Brothers In Arms (Matt Drake 5) Read Free

insisted. “Not until you get him alone.”
    Mai stayed tight-lipped.
    Hayden allowed a half-smile to form on her lips. “New team. New mission. New rules. We respond. We don’t initiate. We’re recon. Not assault. And we’re official now. So keep it above the law.”
    “And if you can’t,” Alicia piped up , “make sure no one ever finds the bastards.”
    “There are people who want this team to fail,” Gates told them seriously. “Rivals on the Hill. I could name two without thinking. I’m just not sure yet how far they’re willing to go.”
    Drake understood but it was combat, not politics, that concerned him. “You take care of them. We”—he indicated the big screen—“will take care of this.”
    Hayden stepped in quickly. “Mai. Drake. You get the flight. The rest of us will start looking into Senator Turner.”
    Alicia blinked in surprise. “What about —?”
    Mano turned to her. “I think you’ re classed with the rest of us.’”
    Alicia turned on him. “Really, Mano? Really? You’re taking the piss after all I learned about you in that bar?”
    The Hawaiian grunted and held his hands up. Truth be told , he couldn’t remember telling her anything the night they, along with Belmonte, spent drinking and spinning yarns as the Austrian night gave way to the red dawn of what might be their deaths. For one of them it had been, but Belmonte had gone down fighting.
    Kinimaka stayed cautious. “Well we won’t exactly be baking cakes here in DC.”
    Alicia shot a glance at Komodo. “ Don’t count on it.”
    Drake checked his watch and walked over to Mai. “It’s a good plan. We’ll take a small team. No incursion, just surveillance. Maybe Mai will be able to contact Hibiki. He knows her. He would make allowances for her.” He headed for the door, shouting over his shoulder. “Send me the details in flight. About time we got some more bloody action!”

CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    The Lockheed C-130 undertook many varied missions for the United States Air Force, but tonight, it transported Matt Drake, Mai Kitano and a small, four-strong team of Marine Force Recon soldiers over the North Pacific Ocean toward their destination—a small, nameless island off the coast of Korea.
    The atmosphere in the four-engine military transport possessed an air of subdued excitement. Drake and Mai spent some time in the communications area, but learned nothing new during the flight. The team back home had begun investigations, but with necessary discretion—a directive from Gates.
    And not Drake’s way. Nor was it anyone else’s way, but they were legal now and their benefactor, Gates, was being observed from all angles.
    Back in the main seating area , the four marines sat around, idly chatting. These men were at ease, but still nothing escaped them. When Drake and Mai returned their leader, a man called Romero, sat up.
    “All well?”
    “Could be better.” Drake grumbled.
    “Problems back home?”
    Drake blinked and stared. At first, he’d assumed the soldier meant back home in York , and was about to tell the grunt to mind his own friggin’ business, but then realized the reference was to the HQ. Christ, he thought, gotta stop mixing business with pleasure.
    And then Mai touched his arm, her presence and her contact immediately shattering even that small resolution.
    “Yeah,” he said. “Senators get death threats every day. It’s gonna take a miracle to convince him to lay low even for a couple of days.”
    “Maybe it’s just that. A threat.” Romero shoved his square-jawed face forward, testing the room.
    Mai strode toward him. “You think a Japanese agent who managed to dig himself in so deep with the Koreans would surface for no good reason, Romero?”
    “I guess not.” The American backed down. “But we’ll be sure to find out. We’re all on the same team here, miss.”
    “Call me Mai.” The wiry-framed operative passed so close she touched the Marine as she continued to the bar.