To The Lions - 02 Read Online Free PDF

the Pentagon, and that was the last I saw
of him.”
    “And?”
Gage said, searching the table but finding no more food.
    “Got
himself three stars up in D.C.   He was
just telling me about the paper war that went on after Crete.”
    Gage
pulled in a breath through his nose at the mention of Crete.   He’d been a member of a special team,
commanded by Colonel Hunter, that had been designed to perform the blackest of
missions.   Once chosen, the members of
the team had assumed new identities and could not be officially traced back to
the United States.   For a number of years
the team had performed as designed—defusing potentially deadly situations
around the world.   It was not uncommon
for them to kidnap, to destroy and to kill, all in the interest of the United
States.
    But
one blazingly hot day in June, on the rocky island of Crete, changed all
that.   Two children had died that day, and
with them died Colonel Hunter’s team.   The entire affair had been a regrettable accident, and truly not the
team’s fault.
    But,
as usual when politicians are involved, someone had to take the fall.  
    Although
the government kept the team’s existence quiet, the team was scuttled and each
of its men censured.   Colonel Hunter was
ungraciously sent to his retirement.   Gage, like most of the others on the team, floundered.   Special operations were all he knew, and now
he practiced his skill privately.
    “You
okay?” Hunter asked.
    “Yeah,”
Gage said, shaking the memories of Crete from his head.   After years of torturing himself, he’d
learned to put it behind him.
    “Anyway,
Harwood fought like hell for us up there in D.C.”
    “You
believe him?”
    “Yeah,
I do.   He’s a leathery old pecker…but,
then again, so am I.”
    The
two men shared a smile.
    Colonel
Hunter still looked like he could lead a platoon up a well-defended hill.   In his early sixties now, he was tall and
continued to wear his steely-gray hair well inside Army regulation
standards.   Hunter’s icy blue eyes and Oklahoman
accent fit perfectly with the man who men naturally wanted to follow.   He’d been toying with a salt shaker before
smacking it on the table.
    “Get
enough to eat?”
    “I
might have another omelet,” Gage said.   “While
I decide, want to tell me about this job?”
    Colonel
Hunter glanced around.   Several members
of the Army’s precision skydiving team, the Golden Knights, were reviewing a
jump video in the corner.   A few
students, easily denoted by their hideous billowy jumpsuits, were up at the bar
buying Gatorade.   Otherwise, everyone
else was outside enjoying the mild late spring morning, jumping, preparing to
jump or watching the skydivers.
    “Ever
heard of Los Soldados?” Hunter asked Gage.
    “The
Soldiers?”
    “It’s
a huge crime syndicate in Spain.”
    “No.”
    “Well…their
boss wants to hire you.”
    Gage
tilted his head.   “Sir…”
    “I
know,” Colonel Hunter said.   “But, from
what I was told by a person I trust implicitly, this fellow isn’t all bad.   And though I have no idea what he’s wanting you to do, he’s willing to
pay you ten grand, plus expenses, just to come listen to him.”
    “Wow,”
Gage said, leaning back.
    “Yeah.”
    “In
Spain?”
    “Yeah,
Catalonia.   That’s the state Barcelona’s
in.   Don’t know where you’ll meet, though.   They were cagey about that but they did
mention the Costa Brava.”
    “And
this is all because you owe someone a favor?”
    “Don’t
let that influence you.   I simply said
you were my best contact.   The decision’s
yours and it won’t bother me a bit if you don’t go.”
    “Ten
grand,” Gage murmured.   “No catches?”
    “Nope.   You can take his cash and walk if you want.”
    “Northeast
Spain in May,” Gage said, glancing outside.
    How
could Gage say no?
    They
discussed the proposal for a half hour, with Gage learning little else than he’d
already been told.   They walked outside
just