A Promise Kept Ch. 02

~~~~~~

I checked my watch and saw that enough time had passed that Mr. Charley, and Ms. Felicia would be here at any moment; and sure enough, I looked out beyond the small dune road and saw the Limo steadily making its way toward us.

"Hey, baby," I asked Jill, "Do me a favor okay."

"What do you want me to do?" Jill grinned, "Just as long as it's not something stupid."

"I wouldn't do that to you, my love," I smiled, "I just want you to close your eyes for a big surprise that I've got for you."

"Of course, she readily complied smiling, quickly closing her eyes, "I love surprises."

"Good," I said, making the signal to be quiet, to the limo's passengers as it slowly pulled up, "Because you're gonna really love this one..."

~~~~~~

"MOM, DAD," Jill excitedly shouted, the moment she opened her eyes and saw her parents standing there; "What in the world are you two doing here?"

"What's wrong, girl," Mr. Charley teased, "You want us to go home?"

"Of course not," she laughed, running to hug her father, "I'm just surprised to see you; that's all."

And maintaining the secrecy that I'd personally asked of them, Ms. Felicia hugged her daughter and told her, "We wanted to come see our girl. I hope that's okay with you, baby. Michael said it would be."

"What're you up to, Michael?" Jill suddenly asked, staring at me as she did so, "I know you," and then she began to girlishly laugh, "And I smell a rat somewhere."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," I convincingly lied, "I just thought that it would be nice to be able to actually meet your parents in person as opposed to making all those phone calls."

"I'm sorry, baby," she said, now believing the deception, swallowing it hook, line, and sinker, "I never thought about that, Michael...thank you for bringing Mom and Dad down here."

"It's so good to finally meet you in person, sir," I sincerely told Mr. Charley, as we shook hands, I already feel like I know you after talking with you over the phone so often."

"Thank you, son," he appreciatively smiled, "It's good to finally meet you in person, too."

"Come here and give me a hug, pretty boy," Ms. Felicia grinned, "You look just like I imagined you would...tall, dark, and as handsome as can be."

"Thank you, Ms. Felicia," I smiled, giving her a hug, "And just so you know, I think you look more like Jill's sister than her mother," which was true. Felicia Samuels looked like a beautiful, slightly older version of her daughter so; I knew what I had to look forward to when Jill and I grew to be her parents' age...and I was happy as hell about it, too.

When I saw a red biplane flying north along the coast, I knew that it was only a matter of a very few minutes before he would be returning, trailing my proposal to Jill on a banner, directly behind him for not only the whole beach, but also anyone else who was close enough to see.

~~~~~~

"Oh, my God, Jilly honey, look at that," Ms Felicia knowingly smiled, pointing skyward at the plane which was towing a banner behind it which read "JILL, WILL YOU MARRY ME? MICHAEL."

She immediately turned around, and with joyful tears raining down her face, Jill looked at me and asked, "Are you serious, baby?"

"Yes," I softly replied, kissing her lips and then dropping down on one knee with her ring sitting in its box, which was open and the sun reflecting off of the beautiful solitary diamond which was mounted on top of it, "I've never been more serious about anything in my life...I love you with all of my heart, Jill; and I can't imagine a single day in my life that doesn't have you in it."

"Yes, I'll marry you, Michael," she cried, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck, "I love you so much...and I'll never stop loving you either."

"I'm glad," I smiled, disentangling her arms from around my so that I could place the ring on the third finger of her left hand, "God, that looks so very beautiful, sweetheart."

"I'm so happy," she sniffled smiling, "And I love you so much, baby...so much."

"I love you, too, baby," I tenderly replied, gently kissing her soft, full lips, "And thank you."

"What're you thanking me for, my love?" she sweetly asked me.

"I'm thanking you for not only loving me," I began, "But also for showing me what unconditional love truly is..."

~~~~~~

Jill and I spent that night at the Hotel Del Coronado, making love and simply enjoying being together, alone, just the two of us.

