SEAL of Approval (4 page)

“Enough, you don’t recall the date with Brian? Like I said, I’m staying the hell away from men.”

Leonie grinned. “Come on, I mean a celibate nun would make an exception for that fine looking piece of–”

“Enough already, I’m starving.”

***

As Mike drove through the security checkpoint at Coronado Naval Base his new phone chimed with a message. He pulled into the parking lot in front of the team rooms and glanced at the screen.

The old man wants to see you…TJ

Exiting his truck, Mike ducked inside and put on a clean uniform before heading over to the headquarters building.

“He’s in his office,” said Mack from behind his desk.

Mike continued down the corridor and knocked on the commander’s door.

“Enter.”

As he stepped inside, the CO glanced up from his computer and gestured to the seat opposite. Mike sat and prepared himself for the bombardment of questions regarding the abduction of Axe.

“How’s things, Mike?”

“You know how it is, sir.”

“Yeah, well I’m afraid I’ve got bad news and good news.”

More than a little confused, Mike frowned. The commander was smart enough to recognize he was involved in the kidnap. Hell, until Doctor Taylor, Axe hadn’t let anyone else near him except the squad members. Mike swallowed hard and met the commander’s steely gaze.

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard but last night there was a break in at the Miramar vet clinic. Kids looking for drugs busted in and now Axe is missing. That’s the bad news.”

Mike didn’t know whether to feign surprise or anger.

“Did they catch them?”

Conner shook his head. “No, but the Jarhead Commander of the base assures me they’ll find Axe. I wanted to let you know before you heard any rumors.”

“Appreciate that, sir.”

“The good news is with Axe missing we’ve got more time to appeal his discharge and destruction. I’ve nominated him for a heroism award. That should assist the process. Now, if he could just stay ‘lost’ for a week or three that should give us enough time.”

Mike wasn’t sure what to say. He swallowed the lump in his throat and fumbled for words. “Sir, I–”

“It’s all good, son. As far as I’m concerned that dog’s as important as any of my SEALs. In fact I’d swap him for half of Bravo Platoon. Their antics have caused me nothing but grief this week. Now, get out my office so I can sort out this shit storm.”

As Mike left the headquarters and walked back to the team room he was filled with hope. Between Doctor Taylor, his squad, and now the commander there was a good chance Axe would be fine. Hell, if Conner had his way, the dog would become a decorated hero.

Entering the team room he found TJ and the others inspecting new marksman rifles.

Rick greeted him with a grin. “Hey brother, did you hear the news?”

“Yeah, allegedly Axe escaped from death row.” Mike smiled.

“Our furry friend’s going to be a decorated war hero,” added TJ.

Mike blinked back tears and cleared his throat. “The only reason he’s still alive is because of you guys. In fact this is the second time Rick’s saved him.”

“Don’t mention it, he’s a team-mate. Now, how about you give us the details on this sexy vet?”

He shook his head. “Always thinking with your dick, Rick. She knows her stuff. Axe is going to be staying with her for a few weeks.”

Rick grinned. “Damn, she must be hot if you’re letting her look after your dog.”

“She’s attractive, but not my type.”

“Not your type,” said Ernie. “You mean she doesn’t have fake boobs and she’s not going to steal all your shit?” He and Rick burst into laughter.

TJ handed Mike one of the marksman rifles. “OK, enough shit talking. Let’s get these bad boys down to the range.”

Chapter Five

Spots of rain fell from a grey sky as Vicente Barbosa leant over his brother’s coffin and gently straightened the dead man’s tie. “I am alive today, Juan, because you saved my life. I swear on my soul that I will find the man who took yours. I will tear his heart from his chest and grind it under my boot.” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye before turning to face the crowd that had come to pay tribute to the brother of the Butcher.

Maneuvering through the people he shook hands, while forcing a smile, and nodded as they offered their sympathies. Once clear of the mourners, he weaved through the tombstones to the convoy of black SUVs parked at the edge of the cemetery. A dozen heavily armed guards waited for him. Until vengeance was his, Barbosa wasn't taking any chances. If the Americans wanted to kill him they would need to send more than a handful of SEALs.

“Where is Raul?” he asked as he reached the convoy.

His head of security rounded one of the SUVs. “Here.”

Barbosa glanced at a vehicle climbing the track toward them as he reached into his jacket, withdrew a handkerchief and wiped the raindrops from his aviator sunglasses. “Do you know who killed my brother?”

