Vortex (SAI Book 1) (12 page)

“Maybe next time,” Vivi remarked before she spun around and marched down the hall.

Joel could tell she was trying to hold on to her dignity, and she did a fine job. Maybe next time they could get rid of that dignity and replace it with some old-fashioned sexual satisfaction. It seemed that they could both use it. “Leave her be,” Joel said to the group.

Ben slapped him on the shoulder. “It’s about damn time.”

Dane stepped closer and shook his hand. “Thank God, you’re finally joining the living. It took too damn long.”

“Let me know when you two are done with your Dr. Phil moment, and then maybe we can discuss the crowd out on the street.”

“It’s not a crowd…it’s two crowds. Facing one another,” Ruby commented.

Joel glanced between the men and lifted his shoulders. “What the hell?”

“Exactly. It doesn’t look good out there. Let’s suit up and see what the hell is going on,” Dane replied.

It was going to be a long day, and it just went from bad to shitty. “Everyone wears vests,” Joel stated flatly. There were going to be bullets flying before the end of the day. There was no way around it.

His phone buzzed, and he answered quickly. “Yeah, it looks like it’s heating up. I have no idea what
it
is. But Dane and Ben just reported that we have two crowds on the street.”

Lifting his eyes, he glanced at Ben and received acknowledgment. “I’ll lock it down and then gear up,” Ben replied.

“Yeah…sorry. I was talking to Ben. He’s going to lock us down here and then climb on the roof and get us some intel. Do you have any air support available?” Trinity and Ruby stood in front of him, and he put up his finger. “Let me know what you have.” Sliding his phone off, he glanced up. “We are locking down for the day until we resolve the issue of the crowds outside.”

Ruby put her hands on her hips and tried to look stern. “We don’t know what that is all about. It could have nothing to do with us.”

“You’re right. But we’re not taking the chance. Can you get in touch with the company that’s transporting your shipment and see where they are? We are not accepting any deliveries today.”

“That’s it?” Trinity asked.

“That’s it,” Joel stated. “There is no way that we’re putting anyone at risk. That includes you girls and any patients that show up. Something is happening, and I’m not taking a chance.”

Dane came down the hallway with their gear bags and dropped them down in front of the women. “Fun and games are over. It’s time for us to do our job and clean this mess up and keep the body count as low as we can.”

Ben returned from the front and stood next to Joel and Dane. “Sorry, ladies. Shit just got real.” He lifted a bag and swung it over his shoulder and walked into an exam room to gear up. “Showtime.”

Ruby walked in after him. “You better not let something happen. I just found you, and I’m not letting you go. Do you understand?”

Smiling as he strapped his vest on, he bobbed his head. “I know, sweetheart.” He pulled his kit on and started checking his equipment. “We’re going to do that thing we did this morning…again tonight.” Winking, he added another round to his front pocket. “I’m a highly motivated individual. I have a whole lot to live for, and I don’t plan on ending this day with a bullet hole.”

Ruby nodded tightly. “I’m going to be awfully disappointed if you let that happen.”

The last thing Ben wanted was for Ruby to be disappointed or unhappy in any way. Everyone thought that Ruby was the one who found something, but the truth was…Ben was the one. He needed Ruby a lot more than she needed him. And there wasn’t going to be a day that passed that he was ever going to forget that. Ruby was the person who was going to save him, not the other way around. 

Dane dropped his bag next to Ben’s and started the process of getting kitted up. “So, I expect to be the best man at the wedding.”

Ben glanced up and smirked. “Start working on your toast, because it’s going to happen before you know it.”

Dane put out his fist, and they bumped. “I knew when I saved your ass last year that it was for a reason. It’s good to finally see what the reason was.”

Joel entered the room and started downloading intel. “Local uniforms will not be available for a couple of hours. The city is short-staffed, and they can’t spare officers for something that
might
happen.

“Ben, climb on the roof and be ready. Dane and I will head out and see what we’re dealing with. Let’s contain it until we get enough presence down here for backup. Gideon is working with the FBI to send some choppers, but we have no confirmation.”

