SEAL of Approval (7 page)

“Are you checking out that girl?” the blonde asked indignantly.

Rick scowled. “No, I only like hot pieces of ass like you.” He reached around and grabbed her buttocks. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

As they walked down the street he sent a message to TJ.

Our boy is out to dinner with the vet and he’s all loved up… Time for selection?

A moment later a reply hit his phone.

We’ll get to the bottom of this tomorrow.

Chapter Eleven

Yawning, Mike
dumped his gear bag on the bench in the team room and stretched his neck. He smiled to himself as he opened his locker and searched for a stick of deodorant. Last night had been the most fun he’d had in months and all they had done was talk.

He and Ali had left the restaurant at closing and continued flirting in a local café. They’d remained there till the early hours of the morning when the staff had forced them to leave. Only then, had Mike hailed her a cab then walked home.

He’d finally reached his apartment at four in the morning. Two hours was all the sleep he’d gotten before reporting for duty.

Rick entered the room. “Late night, brother?”

“Yeah, I could murder a cup coffee.”

“There’s a pot in the briefing room. I’ll grab one with you.”

“Sounds good.” Mike closed his locker and followed Rick into the lecture room they shared with the other squads. As he stepped through the doorway he spotted Ernie and TJ sitting side-by-side. Rick took the seat next to them. All three sat facing an empty chair.

He frowned. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Take a seat, Mike.” TJ nodded to the empty seat.

“What’s this? Some kind of intervention?”

“You could call it that.”

Mike turned the chair backward and straddled it. All of them, even Rick, sported stern expressions.

“Where were you last night?” TJ asked.

“Guys, seriously, what’s this about?”

“Are you in love?” snapped Rick.

“Jesus, Rick, you couldn’t interrogate a chimpanzee with a fist full of bananas,” growled TJ.

Mike laughed. “So that’s it?”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with this Ali chick, brother,” said TJ.

“Guys, she’s been treating Axe. It’s been kind of hard for me not to spend time with her. Why, is that a problem? You boys getting jealous?”

TJ shook his head. “Given your track record with women and relationships in general, we’re concerned you’re heading for another train wreck.”

“Oh come on. I’ve only been on three dates with her.”

TJ’s eyes narrowed. “Rick, tell him.”

“I saw you at the restaurant last night, Mike. I saw how you were looking at her. This is a bit more than a hit it and quit it.”

Mike clenched his fists on his knees. “Fine, you got me. I really like this girl. There, I said it.”

“Rick thinks you’re head over heels in love with her,” said TJ.

“He wouldn’t know what love was if it punched him in the dick.”

Rick let out a raucous burst of laughter. “Did I just get dissed on love by the guy whose last girlfriend was a psycho? Oh, and didn’t the one before that steal all your shit when we were in Afghan?”

Mike scowled.

“This is for your own good,” added TJ.

“What exactly is this?”

Ernie rocked back on his chair. “You remember,
essé
. The ‘selection’ course.”

“Guys, that was a joke. You don’t…”

All three men frowned.

“If she passes, we’ll embrace her as one of our own,” said TJ.

“But, if she fails,” added Rick.

“Then she’s out,” finished Ernie.

Mike paused in thought. “Look, this girl isn’t like the others. She’s stable, compassionate and grounded. I don’t think–”

TJ interrupted with a shake of his head. “Your track record suggests you don’t think, slick. Trust me. This is for your own good.”

Mike sighed. “OK, where do we start?”

“Tomorrow. It’s Saturday. You're going to invite her on a hike with you up Mount Otay.”

“What if she doesn't want to go?”

Rick laughed. “Then last night wasn't as special as you thought.”

***

“
So
why the sudden urge to go hiking?” Ali asked as Mike pulled his truck into a parking lot at the base of a rugged mountain range.

“You mentioned you liked the outdoors and I thought it might be a good chance for us to get to know each other.”

“Good idea, I like it.” She pushed open the door and jumped out. “Come on. Let’s do this.”

Mike grabbed his backpack, locked the truck and led her through a camping ground to the trailhead.

As they climbed a narrow path up the side of a canyon, she turned to him. “Have you been up here before?”

“Once or twice.”

“You bring all your girls up here?”

“No. Most of the women I’ve dated wouldn’t climb into my truck much less a mountain.”

“Really? Have you always dated princesses?”

Mike laughed. “Yeah, I guess I have. Let’s just say you’re nothing like them.”

“I’m not exactly sure how to take that.”

He smiled. “Trust me, it’s a good thing. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me… and Axe, in a long time.”

They reached the crest of the canyon and paused to take in the scenery. Mike dropped his pack on the ground and handed her a water bottle.

“You know, I could be a total princess. You’d have no way of knowing.”

“That’s what we’re here to find out,” said TJ over the covert communicator lodged inside Mike’s ear.

Given the tiny device only had a range of a few hundred yards, he glanced around hoping to spot him. However, TJ was an experienced sniper and a master of camouflage, he wouldn’t be seen.

Mike glanced at his watch. It was a little past midday. “You OK to step it out? We’ll make the peak in time for sunset and be back down before it gets too dark.”

Smiling, Ali glanced back over her shoulder. “Sounds good.” She held up the bottle of water. “ You sure you don’t want me to carry something other than this?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Big strong SEAL and all that.”

“Not at all. I’m just happy following your butt up the hill.”

Mike’s comment was rewarding by a puking sound in his ear. Clearly his flirting didn’t impress TJ. Ali rolled her eyes and powered up the hill, leaving him in her dust. “OK, so that was cheesy,” grunted Mike as he stepped off after her.

“No shit,” added TJ over the radio.

