the TV screen. Currently, Bear was giving a lesson in surviving in Central Africa's rainforest, and slumming with the monkeys. Jack didn't think Bear would be making friends with the chimps if he'd met Murderous George. But that thankfully wouldn't be happening. When Rashid McGuire found Menendez/Miles in the Peruvian rainforest after hunting for him all night, George was with him. The monkey had been attacked by a jaguar and hadn't survived. Menendez/Miles didn't even put up a fight, but had surrendered, requesting one thing-that George be buried in the jungle. He got his request.

The world was still reeling from Mendes/Miles and Bill Collins's actions. Further study into Bill Collins's records and email drafts revealed that Collins was in Lebanon to trade Ambassador James's and Prime Minister Shalev's daughters to Muhammad al Qassem for backing to manufacture the Biofuel. Jack supposed that was a step above killing them as Menendez/ Miles had ordered, but not much.

The White House had come through within an hour of the SOO putting him, Weston, Rico, and Beck under arrest. The SOO practically blew a gasket releasing them that quickly. Jack had smiled all the way to General Dekker's office, where he got the ass chewing of his life. He still stung from the dressing down, but in a good way. There'd been a look in the general's eye that said he wished he'd been there.

The rescue mission had been so different from Delta's usual assault into a hostile situation and Jack found himself thinking more and more about how non-lethal the takedown had played out. It had him wondering about starting a company that did what Lauren had needed. The right men to help at the right time. Men who were capable of lethal force if needed, but also men who could operate outside the military's constraints. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone yet. He, Rico, Pecos, and even Beck were still recovering from what went down in Lebanon. Rico and Pecos had surgeries coming up. Beck was planning to take some time off and Jack was pretty sure it had something to do with his guilt over Ambassador James's daughter. Shalev's daughter was still in a coma.