"I love you, Michael, "Jill sensually breathed, lying beside me in the bed of our hotel room, after having just finished making love, "I'll love you until my heart ceases to beat, and I cease to live, baby."

"And I love you, I softly replied, tenderly kissing her lips, "I'll love you for the rest of my life..."

~~~~~~

SOCOM HEADQUARTERS CORONADO CALIFORNIA JANUARY 21 1979

"Alright, gentlemen," COMNAVSPECWAR (Commander of the Naval Special Warfare Group), Admiral J. Evan White briefed us; "We've got something very important that Washington just handed down to Special Operations Command."

"Is that right?" Dave asked, "What is it, sir?"

"NASA reported to us that a weather satellite was hit by orbital debris at five o'clock yesterday evening," Admiral White told us, "It was knocked out of orbit and landed at four o'clock this morning about thirty miles southeast of the Libyan port city of Tubruq on the Mediterranean Sea."

"It's only a weather satellite," Dave replied, "What does it have to do with us?"

"It's not a weather satellite," White grimaced, "It's an NSA spy satellite, code-named RADUS IV. It has a payload of nine hundred pounds; not to mention that it's also Plutonium powered."

"You're kidding," Danny grimly asked, "Is it weapons grade?"

"No," Admiral White replied, "But it wouldn't take much to enrich it to weapons grade. "That's where you guys come in."

"Let me guess," Dave knowingly grinned, "You want us to lock out of a sub, inserting somewhere along the coast, and then locate the satellite, and sending a chopper in to extract us. Have I missed anything, sir?"

"You know me well, don't you, David?" the Admiral knowingly smiled, and then frowned, "Unfortunately, so do our adversaries so; this is what we're going to do instead. I want you guys to HALO in and recover the satellite; and then you'll take, via zodiac, to the U.S.S. Richmond, a Los Angeles class, fast attack sub that will be on station waiting to extract you once you get to sea."

"I only have one question, sir," Dave asked, "How much does that thing weigh, and will four men be able to hump it back to the rally point?"

"I've been in formed by NASA that what remains of it weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of three hundred and fifty pounds. Why, is that going to be a problem?"

"Not at all, sir," Dave replied smiling, "It's just another day on the beach for my team, Admiral White."

"Glad to hear it, Commander," he smiled, "Brief your team and be on the flightline no later than seventeen hundred hours this afternoon."

Aye, aye, sir," Dave respectfully replied, with everyone standing as COMNAVSPECWAR stood and left the room.

~~~~~~

After Dave told us what was going on, he appointed Johnny Lee and Sam to have the Zodiac ready for departure as soon as Danny, Dave, Brad, and I arrived with the satellite. Once we were informed what our jobs would be, we left the briefing room, making our way to the armory where we would be issued the weaponry needed to execute our jobs.

~~~~~~

TEN HOURS LATER

We found ourselves getting ready to jump into Libya at two o'clock in the morning, their time. This was going to be another HALO drop, which, I was more than used to doing by this time, and Danny grinned as we prepped for insertion.

"So, what do you think, kid?" he grinned, "Here we are, getting ready for another day at the office."

"Office my ass," I laughed, "Most people don't carry weapons to their office."

"Maybe not," he chuckled, "But you've got to admit...this beats working a nine-to-five gig any day, doesn't it?"

"Hell yeah," I teased, "And when I get out of the Navy, I'm gonna have to find a job where they'll throw frags at me for the rest of my life just to keep my mind occupied, too, all because of you guys."

"Bullshit," he laughed, "Don't get mad at us just because you're so damn good at what you do."

However, before I had a chance to reply, I head Dave yell, "PREPARE TO JUMP IN FOUR MINUTES...PRESSURIZING...NOW," and then I felt my ears begin to pop Dave slowly depressurized the cargo bay of the C-140 Hercules aircraft we were jumping out of.

As I looked out of the back door of the aircraft right before we jumped, I wondered if we were going to be shot at this time, or was it going to be a clean, in and out, operation. Either way, it was still dangerous. However, I felt secure in the knowledge that we were going to be able to do our jobs...especially as long as we were all functionary...