Raul shook his head. “No, we're still reviewing the CCTV footage.”

The approaching vehicle pulled in behind his SUVs. A moment later five men dressed in dark suits and sunglasses exited. Barbosa's security detail eyeballed them as they approached and positioned themselves a few yards away.

He glared at his head of security. “They're with us. You've had eight days and still nothing?”

“We know they're SEALs.”

The corner of Barbosa’s lip curled into a snarl. “I told you that, you idiot.” He reached into his jacket again as the party of suits arrived.

One of the men stepped forward, removing his sunglasses. His jet black eyes locked on to Barbosa’s. The thin moustache crowning the man’s upper lip trembled as he struggled to contain his mirth at the situation. “Mr. Barbosa.”

He gave the man a curt nod and turned to his men with his hand still in his jacket. “This is Ramirez. He will be avenging Juan.”

Raul scowled. “You're letting an outsider handle our business? Boss, that's–”

Barbosa drew a suppressed pistol and shot him neatly in the heart. His former head of security was dead before his body hit the wet grass.

He glared at his men. “Raul failed me. He wasn't there when my brother was killed, and then couldn't find me the man who murdered him.” He spat at the body. “Failure will not be tolerated. Ramirez, if you please.” He gestured to his armored SUV and his guards opened the door.

As they sped away Barbosa drummed his fingers against a leather armrest, eyeing Ramirez. “What have you discovered?”

“I've examined the CCTV footage and the man who shot your brother is a SEAL. A member of Team Five. They're based at Coronado, California.”

“How do you know that?”

“A number of them wore patches on their shoulders.” He held up his fingers in the V for victory symbol. “The Roman numeral five.”

Barbosa took his pistol from his jacket and removed the suppressor. “Where exactly is Coronado?”

“Across the border in San Diego.”

“And you have people there?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” He slid the weapon back into its holster and placed the warm suppressor in his pocket. “I want you to find the man who killed my brother. Then, when you do. I want you to kill someone he loves… before you bring me his heart.”

Ramirez nodded. “This type of work is what I do best, Mr. Barbosa.”

Chapter Six

Mike
visited Axe every afternoon. Slowly, day by day, as the week progressed, he noticed a change in the dog’s temperament. He’d gone from intermittently growling at Alison whenever she approached to allowing her to manipulate his injured leg with barely a whimper. By Thursday afternoon, Axe greeted Mike at the door of the recovery room with his lead in his mouth.

Alison gave him a smile. “He’s been ready for the last hour. I think he wants you to take him for a walk.”

Grinning, he took the lead from Axe’s mouth, then shot her a concerned look. “You sure he’s alright to walk outside?”

Stepping closer she placed her hand on his elbow. “Mike, Axe isn’t a child. He’s a dog. He’ll be fine.”

He smiled sheepishly. “I know, he’s also my best friend. Makes it easy to forget.” His eyes lingered on hers for a moment. Then she realized that she was holding his arm and blushed.

“You guys have fun.”

As he walked Axe down the corridor, to the exercise yard, the dog kept glancing back at Alison. “You really like her don’t you?” It wasn’t something he could ever say about Stacey. Axe and the former model had been standoffish from day one.

The dog paused at the door and looked back at the recovery room.

“Come on, we’ll see her again in a bit.”

Once in the yard they strolled along the fence. Axe responded well on the lead but still protected his wounded leg. Ernie’s Mom was right. Alison was a miracle worker. It had been barely two weeks since Axe had been shot and here he was walking.

After a few laps of the tennis court-sized yard Axe had warmed up and tentatively tried using his injured leg.

Remembering what Alison had said about leadership he began running him through the drills they used at work.

He started simple, walking backward with the dog staying by his side. Then he removed the lead and allowed Axe to wander the yard by himself.

“Axe, freeze.”

The dog stopped instantly.

“Axe, come.”

He limped to Mike and sat in front of him. He slapped his thigh and the dog walked clockwise around him and sat alongside his left leg.

“Good boy.” He bent, ruffled his ears, and fished in his pocket for a treat.

“You two work so well together,” said Alison from the back door of the clinic. “Coffee?” She held out a mug while sipping from another.

Mike turned and flashed a smile. “Um, what have you done to my dog?”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s changed completely. He’s back to normal.”

Axe barked excitedly and walked toward the veterinarian.

Mike followed the dog and took the coffee that Alison offered him. “OK, so aside from being in love with you, he’s back to normal.”

