Black Smoke (7 page)

No matter how bad a person, she felt she didn’t have the right to take a life. It had only happened once and it took her months to deal with it.

Once her packing was complete, she looked at the clock and saw she had an hour before she needed to leave. Lying back on the bed she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer that all would go well and that they would all return home unharmed. That done, she lay quietly for a few moments more then spoke.

“Why does this feel so different from all my other missions?” she asked aloud.

Because it is,
came the reply in the soft whisper.

Why?
Sam questioned.

You will bring home much more than you expect this time.

I don’t understand
, Sam said inside her head.

I cannot tell you more than that. If I do, I will be taking away your free will. You must make your own decisions from here on. It is only my place to direct you to the proper people.

Will you still help me on the mission? Help me keep my team safe?
Sam questioned.

Of course Samantha, I will always guide you away from harm.

Thank you,
she said, then relaxed into a light sleep. There were many nights when she was growing up that she lay in bed and talked with her whisper. It had taught her about free will and what it meant. Everyone was free to make their own decisions in life, whether they were good or bad decisions. Even though her guide directed her on missions it was ultimately Sam’s choice to take a life or not. The one time she did her whisper consoled her nightly, telling her that on some rare occasions a life had to be taken to save another.

Sam didn’t care. It still tore at her soul that she had done such a horrible thing. But every time she ran through it in her mind she saw no way of getting around it. Once Sam asked how God felt about soldiers who took lives. She was told not to worry about it, that those she had worked with and who took a life were judged based on their own decisions. Sam understood what she was being told, but still could not justify her own actions.

As the clocked ticked off the time, Sam rested peacefully. While she slept, a bright white light came down through the ceiling in her room and washed over her body. It lingered for a few moments covering her from head to toe. When it was time for her to wake the light rose back to the ceiling and disappeared. Sam opened her eyes feeling a sense of warmth and love deep inside. Her body felt renewed and ready for the task that lay ahead of her.

With this renewed energy she dressed in her black clothes and left the house. Somehow she knew things would be okay. No matter what happened over the next few days, everything would be just fine. She climbed into her Mustang with a smile and headed off to work.

Ricochet, Boomer and Kong were standing with her Uncle Walt when she arrived at the air strip. One look at Kong made her tranquil feelings dissipate into the early evening air. She scolded herself for letting this man affect her the way he did. With her head held high she marched directly toward the group.

“Sam,” Walt said smiling at her. “Is there anything else you need before you take off?”

“No, I have everything. Thanks,” she replied.

Kong watched the two of them, there was true affection between them. Was he her father, brother, or lover? Kong figured by the time the op was over, he’d find out. The sound of the plane landing drew his attention away from them.

Once it landed Walt shook the hands of the three men and wished them luck. When he was sure they were aboard the plane, he turned to Sam and brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “Be careful honey and come home to me.”

“I will Uncle Walt. I love you,” Sam said, then reached up and hugged him hard.

Kong peered around the open door and watched as Sam hugged him. That feeling of jealousy washed through him again. Aggravated with himself both for spying and for his feelings, he marched back into the plane, tossed his pack onto the floor and flopped in a seat. Boomer and Ricochet looked at him, then at each other. Kong’s actions since finding out who their temporary teammate was baffled them.

Sam entered the plane, stowed her pack and took a seat by Boomer and Ricochet. She glanced over at Kong and saw he had his eyes pinned directly to the seat in front of him. Nothing was said for the first two hours of the flight. It seemed they all needed the time to mentally prepare themselves for what lay ahead.

When the plane landed they were escorted to a cargo plane that would take them the rest of the way to Afghanistan. This ride would be noisy and incredibly uncomfortable. Once they were all aboard it only took moments until the plane took off. Sam sat between Ricochet and Boomer, while Kong sat across from her on a crate. He had yet to say anything to her at all.

“Hey Ricochet,” she shouted over the noise of the plane. “I’ve always been fascinated with how you guys get your nicknames, how’d you get yours?”

Ricochet laughed, “Well I’ll tell ya. When I first started in special ops I went on a ‘job’ in a country that if I told you about, I’d have to kill you.”

Sam laughed, she knew what he was telling her and it was fine with her if he didn’t tell her the details.

“Anyway, we needed to take out a target that had been doing his own version of genocide. I was hunkered down on my belly in this little gully and had him in my sights, fired and the damn bullet ricocheted off his car and came right back at me. Little did I know that right behind me, on his knees, was one of his own men pointing a gun directly at the back my lovely black head. Now, didn’t that bullet come straight back and nail him right between the eyes.” Ricochet let out a loud ha ha laugh and shook his head. “Guess it was my lucky day.”

Sam couldn’t help but smile, she knew luck had nothing to do with it. His own guide had saved his life that day. And someday, he’d realize it. “Did you get your target?” she asked.

“Sure did. I managed to fire another round when I saw what was happening. Been called Ricochet ever since.”

“How about you Boomer, how’d you get your name?” She asked.

Boomer smiled, his face lighting up that she asked. “I like explosives. Even when I was a kid I ran around with firecrackers, strapping them to plastic rockets and cars and blowing them up. It was only natural that I got into it in the Army. My parents started calling me Boomer when I was a kid, it just stuck.”

Sam didn’t know whether to be charmed or scared. If he had taken a different path in life, she could possibly be hunting him instead of working with him. She sent a silent prayer of thanks to his guide that he’d chosen his path wisely.

When Sam looked over at Kong, he was looking right at her. He had no intention of telling how he got his nickname, she could read it in his face. So she turned to Ricochet and asked him.

