Page 2 of Wrecked
He put her in a fireman’s carry, bolted down the hallway, rushed down the two flights, and out the building, where his team waited.
When Hawk joined them, he set down the victim.
“Hostage rescued,” he said. “Mission complete.”
“Excellent,” said the voice through the hidden speakers in the courtyard. “Please remove your night goggles.”
The ALPHA Operatives pulled off their helmets. The night was warm, the building was not air conditioned, and perspiration dotted their tired faces.
“The drill is over,” said the female voice. “Lights in three, two…”
Despite the low-level lighting flooding the courtyard, everyone squinted. Even in the dim light, it took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust.
Addison smiled at Hawk. “You saved me.” Batting her eyelashes at him, she said, “My hero.”
A female Operative snickered. “You feed his ego, there won’t be room for the rest of us in this courtyard.”
The team laughed.
“It was luck,” Hawk replied. “Any of you would have saved her, if you’d found her.”
“How many enemies?” asked Danielle.
“Four,” Hawk answered.
“He got ‘em all,” Addison said.
The four Operatives who’d played the role of the bad guys, walked into the courtyard, paintball spatter covering their chests.
“Nice shot,” one of them said to Hawk as he extended his hand.
Hawk pulled his coworker in for a hand-clasp hug. “Love these drills.”
“So do I,” Danielle agreed. “Addison, have you ever played victim before?”
“Never,” Addison said. “I gotta say, it was a little creepy waiting in the dark all tied up. I couldn’t see jack and I couldn’t hear anything until Hawk walked in. Nothing like facing your demons. At one point, I wondered if you guys had taken a break.”
The group laughed as Cooper Grant, co-lead of ALPHA, joined them. “Great work, team. You were two minutes faster than yesterday, but a minute slower than the day before. What worked? What didn’t?”
Over the next several minutes, they debriefed. When Cooper addressed Hawk directly, he answered questions, provided a summary of what happened, his assessment, and the outcome, but he was on autopilot. Hawk couldn’t shake the chill from seeing Addison tied to that chair, covered in fake bruises, her clothing shredded. Drill or no drill, he never wanted to see her like that again.
“Everyone did a solid job,” Cooper continued. “The rest of the teams are finishing up. I reserved the back room of The Tiki Lounge for dinner. First round’s on me. ALPHA’s picking up the dinner tab.”
“Time to party!” Addison said.
Hawk raked his hand through his hair. “I could use a drink and a few hours of chill.”
As they made their way toward the hotel and conference center, Hawk and Addison fell in line.
Once a year, the Operatives spent five days in training. The goal? To hone their skills, learn about the newest high-tech gadgets, and hear from industry experts on the latest scams and crimes, how criminals were getting away with them, and what law enforcement could do to stop them.
The secure compound was located in an undisclosed area on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, twenty miles from the beach. The center, along with the training facility, was used by various law enforcement agencies throughout the area. The grounds were managed and run by retired government workers with top-secret clearance. The staff lived at the compound and ran it on an ongoing basis.
It wasn’t fancy, wasn’t a shithole either. The cafeteria food was edible, the hotel was simple and clean. They were there to train, not get pampered, so no spa, no bar. The training compound consisted of a bunch of buildings that were used for various hostage and crime-related exercises.
Though he liked the intense training and the nonstop drills, Hawk could’ve used a massage right about now. His muscles were burning from the get-your-ass-outta-bed at five a.m., the formation runs, the weight lifting, the rope climbing, and all the additional work he had to do as a helicopter pilot.
This week, he’d gotten four hours of sleep each night. He couldn’t wait to crash in bed.
