Page 196 of Renegade
“I got my copilot.” He got down, then climbed up the ladder to her seat. When he removed her mask, her smile blew him away. “Fun?” He unfastened her five-point restraint.
“The best.”
“Take it easy getting down.”
“I’m okay.”
As they made their way back into the building, he said, “I gotta do a flight debrief.”
“Perfect. I’ll change into my clothes, then catch up on the surveillance video.”
He grabbed two bottles of water, walked her to the women’s locker room before returning to the conference room. While reviewing the flight with his commanding officer, she returned. She shot him a little smile before she sat at the other end of the table.
Truth was, he was crazy about her.
“You gotta get up there more,” Jamal said. “I know life has been complicated for you, but you need more flight hours.”
“Yes, sir.”
He couldn’t talk about the mission, couldn’t discuss the Day of Destruction or the pressure of finding the terrorists, but he had less than two weeks to shut them down. Then, he’d turn his attention back to flying.
One step at a time.
He and Jamal finished discussing the training session.
“You’re an excellent pilot, Greystone. Let’s get you back here again in the next couple of weeks.”
“Absolutely.” Greystone stood, shook Jamal’s hand. “Always good to see you, J-man.”
Jamal said goodbye to Caroline.
“Commander Jefferson, thank you so much for today. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
“I’m used to Greystone pushing against the rules, so I just go with it,” Jamal said with a smile.
Greystone escorted her out of the building.
As they made their way to his SUV, she said, “I have good news.”
“Go.” He expected she’d tell him she was engaged.
“We got two hits at the apartment complex.”
Also good.
“Who?”
“The terror cell leader, Muhammad Haqazzii, and one of his men—the one who listed hisactualaddress at JL’s company.”
We got a break.
“Which building at Riverdale?”
“The third one.”
Into the SUV they went, and he drove toward the exit. Determination burned deep in him. They had a terrorist sighting—and not just any terrorist—the leader. The one that threatened to turn their mission into a house of cards.
Once on the main road, he said, “Assuming it checks out, we’re raiding them at two in the morning. I’ll put together a crew.”