She leant and tussled Axe’s ears. “It’s nice having the attention of a handsome man like you.”

Mike smiled as he sat next to her on the stairs. “So where to from here?”

“We’ve still got a bit of work to do. While his leg is healing well, the PTSD has a little way to go. Isn’t that right, handsome?”

Axe was looking up at her admiringly with his long tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth.

“Hey, cut that out. You’re going to give me a complex.” Mike took a toy from his pocket, squeezed it and threw it across the lawn.

They watched Axe limp after it.

He took a sip of the coffee and held the mug with both hands. “Hey look, I was a bit of a jerk earlier this week. I want to apologize for that.” He turned and looked at her.

“Don’t worry about it. I know I came across a little harsh.”

Their gaze locked over their mugs and Mike noted how pretty her green eyes were. There was a kindness about them that he hadn’t noticed before. His gaze dropped to her supple lips and he imagined kissing them. Then his eyes flicked back to hers. Her intensity confirmed a similar thought was on her mind.

Then, as he considered leaning across and kissing her, Axe dropped the now slobbery toy directly onto his groin. “Thanks, bud.” He laughed as he recovered the slimy ball. “As much as I hate to, I’ve got to get going.” He finished the coffee with a single gulp and climbed to his feet. “Do you want me to take him inside?”

She shook her head, tossing her long brown hair. “No, I’ll stay out here with him for a little longer. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

He patted the dog. “Be good, bud. I’ll see you later.” With a final nod and a smile he entered the clinic and made for the front door.

As he reached the waiting area, he heard, “Hey, Mike.”

“Yeah.” He turned to face Alison.

She looked as if she wanted to ask him a question but fumbled her words. “Umm, I just wanted to know what time to expect you?”

He smiled. “I’m hoping to finish up work early. If I can it will be around fifteen hundred.”

“That’s three, right?”

“Yeah, three.”

“See you then.”

As Mike left, Alison slapped her forehead with her palm. Feeling Axe push past her leg, she glanced down at him. “You didn’t see that, did you?”

He sat and stared at her.

“Oh, you did. Well that’s even more embarrassing. Come on. Let’s get you something to eat.”

***

Early
the next morning, Mike joined his team-mates at a training facility. Located on the outskirts of San Diego and run by civilian contractors it was a state of the art shoot-house that allowed, low risk, and highly realistic indoor training.

He spotted TJ and the others standing behind one of the black minivans they used to transport equipment and personnel around town. The squad had almost finished gearing up for a session in the ‘house’. They wore protective chemical warfare suits and were now strapping on their combat vests. As he approached, TJ broke away from the van and headed toward him.

Mike gave him a nod. “Hey, Chief.”

“Morning, Mike, once you’re ready grab the clowns and I’ll see you inside.”

“Roger.” He continued across to the van where Rick and Ernie were preparing. “Good morning.” Grinning he retrieved his gear bag from the trunk.

Rick met his smile with a scowl. “What’s good about it? TJ’s got us running drills in gas masks and suits. Gonna be sweating our asses off for the next five hours.”

Mike pulled his protective clothing on over his T-shirt and shorts. “Yeah, but Rick it’s a beautiful day.”

“How’s our boy doing?” Ernie asked as he opened a weapons crate and took out his carbine.

“Great. He’s coming along well. Alison has done wonders with him.” He slung his armor on over the protective suit. As he reached for his weapon, he caught both Rick and Ernie grinning at him. “What?”

Rick shot him a broad smirking grin. “So its Alison now, is it? That’s why you’re so damn happy. You’re hitting that aren’t you, bud?”

Ernie’s eyes narrowed. “My brother said she was hot.”

“What? No. No, it’s not like that. She’s not my type.” Mike avoided eye contact with his friends as he attached his weapon to the clip on his rig. “You guys ready?”

Picking up his gas mask, he walked in the direction of the shoot-house.

Rick yelled after him. “I call bullshit. Why else would you be so damn happy? Only time I’m wearing a shit-eating grin like that is after a night of hot, sweaty sex. Oh shit, you’re not back with Stacey are you?”

Mike waved him off and pushed open the door into the training facility.

Already inside, TJ had his gas mask on and his weapon ready. “Game faces on boys. We’re running room clearance drills.”

Mike let his rifle hang and adjusted the straps on his mask. “Not everyone’s a sex-crazed maniac like you, Rick. Some of us are high on life.”

“You fuckers better mask up or you’re gonna be high on tear gas,” yelled TJ as he hit the gas release button.