~~~~~~

"Alright, guys," Dave softly told us, once we were on the ground and ready to execute our jobs, "We should be back in no later than forty-five minutes to an hour at the very most, Johnny, and Brad. I want you guys to not only stay hidden, but have our Zodiac running and ready to hit the water as soon as you see us coming..."

~~~~~~

While Johnny and Brad took the boat to the shoreline and inflated it, Dave, Brad, with Danny and me in tow, all made our way to where the Intel reports told us the downed satellite would be. It also had a homing beacon that was flashing on an extremely secret frequency, one not known to anyone but us and NASA; and with the tracking device we were given, it was going to be easier to find...hopefully.

~~~~~~

"It's awful hot," I softly told Danny, "Even though it's night time."

"This is North Africa," Danny chuckled, "It's always hot here, regardless of what time it is."

"Holy shit," I chuckled, "No wonder everybody over here stays pissed off at one another all the time," causing Brad to join in on the laughter.

"Pipe down, you guys," Dave quietly barked, "It's not like we're in a friendly country here."

"Sorry Skipper," Danny said, "We didn't mean to be so loud."

Suddenly I heard the beacon beeping in the wireless, hand-held Com/Con (Command & Control) unit and the closer we got to the satellite, the louder the noise became.

~~~~~~

"I see it," Danny said, pointing to the direction in which the satellite lay on the ground, "Get the cargo net out so that the four of us can hump this thing back to the surf," and that's exactly what we did, too..."

~~~~~~

We'd been carrying the satellite for a good thirty minutes and were nearing our rally point to put out to sea when I heard the sound of automatic weapon fire in the distance.

"Viper Four, this is Viper One," Dave said into the MX-202, "Give me a sitrep (Situation report)."

"Viper One, this Viper Five," Brad replied, "Viper Four is dead, repeat, Viper Four is dead, and I've got six tangos approaching my six o'clock."

We could see them coming upon where Brad and Dave were, and were right behind them, unbeknownst to them.

"Have spotted the tangos and we will be on your ten/twenty in less than a minute, sit tight, Viper Five," Dave replied, as we ran the satellite to the rally point, "We'll be there in thirty seconds, Viper One, out."

Twenty seconds later we were coming up behind six armed men who had Brad pinned down. We all began to fire our weapons, taking down the six tangos (enemy soldiers) within a matter of seconds; and then before the smoke could clear, we loaded not only the satellite, but also Johnny's body into the Zodiac, heading out to sea without looking back...

~~~~~~

"Ringleader, Ringleader," Dave said into the MX-2020, once we were at least five miles out in the Mediterranean Sea "This is Streetgang Alpha, I repeat, this is Streetgang Alpha, waiting for extraction."

"Do you think they heard us?" Danny asked, and then grinned, "Otherwise it's gonna be a long, tough ride to Greece."

However, before Dave could answer, I saw the water breaking on our starboard side, and before I knew it, the U.S.S. Richmond broke the water, and after the proper procedures had been performed, we were all aboard, submerged, and headed to Italy for debarkation.

~~~~~~

"How was it that you were attacked?" Admiral White asked, during debriefing, "Military Intelligence reported that there were no troops in the immediate area; and that this was supposed to be an in-and-out job."

"That figures," I sarcastically replied, looking at the two CIA assholes who were always at these debriefings, "When are you guys gonna learn that the words "Military" and "Intelligence" have no business even being used in the same sentence, much less together, Skipper?"

"Save it for later, Chief," Admiral White ordered, "That's it, gentlemen, your debriefing is complete."

"Uh, excuse me, Admiral," said the CIA asshole, "But there are still some aspects of this operation that we need to talk about."

