Brothers in Arms by Kendall McKenna

Author:Kendall McKenna [McKenna, Kendall]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance, military
Publisher: MLR Press LLC
Published: 2012-11-27T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

They were ready to step off before full light, and the heat was already stifling. The FBI agents all made quiet comments about the stench of dust, manure, and even human waste. Neil ranted about it loudly. Jonah had long ago grown immune. He watched silently as Kellan coached, encouraged, and herded the agents into the SUVs.

Javier Lucena drove the lead SUV, inside which rode Jonah with Yarwood. By his own machinations, Kellan rode with them. Despite Jonah’s protests, so did Neil.

With Yarwood seated on the bench seat right beside Kellan, Jonah realized they looked nothing alike. The resemblance wasn’t physical, anyway. There was something more intangible about it; a gesture, an expression, a vocal tone.

Jonah couldn’t help but be slightly nervous about their private comms. Outside of their convoy, the only one with the ability to hear their specially encrypted chatter was Top Resler back at Diyala firm base. He could send reinforcements if he heard it when everything went south. Neil guaranteed they couldn’t be overheard by the enemy. He had fit them each with a one-piece wireless headset and mic. They each keyed their mic with a button he clipped to the center of their chests. It was easy to reach, and no one’s clothing or gear interfered.

“Jonah, dude, I’m a genius,” Neil declared when they were on the road. “Your communications will be clear as a bell, and the hostiles can’t listen in. I’d explain how I did it, but it would take really hard math and shit. I don’t want you to tax your little grunt brain.”

“Screw you, McMurtrie,” Jonah sighed.

The suppressed laugh came from Yarwood. Kellan chuckled openly.

“Just like old times,” Neil continued, oblivious to Jonah’s annoyance. “It feels just like old times. Doesn’t it, Captain? Feels just like the good old days of rolling through fucking Iraq getting our nuts shot at.”

“Yes, Neil,” Kellan replied dryly. “Just like old times.”

Jonah turned to look at Kellan. There might have been a spark of affection in Kellan’s eyes, along with the humor, but then Kellan blinked and looked away. When they reached the crater of the IED that had killed Grizzly, Jonah ordered the victors to disperse in 360 degrees. The Marines exited the vehicles quickly and took up an aggressive and alert posture. Deshazo, Tisch and Lucena produced M16s and circled the SUVs vigilantly.

From inside a metal-sided case, Milagros removed explosive components. She held them up for Jonah to see. “Recognize these, Gunnery Sergeant?” she asked.

“They’re detonated IED components.”

“They’re the fragments you recovered from this crater and forwarded to DC.”

“If you say so, ma’am.”

“What’s the most common IED you come across?”

“Radio controlled.”

“Not CWIEDs?”

“Command wire IEDs are more often seen inside city limits. Radio controlled IEDs, usually cell phone activated, allow the enemy to trigger detonation from a distance.”

“Yeah, cell phones are the easiest way to match up the coding system of the transmitter and receiver to avoid spurious radio signals from accidentally activating the device,” Neil rattled off casually. Jonah suppressed a grin when everyone turned to gape at Neil.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.