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New To Team

Mason, Laylana, and the rest of the Deep Secret team assembled in their Panama City office two days after completing a long mission for Aunt Judy. Mason kept his opinion from everyone but Laylana, but privately he deemed the mission a failure.

The CIA group that supported and communicated with Deep Secret—affectionately called Aunt Judy—had passed them intel about a container coming from China. It was suspected to be connected to the cartel.

Deep Secret was to meet it at port and document every company—and, where possible, every person—that had contact with it. For twenty-three days, they watched from afar. The follow team tracked the container’s movement, snapping pictures and uploading them to the cloud. The tracking team reconned the trucks, cranes, and people that had contact with it, trying to keep up as the container moved.

It ended up in Antofagasta, Chile, and turned out to be no more nefarious than a container of knockoff tractor parts.

Laylana said to mark it down as a drill. Next time, they would know better what to do.

Mason gathered the team to go over the news from Cal Davis. “So… the team is growing. We’re getting an ice cream truck… in case we decide to… you know… go for ice cream.”

Gavin interpreted. “If Cal sends us on a mission not even Aunt Judy knows about.”

Mason said they were getting the ShinMaywa US-2 amphibious aircraft they had asked for. “It comes with a top-secret version of an inflatable boat, an SD518. It’s been modified for rapid deployment and recovery. And we get another team member to operate the boat.”

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Ryan looked at the tablet in Mason’s hands. “Why do we need a dedicated boat operator?”

“Because the airplane gets us close. It doesn’t necessarily get us ashore.” Mason thought of the ShinMaywa US-2 as a very large, very expensive way to make geography less important.

That was the whole point of the US-2. Most covert teams still needed an airport, a road, a friendly border crossing, or somebody willing to look the other way. Deep Secret would need water.

“Our ice cream runs can reach up to roughly 1,000 miles from Panama,” Mason said. “Or call it almost three thousand miles if all we want to do is get somewhere. If we want Eva to put us in the water, wait around, come back for us, and still have enough fuel to handle something going wrong, we’re looking at around 1,000 miles without refueling.”

Eva could put the aircraft down on the ocean, a large lake, or the right stretch of river. From there, the inflatable handled the final distance.

Mason looked at the team. “Any questions so far?”Eva raised her hand. “I vote not to call it an ice cream truck.”

Natalie looked at Eva. “Oh, come on… that’s a cool code name!”Gavin face-palmed. “Cool… code name… I see what you did.”

“Can we go back to how we get ashore and,” Dawson said, “more importantly, back aboard the bird?”

“The SD518 RR has powered inflation and deflation,” Mason continued. “It folds rapidly enough to come back through the rescue opening of the ShinMaywa. There’s a roller system and winch inside the aircraft for recovery.”

Owen nodded toward the screen. “So we land offshore, take the boat in, and the plane leaves?”

“Right. The boat operator drops us near shore, goes back to Eva, recovers the inflatable, and they move the aircraft wherever it needs to wait.”

Kaori crossed her arms. “And extraction?”

“Same thing in reverse. If we’re bringing back more people than the boat can carry, it makes multiple trips.”

Ryan smiled slightly. “So this thing basically gives us a movable runway.”

“Anywhere there’s enough suitable water,” Mason replied.

“Who drives the boat?” Ryan asked.

Mason changed the image on the tablet. “Former Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Marisol Vega. Cal recruited her after a cartel drug boat boarding went wrong.”

Kaori smiled. “So, she died in an ICU somewhere and now she’s one of us, right?”Mason showed them her picture. “When we’re not making ice cream runs, she’s one of the team, like the rest of us. She has boarding-party experience and maritime law-enforcement background, so she’ll be an asset for any ops we have.”

Demitri then began to reply: “And she picks us up at the end of…”

Eva raised her hand and cut him off. “Don’t say ‘at the end of an ice cream run.’”Mason shook his head. “I think Cal came up with that code, so we need to use it.”Eva looked at Dawson. “If I’m driving an ice cream truck, I want a white apron and free samples.”

Mason looked around the room. “Anything else?”

No one said anything, and everyone started to their desks. Then Mason overheard Ryan say something to Owen.

“Dibs on the new girl.”

Mason turned around and looked at them. “What’s that mean?”Kaori answered. “It means they’re shy and nervous about meeting her. They flirt with me all the time and as soon as I make eye contact, they wilt. If I sit too close and lean over a little, they blush like a sunburned redheads.”Mason looked at Ryan. “What?”Kaori went on. “They don’t mean anything. And I swear, if she smiles at them, they’ll turn into a puddle and you’ll have to mop them up.”Ryan looked at Owen, then at Kaori. “Puddle? That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”Kaori shook her head. “You both know you’re just goofing.”

Mason looked at Owen and Ryan. “I expect that this isn’t going to be a problem. Keep your jokes to yourselves.”Owen nodded. “Mason, we’re only goofy between ops, you know.”Kaori nodded again. “That’s true. Boss, I’ll keep them in line. If they act up, I’ll bat my eyes at them and they’ll go running to their bunks blushing.”

Mason sighed and shook his head. “I know you guys are brilliant on ops. Let’s not mess things up, okay? Marisol Elena Vega is a Coast Guard chief who nearly died fighting the same cartel we’re after. She is not a prize, a game, or a distraction. Clear?”“Absolutely,” Ryan replied.

“And… Owen… if you both weren’t dead, she’d outrank you. She was an E-7…”“Acknowledged,” Owen replied. “Sergeant Owen Challers… Rangers lead the way. Sir.”

Mason looked at Owen, smiled, and shook his head. “Too much…”

Owen nodded. “Yeah… I took it too far.”“Again,” Ryan added.

Kaori had one more thought to share. “Ten bucks says Ryan forgets how to talk when she gets here.”

Mason left them to return to their desks, then went to his office. This was going to be a big change for the team—a new plane, a new boat, and a new team member to operate it.

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