***

It
took them nearly three hours to climb to the peak of Mount Otay. When they finally reached the top they were greeted with a spectacular view across the Mexican border. Mike wiped the sweat from his brow as he dropped the heavy daypack on the ground. Ali had set a surprisingly fast pace up the mountain and, carrying the gear TJ had given him, Mike worked hard to keep up. His T-shirt was drenched in sweat and his legs were aching from the steep ascent.

“Wow. You can literally see for miles.” She pointed at the spectacular vista stretched out before them. “That’s Mexico, right?”

Pulling a fresh bottle of cold water from his pack he tossed it to her. “Right. I’ve gotta say, you’re fitter than half the guys on team.”

She snickered. “As if. But, do I pass the princess test?”

Mike raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Come on.” She shot him a cheeky smile, stepped closer to him, put her hands on his hips, and kissed his sweaty cheek. “It’s pretty clear that you bought me up her to test my mettle. You’re not looking for another princess, are you?”

“Not a chance.” He covered her lips with his.

“You guys are making me sick.”

This time it was Rick’s voice that startled him, transmitting through the tiny radio lodged in his ear.

Mike made a point of prolonging the kiss for the observer’s sake. When they finally broke, he scanned the terrain around them with a critical eye.

“What are you looking for?” asked Ali.

“Squirrels, sneaky squirrels.”

Rick chuckled in his ear and whispered. “That’s sneaky, secret, squirrel to you Romeo. And don’t bother looking you ain’t gonna find me, bro. I’m like a ghost.”

“We need somewhere to set up our picnic and wait for sunset.” He pointed to a rocky outcrop with a flat patch of sand in front of it. “How about over there?”

Mike hadn’t had time to inspect the pack TJ had given him that morning. The Chief had assured him it contained everything he needed for a romantic hike. He took out a blanket and a cooler bag filled with a selection of cold meats, biscuits, fruits and cheeses.

As he offered her a cracker with a slice of cheddar, she whistled. “Wow, I’m impressed, sailor.”

“So am I,” he mumbled.

“OK Romeo, time to initiate phase two of the operation,” said Rick in his ear. “I need you to excuse yourself for a trip to the little boy’s room and head twenty yards down the hill, due east.”

“Fine,” he mouthed.

Ali was gazing at the horizon as she ate.

“Hey, babe, I’ve got to duck off to the little boy’s room.”

“You mean the little boy’s boulder.”

“Right,” he said with a chuckle. Circling the outcrop, he started off into the scrub. After what he estimated was twenty yards, he stopped. “I’m here. Where are you?”

He nearly leapt out of his skin when a bush in front of him materialized into a figure. It was Rick, dressed in a shaggy sniper suit.

He grinned, revealing brilliant white teeth through the camouflage. “Hey, bro.”

Mike shook his head. “Seriously, you guys are children.”

“I know, isn’t it awesome.” A packet of
Starburst
appeared from under his camouflage and he offered one to Mike.

After the uphill climb, sugar was exactly what he needed. He took the candy, unwrapped it and chewed. “So, what the hell’s TJ got planned now? I think Ali’s proven she’s no princess.”

“Eh, so she climbed a hill. Let’s see how she goes with sleeping rough on a mountain.”

“Why in god’s name would she do that?”

“Because you’re going to feign an illness.”

Mike shook his head. “She’s a vet bud, which is a type of doctor. She’ll see right through it.”

“Not when you’ve got real symptoms.”

He frowned. “Rick, what do you mean by symptoms?”

“You know, fever, stomach cramps, dizziness.”

“And why would I have them?”

Rick grinned sheepishly. “Don’t blame me, this one’s on TJ.”

Mike glanced at the
Starburst
wrapper he was rolling between his fingers. His stomach gurgled. Suddenly he didn’t feel well. “You sneaky motherfucker.”

“Bro, it’s for your own good.”

“You’re a dead man.”

“Hey, at least this way you don’t have to pretend, because pretending is lying, Mike. And that’s bad.”

“Mike, are you alright?” Ali called out from behind him.

He turned to see where she was. When he looked back, Rick was gone. “You guys have taken this too far.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be here watching over you like guardian angels,
essé
,” transmitted Ernie, confirming that he was also part of the conspiracy.

“Hells angels more like it.” As Mike ascended the slope he spotted Ali standing near the peak wearing a concerned expression.

“There you are.”

As he got closer she frowned. “Mike, are you OK?”

His vision went blurry. He collapsed to his knees “No, I’m not feeling–” Projectile vomit spewed into the sand and he slumped to all fours. “Screw you, Rick.”

***

The
next half hour was a blur of throwing up and shivering as Rick’s concoction played havoc with his intestines. Thankfully, Ali wasn’t put off and helped him back to their picnic site where she propped him up against a rocky outcrop. She never left his side as she tried to get him to keep down water. After half an hour he was feeling slightly better but still couldn’t stand. He wanted to curl into a ball and die.

“Mike, did you eat anything dubious in the last twenty-four hours?”

“Define dubious,” he croaked.

“Seafood, dairy or chicken?”

“Um, all three.” He managed to sit up and drink some of the water she offered him.

Ali found a medical kit in the backpack and handed him two aspirin. “This will help with your fever.”

He took the pills before checking his watch. “It’s getting late. I don’t think I’m going to be able to get off the mountain before dark.”

Ali wore a concerned expression as she glanced up from her phone. “Mike, I don’t have any cell coverage. Do you?”

He managed to hand her his phone without vomiting.

She checked. “No bars. Do you want me to run down now and get help?”

He shook his head. “No. The path is treacherous and it’ll be dark before you get halfway. Plus, I’m terrified of the dark, so there’s no way you’re leaving me here by myself.”