A rotating red light flashed. A hissing noise filled the air as they fitted their masks.

“You like her though, don’t you?” Rick wheezed through his respirator.

Mike inserted a magazine of paint cartridges into his weapon and cocked it. “She’s cooler than I initially thought.”

Gas was now visible inside the room.

“Just call me cupid,” Ernie said, using his carbine as if it were a bow.

“I’ll call you mother-fucking stupid,” added Rick. “Boy needs to tap that, not get into another relationship.”

“Wrong!” TJ bellowed through his mask. “You dimwits need to tap some goddamn targets otherwise I’m going to keep you in these suits all day.”

Ernie readied his weapon. “No need to be like that.”

“We’re just looking out for our boy, TJ. I mean, we don’t want to have to run a girlfriend selection course, just yet.”

“What the… Are you in love, Mike?” demanded TJ.

“Negative, Chief!”

“Good, if that changes, let me know.” TJ racked his weapon. “Now, let’s put paint on paper. On me!”

***

Alison’s
favorite café was an eclectic establishment only five minutes from her clinic. A converted garage, the Spanner Shop now housed a four-head espresso machine and the best sandwiches and muffins in a ten-mile radius.

As she pushed the door open, a bell clanged. The twenty-something barista glanced up from the machine and smiled from under his handlebar mustache.

“Hi, Simon.” Glancing around, she spotted her sister sitting at a table.

“The usual, Ali? Your sister has already ordered.”

“Thanks. That would be lovely.”

She wound her way through the rough-hewn benches and ambushed her sister with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Hello, beautiful lady”

“Beautiful?” Leonie returned the embrace. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a sixteen-wheeler.”

Alison sat on the bench opposite.

“Whatever you do,” continued Leonie, “don’t have children. Especially not daughters, and in the name of all things sane, do not volunteer to help out at a damn ballet camp.”

“Is that where the girls are?”

A waiter arrived with their coffees. “Here’s your quad and a latte.” He placed a gargantuan mug of coffee in front of Leonie. The smaller tumbler looked like a shot glass next to the bucket of caffeine.

“How many shots are in that?” Alison asked.

“Four,” replied the waiter. “Enjoy.”

“Leonie, you’re going to give yourself a heart attack.”

“Trust me when I say it will be welcomed.” She wrapped her hands around the mug and took a sip. “God I needed this. Now, tell me what’s been happening in your life?”

“Work, work and more work.”

“Any more hunky Navy SEALs been to visit?”

Alison shrugged as she sipped.

“Oh, he’s been back hasn’t he?”

“He kind of has to, Leonie, I’m treating his dog. He comes in every day to visit Axe.”

Her sister smirked. “I don’t think I could handle that. I would have torn those jeans off him by now and had my way with him on every horizontal surface in the clinic.”

Alison snorted coffee from her nose. “You’re out of control.” She reached for a napkin.

“No, you’re out of control. Big hunky man who looks like he’s straight off a
Calvin Klein
poster comes in and you do nothing. You have to hit him up for a date.”

“You want me to ask him out?”

“Um yeah, this is the teens. Or whatever the hell they call this decade. You know what I mean. We’re all empowered and shit now. You can ask any guy out if you want to. Hell if you want to bang him on the first date that’s completely up to you.”

As she wiped coffee from her chin, Alison caught the annoyed glance of another patron. “Shh, I want to come back here.” She giggled.

Leonie shrugged. “I’m just saying it’s OK for you to ask him out. Hell, bring him here and have a coffee. Or, are you still hung up on him being a jerk.”

“Well–”

“God, Ali, you don’t have to shag his personality just that rock solid body.”

“No, it isn’t that. He’s actually turned out be a decent guy. Yeah, he’s a little stubborn and full of himself. But the way he is with Axe is really very sweet. He’s so gentle and kind, yet also stern. The two of them work perfectly together, like a finely-tuned machine. He’s also a really good listener–”

“Wow, you’re already in love with the guy. You should just get down on one knee and SEAL the deal,” Leonie said between chuckles.

Alison blushed and lifted her coffee, hoping it hid her flushed cheeks.

“Don’t be shy, sis. If you like the guy, ask him out. Hell, make it about the dog if you want. Get to know him and then…” She made a circle with her fingers and inserted the opposite hand’s index finger. “Uh huh. Oh yeah.”

“You’re shocking.”

Leonie cocked her head to one side. “And you’re in need of a good lay.”