Today’s
excerpt is from Adios, Amigos, Book #9 of the nine-book Asps Series. Asps get new recruit. Enjoy and have a wonderful day.
m.j.
When Wendy and Ray arrived at the
restaurant, they were shown to a table, had ordered drinks, and were pondering the
menu when Bruce and Bonnie Edmonds walked in.
Bruce spotted Wendy before Wendy saw either of them. He led Bonnie to their table. As he approached, he asked, “Hi, General—mind
some company?”
Both Wendy and Ray stood up as Wendy
grinned. “Sure, grab a couple of
chairs.”
As everyone sat back down, Wendy made the
introductions. When their waiter
arrived, Bruce and Bonnie ordered drinks.
After they all placed their meal orders, they sipped their drinks as
they talked. Ray told a bit about
himself, which was much of what he had already told Wendy. When he finished, Bruce told Ray he was a
retired Army Sergeant Major, while Bonnie had been in the State Department
until she retired. Those bits of
information out of the way, Bruce looked at Wendy. “You looking for a new plane mechanic…or…?”
“Bruce Edmonds, you’re a rather nosey fellow
at times. As a matter of fact, the
thought had crossed my mind—especially since Ray is a plane mechanic. Ray—the plane I fly for my…er, boss—is a
C-130. He bought it from the
Government. You ever worked on one?”
“Nope.
Haven’t worked on a prop job in donkey’s years. But sorta like riding a bike, I guess. Been around a couple of 130s…they’re grand old
planes.”
Wendy looked at Bruce. “Can I?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Wendy swiveled her head toward Ray. “The 130 I fly is used by Bruce and his
team. Bruce is CIA. He and his team are tasked with chopping off
al-Qaida heads…primarily. They’re damned
good at it…work with some Brits from time to time. The fella we had—a Navy Machinist’s
Mate—working on the plane along with me and a couple of my crewmembers, got
killed a while back. May as well mention
this now—he and I were lovers. He was a
bunch younger than me. Also—just to not
have it sneak up on you, I just finished an affair with another member of the
team…also much younger than I am. You
think you might be interested in coming up to the ranch with me…maybe checking
out our operation—then perhaps joining in for a while? Gonna be a short-term deal, because the team
is gonna be disbanded by November…if not sooner.”
Ray smiled.
“Let me see if I got this straight.
You want me to up and quit a damn good-paying job—one I happen to
like—to come live and work with this CIA team for about five months, then be
back on the street looking for a job again?
About right?”
Wendy nodded. “Yeah, about.”
Ray asked, “If I say ‘no,’ how do you know I
can keep my trap shut about what is obviously a top secret deal?”
Bruce, with a tight smile on his face,
answered for Wendy, “Because if you don’t, I’ll kill you.”
Bonnie kicked Bruce under the table. “Ray, if Wendy and Bruce hadn’t already sized
you up as someone they could trust, Bruce wouldn’t have told Wendy to go ahead
with asking you to join our merry band of…I don’t know how to describe it. Though when my husband is acting the fool,
‘band of idiots’ might serve.”
Ray looked at Wendy. “Was this afternoon part of the recruitment?”
Wendy blushed. “Absolutely not. You join us or don’t, I’d like to continue
seeing you—if all this hasn’t scared you off.
I guess we…I…did come on a bit strong, but as things now stand,
we…I…really don’t have much choice.
We’ve got something in the hopper, so to speak. I’m really thinking I want to spend a lot of
time around you—either here, or in some damned jungle someplace.”
“Oh, crap—why not? I’m in.”
Bruce asked, “What kind of shot are you?”
“My guess would be ‘awful.’ The last time I fired a weapon of any kind
was in Navy boot camp. If you know
anything about Navy boot camp, we don’t do a lot of shooting.”
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