“How is Vivi taking all this?” Ben asked, as he checked his MK-11. He adjusted the tension on the scope and glanced up.

Joel strapped his vest on and tightened it. “She is especially quiet and preparing for trauma surgery. If there is a GSW victim, then she can operate on them.”

“Scary quiet?” Dane asked.

“Probably. This isn’t how she saw this thing ending. All she wanted to do was have a neighborhood clinic,” Joel replied. “I wish like hell that I could make this happen for her. I just can’t see a way out of this.”

“Unfortunately, the tide has turned, and there is nothing that is going to make it change,” Ben added.

Joel nodded in acknowledgment. Sliding his kit over his shoulder, he let out a deep breath. He would give Vivi anything she wanted, but he didn’t see a way clear to make the clinic work and keep her out of danger. The best he could do was keep the body count low and do his best to make sure that there were no innocent casualties. What a shit show.

“Why is the FBI willing to add air support?” Dane asked. “This seems out of their jurisdiction.”

“They want to question the gangs about the connection to the larger crews. They don’t care about the turf war down here; they care about the intel. What’s happening right now gives them probable cause to question the participants. Without a lot of paperwork.”

“Makes sense,” Ben replied.

***

Joel and Dane stood at the back door, and Joel checked their coms. “Check in, Ben. How does it look up there?”

“The groups have remained the same size for the last fifteen minutes. The gangs here don’t wear color. So I can’t tell the difference between the Fischer Fools and Hot Block. Not that it much matters.”

“How many do we have in each group?” Dane asked.

Ben peered through his binoculars and did a rough count. “Between twelve and fifteen on each side. Maybe they’re going after one another and we just happen to be in a bad location.”

“I don’t think we’re going to be that lucky,” Joel replied.

Vivi strode up to the men with the phone in her hand. “Gideon called and told me that they have some Feds on the way over. He asked you all to hold your fire for as long as you could.”

“Thanks, honey.”

“Maybe they have nothing planned and they’re just having a meeting.” Vivi held up her hands. “It’s possible.”

“But not probable,” Joel replied. “There are good guys and there are bad guys. It’s not that complicated.”

“Maybe your presence out there is going to rile them up. It could make it worse,” Vivi stammered.

“Showing people what the consequences are for their bad choices is never going to make it worse. Those people want something, and it’s probably the drug shipment that was due this afternoon.” Shifting his kit, he took her hand. “Who knows, and quite frankly, who cares? If they’re putting you girls at risk as well as my team members, then I don’t second-guess,” Joel responded.

Dane adjusted his gun on his shoulder and watched Trinity walk up to the group. “When we first went over to Anbar, we were stationed at a combat outpost in Habbaniyah. The Sunni fighters had been running around the area with three-prong mortar tubes mounted on the beds of Toyota trucks. Those trucks were scooting around western Iraq like homicidal go-karts. We were getting hit with mortar rounds inside the compound.

“Until we did something about it. Within twenty-four hours, Joel had a Team together, and sixteen of us strolled down the streets in the pockmarked outskirts of Habbaniyah. I won’t relive the battle we had, but suffice to say, we changed the conversation that day. We redefined the battlespace and let everyone know that there was a new group of predators in town. That day, we began to shift the momentum.”

“We are shifting the conversation today and letting those folks out there know that your clinic is off limits. That’s all,” Joel stated. “A little shock and awe is all we’re doing. If we have to do more, then we will.”

Trinity waved her hand in front of them. “So all the gear you’re loaded up with is just for show?”

“Oh, no. We’re going to use it,” Dane replied happily.

“Natives are getting restless,” Ben said into his mic. “A couple of the men are carrying automatic weapons, so this should be interesting.”

Joel switched his cap around and grinned at Dane. “Let’s go see what this is all about.” Leaning over, he kissed Vivi on the cheek and winked. “Can you call Gideon and tell him to let the Feds know that the folks out there have automatic weapons?”

“You all look like you’re about to have the time of your life. Not face two gangs,” Trinity commented.

“We’ve trained for this. Nothing better than solving a problem before lunchtime,” Dane said over his shoulder, as he and Joel strolled out into the bright morning light.

