Declan

Chapter Twenty Five

Declan~

Declan sat with his team on a plane to El Paso. Everything about this op was different. While he wanted every mission to be successful, this mission was personal. Knowing he couldn't fail for the sake of Lexi's safety only made his determination run deeper.

Letting his thoughts drift to Lexi, he couldn't help but smile at how supportive she had been. He had been nervous to tell her he was leaving. He wasn't sure he could take it if she became hysterical. It would have broken his heart, but he would have had to leave regardless. It was a harsh reality of his line of work. But she had been a rock. Keeping a stiff upper lip, she gave him all the confidence and support he needed to do his job and come home to her.

I could get used to that.

He had offered to take Lexi to Claire's house before they left to let her stay there, but she was perfectly content where she was. It made Declan's heart swell that she was so comfortable in his home.

After several tutorials she had learned how to work his elaborate security system and cameras. He had also arranged for Kincaid, a member of Delta team at Knight Security, to check on her periodically. Sure Nate would technically still be in town but he worked ops from the command center at Knight, sometimes not leaving for days. It was likely Nate wouldn't return home until the team did.

The team met with Wyatt, Nate's DEA contact, and went over logistics. With the warehouse being tucked away in a U-shaped ridge, it was decided that Declan's team would set up along the East edge of the ridge as back up support while the DEA agents invaded the warehouse. As much as Declan wanted Bravo team to run point on the operation, he had to remind himself that they were welcomed guests on the op.

Under the blanket of night, Declan's team took their positions along the ridge with Nate running surveillance. Marcus and Pierce, the snipers of the team, took high ground positions with visuals of the front and back entry points of the building while Declan and Caleb camped lower down prepared to assist on the ground. Using his throat mic, Declan checked the team's positions.

"Bravo two, got any movement?" Declan laid low.

"Negative." Marcus answered.

"Eagle, how many inside?" Declan asked Nate through his comms mic.

Using infrared images Nate counted the number of heat signatures within the building letting the team know how many enemies to expect.

"Five maybe six total, all near the north side exit"

Declan and Caleb exchanged glances at Nate's words. The dark paint on their faces couldn't conceal their suspicious expressions. Only six?

"Intel said twenty to twenty five tangos. Something ain't right."

Declan had studied the DEA intel for days. This warehouse was a constant hub of activity with twenty to thirty people coming in and out at all hours, but the building he was looking at was a ghost town. No lights, no vehicles, no sounds or movement.

All of the hairs on Declan's neck stood on end and he shifted his thinking to consider maybe they were the ones about to be ambushed.

"Bravo team hold your positions," Declan ordered as he analyzed on the fly.

Retreating to the most tactical part of his mind, Declan reconfigured their plan of attack knowing he had only minutes until the DEA agents breached the walls of the building.

If I were organizing an ambush here, how would I do it?

He visualized the building blue print of the building that he had cataloged away in his mind.