Lady Death by Brian Drake (good e books to read .TXT) 📕

What had started so innocently as her and Francesca falling in love with two Muslims turned into nothing but pain. Operation Triangle had been an attempt to relieve the pain, avenge their fallen husbands, and Francesca too, who hadn’t been able to live with the loss.

I’ve been dedicated to righting injustice.

She didn’t regret her chosen path. The west needed to pay for how they treated people like Ahmad and Tamal.

But what has it taken from me?

The only answer was everything. Tanya had lost all that was dear to her in pursuit of her goal. She hadn’t planned on losing everything after already losing so much. But she had. It was a reality she needed to face.

No amount of spilled blood changed the situation.

But she had Omar Talman on the island with her. If she were entering her final days on earth, she’d spend it with the man she loved. She’d never expected to love another man again, but Omar had surprised her. Maybe life had other surprises in store as well. One could hope.

She tried not to find an analogy between her thoughts and the darkness into which she stared. The night sky met the pitch-black ocean. There was no way to tell where one ended and the other began except for twinkling stars. And even then, she wasn’t sure of the divide.

Tanya turned around. The main headquarters building sat a short distance away. Only a few lights lit the exterior perimeter, and no lights shined inside. She was awake well beyond “lights out” and only a minimal security force remained awake. Sleep had eluded her, but not Omar, so she’d taken a walk. Right now, she needed solitude more than company.

Tanya glanced up as the echo of whipping rotor blades grew louder. One of her patrol choppers passed overhead. She wondered if the crew saw her. Besides the pilot, four troops rode in the cabin, ready to jump out and engage intruders while the pilot radioed for reinforcements.

She’d probably have to increase the number of patrols. During the day she had two flying, one at night. Maybe three daytime and two at night would be better.

Tanya moved to a nearby rock and sat. The chill of the stone bled through her jeans. She stared into the dark some more. Darkness was everybody’s final destination. She had no idea what she’d encounter once she arrived, but it wouldn’t be as peaceful as the darkness she looked into now.

It was time to savor however many moments she had left.

A fast-moving arrow cut through the choppy waters of the North Atlantic.

The motorboat was standard SOCOM issue, a Combatant Craft Assault boat. The forty-foot craft tapered at the bow to resemble an arrow. An apropos description. Sam Raven and Joe Hayden stood at the controls of an arrow fired at the heart of Tanya Jafari and her organization.

They’d flown to the area of the North Atlantic, south of the Azores, where “Jafari Island” as Raven called it, in a C-130. When the plane reached the designated drop zone, the load master launched the boat first. Parachutes guided the CCV to the water. Raven and Hayden parachuted into the ocean behind it. After a few tense moments of climbing aboard and getting the engine going, they steered for the island.

Hayden drove. He had the experience necessary from his days as a Navy SEAL. Raven monitored the radar screen next to the pilot seat.

Both wore black combat suits, prepared for war with all the associated gear and weapons. If the island had radar capability, the CCV’s composite body wouldn’t show up. Enemy boats and planes not similarly designed would flash on the radar screen.

Another screen showed their progress to the island. Another fifteen minutes.

Raven bounced in his seat as the CCV cut across the rough water. He constantly wiped spray from his face. The cold water chilled his skin. The chilly temperature bit through their combat fatigues. He let his thoughts wander to take his mind off the discomfort. The fate of Misty Watson filled his mind.

She’d live, but Horn had hurt her badly. Her recovery would not be short or easy. But at least she’d live to fight another day in whichever manner she saw fit.

The hectic exit from Antwerp was behind them now. At least one of the two raids ended in success. Horn’s number two, John Yarvis, had proven his value under interrogation. Raven doubted if they’d have found Horn as cooperative. Knowing what criminal charges he faced in the US, and how his previous blackmail scheme wouldn’t save him this time, he’d have been tough to crack. But Yarvis didn’t have the same baggage and wanted to save his neck. He sang like a canary.

Raven’s mission of prevention and revenge had simply become revenge. And he felt defeated going into the final battle. His only recourse was to make Tanya Jafari feel the same sense of dread. Make her pay for what she’d done, and the lives she’d destroyed.

Raven hadn’t bothered listening to any news of the Operation Triangle disaster. He didn’t need to see the suffering or know the death toll. He’d failed to stop the attack. Tanya had won again.

And while she might have achieved victory, Raven would have the final word. Any sense of triumph she now enjoyed had a short time limit.

Raven and Tiger Joe studied several satellite shots of Jafari Island during their flight. The island looked like a mutated T, with one side of the T jagged and diagonal. All the facilities were at the top of the T, with everything south jagged rocks and hills with a little bit of grass. A cove at the southernmost tip might provide a suitable spot to leave the CCV and begin their infiltration. They wouldn’t know for sure until they arrived. If the cove didn’t work out, they’d improvise. But nothing was going to stop them from getting onto the island.

Nothing would stop them from showing Tanya Jafari the meaning