“Shit on a shingle,” Vivi murmured as she watched them both move down the street.

***

“I’ll take the group on the left, and you can have those nice folks on the right,” Joel commanded. “Coms open. Let’s see if we can get these people a little less interested in the clinic today.”

“I think these assholes are out here for a show of power. They’re telling the other group that they’re staking a claim in no uncertain terms,” Dane replied. “How can Vivi stock enough prescription drugs to have this many people interested?”

“When we were in the meeting the other day with the Feds, they said that it’s about power for the local gangs. Claiming territory is what it’s all about.”

“If you all are done with your little chat, then I suggest you hustle your asses down the street. It looks like the groups are disagreeing about how to approach this thing. I see men facing off with each other in both groups.”

“Thanks, Ben.” Joel slid his gaze over to Dane and grinned. “Let’s go have some fun.” They both broke out into a slow jog in opposite directions.

Joel had a flash bang grenade in his hand and was planning on using it to get the crowd under control if he needed to. After that, he could throw a frag over their heads and have it explode behind them. It was the best way to have them move on without pulling out his gun. There was no way to win a gunfight, and he didn’t plan on dragging any bodies into the clinic to be stitched up. That would put Vivi in a bad mood, and he wasn’t interested in that. Approaching from the side, he held the grenade in his hand and used his commander’s voice. “So, what are the plans today, gentlemen?”

A man who was standing at the front stared at him and then flipped him off. “Who the hell are you? Fucking Rambo?”

“No…better. A fucking SEAL.” Standing at his full height, he held his gun loosely in one hand and a flash bang in the other. He was in all black and fully kitted out. His demeanor was relaxed, and he spoke to the group as if he was at a ballgame. Calm and cool. Because that’s what he felt, this was his wheelhouse, and there wasn’t a thing that could rattle him. “Are you gentlemen planning a party?”

“Yeah, man. That’s what we’re doin’.” Laughing, the man slid a glance over the group assembled behind him. “What the hell do you care?”

“My girlfriend’s clinic is over there, and I want to make sure that she doesn’t have any trouble. When she has a bad day, it turns into my bad day. I don’t feel like having one today, so I decided to stop whatever shit you have planned before it gets started. If Viv has to stich some of you assholes up, then she isn’t going to be happy. I like it when she’s happy.” There was a small round of laughter from the group. “I don’t care what war you guys have going on. In fact, it’s none of my damn business. What I do care about is what happens to the clinic.”

“Her clinic is under dispute, and we are here to settle the argument once and for all,” the man answered. “Fischer Fools own this block.”

“There is nothing left to own. The shipment of prescription drugs isn’t coming today. Or any other day.” Sliding his Beretta out of the holster, he lifted it slowly and pointed it over his right shoulder. There was a man in the middle of the crowd who had a gun pointed at his chest. “Put it down now,” he commanded slowly. His gaze continued to hold that of the man he had been speaking with earlier. “I say it once, and that’s it.” He heard the clear signal in his ear and slid his eyes over to the man who was lowering the gun. “Next time, you don’t get a warning.”

“You have fucking eyes on the side of your head?” the man asked, as he slid his gun into the back of his pants.

“No, I have a guy on over watch. He has his gun pointed at your head, and he never misses. I’m sure you’ve heard about the snipers from the Teams. Well, there is one on a roof, and he has you in his sights.”

“What the hell, man? This is Algiers, not fucking Iraq. You can’t come in here and play war games in our hood.”

The crowd started to move around and become agitated, and Joel had about a minute before they talked themselves into some stupidity. “I don’t care what happens here. I care what happens to the clinic. It’s probably going to shut down. So when your family needs to see a doctor and they can’t afford it, you can thank yourselves.” Shaking his head, he studied the men. “The clinic will never have prescription drugs again, so when your grandmother needs something and she can’t get it, comfort yourselves with knowing that you made it possible.”

“Fuck you,” someone from the back shouted.

“I didn’t make this, you did. Somehow the Feds and DEA are involved because someone from your hood invited in outsiders. They are going to be crawling up your asses in about fifteen minutes, so if you don’t feel like being part of the party, then I suggest you go home.”