Ricochet snickered, “In our early days in special ops we had this tradition of going out and getting shit-faced after we returned from a ‘job’. One night we were all at a bar, loaded, when a bunch of groupies came strolling in.”

“That’s enough Ricochet,” Kong grumbled.

Ricochet wasn’t deterred, he continued. “Our boy here took a shine to one. Spent the next hour getting her liquored up. Next thing we know the two of em are headed out the door. Guess they couldn’t wait to get to a hotel cuz the next thing we hear is her screaming at the top of her lungs, ‘King Kong, King Kong.’ The rest of us nearly peed our pants laughing.”

Kong threw a rolled-up piece of paper at him then called him a nasty name. Ricochet took it in his stride. “He don’t like that story.”

“Tell me,” Sam asked. “Does that refer to your stature, or the size of your package?”

Boomer and Ricochet busted out laughing, Sam joined in. She could picture a younger version of the lieutenant getting it on with a dim-witted woman screaming at the top of her lungs. From the strained look on Kong’s face, he was trying very hard not to laugh with them.

“I haven’t been able to shake the name or the story ever since. Thanks to the mouth here,” Kong said throwing another piece of paper at Ricochet. Kong was relieved that Sam was laughing about the story. He was afraid she’d think less of him than she already did.

They all continued to laugh for a few more minutes, then everyone went quiet again. They still had a long trip ahead of them and this silence was going to drive Sam nuts. She searched her mind for topics to pass the time, but she really didn’t know much about them so she couldn’t come up with anything.

Ask about their families.

Some people don’t like to talk about their families
, she replied inside her head.

Sometimes people need to share.

Sam rolled her eyes. Okay, she thought, she’d give it a shot. “Do you have any family Ricochet?”

“Oh yes I do, I do. My moms and my sister. My moms raised me and my sister by herself. She worked two jobs six days a week. On Sundays she spent the day with us, took us to the park and when she could afford it, to the movies,” he told her proudly.

“She sounds like a remarkable woman,” Sam said smiling.

“You bet your life. We didn’t have much but we had each other. Moms made sure my grades stayed high. She wanted more for me than living in the projects like we was. When I finally graduated from high school, I went down to the local recruiting office and signed up. Moms was proud. She figured in the service I’d get three square meals a day and stay outta trouble.”

“What about your sister?”

“She graduated two years ago. She’s goin’ to nursing school. Says when she gets a job and some money saved up, she’s moving moms outta the projects. I send money home each week for her to put away in an account to help her with that goal.”

Sam was humbled by his story. Just looking at him you only saw the military man. But deep inside was a more complicated man. She figured if she dug much deeper she’d find someone who wanted to become president.

“What about you Boomer?” she asked.

“My dad lives in Ohio. He owns a hardware store. I have a brother too. He’s five years younger than I am. My mom died after she gave birth to him, so my dad raised us alone. When my brother turned ten he got a real bad fever and spent a week in the hospital. When he came home, he was deaf. My dad didn’t know how to deal with a deaf kid so I took him to sign language classes and we learned together. I tried to teach my dad too, but he refused to learn,” Boomer explained.

Sam felt deep sorrow for Boomer. He hadn’t had it easy growing up either. “What does your brother do now?”

“He teaches in a school for the deaf. He’s good too. Was voted teacher of the year twice.” The look of pride on his face eased the sorrow in Sam’s heart.

When she looked at Kong, he was staring at her, daring her to ask him. So she did. “Tell me about your family.”

Kong leaned forward. “Unlike some, I didn’t grow up in the perfect two storey house. I grew up in trailer parks all over North Carolina. My mother was drunk and drugged up most of the time. My father was the local dealer and hauled women in and out of the trailer on a regular basis. One night neither of them came home. A social worker showed up and took me off. I spent the rest of my childhood being shuffled from foster home to foster home. When I turned eighteen, I joined. The rest is history.” When he finished, he leaned back against the crate, waiting for her reply.

Sam crawled over to him and leaned into his face. “I don’t have any parents either. They died when I was eight,” she said into his face. Then sat back in her spot between Ricochet and Boomer.

Chapter Six

Kong spent the next hour trying to piece her story together. Cannon had told them she started her training when she was eight. She just told him her parents died when she was eight. That meant Cannon wasn’t her father. That left either her brother or her lover. And what would make an eight-year-old start extensive training? There was much more to this woman than met the eye.

After an hour of sitting in the same position, Sam started getting bored. She rose and stepped over Boomer who was fast asleep, along with Ricochet. When she glanced over at Kong, she saw his eyes were closed too. Sam knew she should be trying to sleep herself, but she needed to stretch first.

She walked to the rear of the plane and started doing some stretches to loosen her muscles. When she finished she found some free space on the floor and lay down. When she closed her eyes, it only took her moments to fall asleep. Only this time she didn’t rest easily. Her dream came back with a fierceness she hadn’t experienced since she was a child. The dream started out the same, the sound of the wind chimes, the peaceful feeling. Then came the sound of men entering her home. This time everything was real. Too real. She could smell the night air, hear the words that were being shouted. She actually felt her hair being pulled by the man with the marking on his wrist. She felt the ropes as he tied her to the chair and saw a man raping her mother while the door was open.

Kong opened his eyes when he heard her whimper. He sat a few moments waiting, listening. When she began to get louder, he rose and saw her lying on the floor thrashing around, mumbling in her sleep. He watched for a few moments debating whether or not to wake her. But the pain he saw in her face tore at him. He made his way over to her and crouched down beside her.