"NO, there aren't," Admiral White growled, glaring at him, "These are my men, and I say when things are over where they're concerned, not you. Besides, they still completed the job they were sent to do, so; that's that. Do I make myself clear, Mister...whatever your real name is?"

"I'll take this up with the pentagon, Admiral," he said, "You won't be allowed to get away with this."

"Get the hell outta here," Admiral White barked, "Or I'll let my men do something that I'm sure they'd love to do, and that would be throw you out on your ass."

As opposed to saying anything further, the CIA man, whatever his name was, angrily turned and stomped away, letting the door slam shut behind him.

"Damn," I chuckled, "What an asshole."

"That he is, Mike," Admiral White half chuckled/half seriously replied, "But don't underestimate those slimy little Company fuckers. I can only hold them off about certain things...don't ever forget that, son."

"No, sir," I respectfully replied, "I won't forget, ever, sir."

Glad to hear it, Chief," He grinned, patting me on the shoulder, "And even though I've never officially welcomed you to our ranks, I'm damn glad you're here, as well as damn proud to have you as a member of The Teams, son," and then he extended his hand.

"Thank you, sir," I gratefully replied, "Thank you very much, Admiral White, and I'm damn proud to be here myself."

"You're going to do great things one say, kid," he grinned, as he looked me in the eyes, "I don't know how I know it, but I just do," and with that said, he looked at the whole remaining group, and with a disturbed on his face, told us, "Good job, gentlemen, and I'm sorry for the loss of Masterchief Mason. He was a good Frog, and a good man so; I'll write the official letter to his folks," and then he turned and quietly walked away, his face looking at the deck...

~~~~~~

"May the good Lord keep him a bless him," the Chaplain said, at Johnny's memorial service, "May the Lord's face shine down upon him and give him peace, Amen." Then the command was given to the rifle squad of seven men, fire three volleys into the air, marking 21-Gun salute, given only to heroes and/or fallen comrades. With each volley fired, I felt Jill flinching as she stood beside me at my friends funeral. I felt so blessed that she was there, standing beside me, while unknowingly giving me peace; because this was my first experience losing not only a Team member, but also a good friend as well. And at that particular moment in time, I was in need of all the help I could get...

~~~~~~

Later that evening, the remainder of the Team met in what was primarily a bar where all of the SEALs gathered to wind down, a place called "Captain Blackbeard's Bar & Grill". That night, however, we were gathered there to say good-bye to Johnny Lee in our own special way. And because he was well known and well liked in the SEAL community, other SEALs were also there to join us in giving him a proper send off.

It was Saturday night, and after making certain that we all had a drink in our hands, as well as having asked the owner to momentarily turn off the juke-box, Dave stood up in a chair and said, "As John Mason's commanding officer, it is my duty to..."

"Hey, Asshole," a wannbe biker stood up, interrupting Dave, "I've got ten dollars in that jukebox, and I just lost my money when the owner turned off...under your request."

"Here, dude," I quickly said, handing him a fifty dollar bill, "There's your money back, and enough for more than a few beers there. We're trying to say good-bye to a friend we just lost, okay brother?"

"I'm not your brother, he growled, throwing the money I handed him back in my face, "Besides, if you squid heads wanna go cry over your boyfriend, I suggest you do it in a church," and then he took a swing at me.

I immediately side stepped him, and after ending up behind his big dumb ass, I quickly applied a sleeper hold around his throat; and right before he closed his eyes for the last time, Leaned over, and after kissing him on the forehead, I sweetly told him, "Nighty-Night, dickhead," and then I dropped him to the floor, out cold for at least fifteen minutes.

"HOO-YAH, HOO-YAH," echoed throughout Blackbeard's that night for about five minutes, and after the owner, assisted by four of us, threw the jerk who started the trouble out of the bar, we finished our good-bye to Johnny, remaining at the bar for another hour or so, until we headed out our separate ways.

~~~~~~

Chapter Twelve

"Are you alright, my love?" Jill asked me, as soon as I came in and sat down next to her on the couch, "I'm really sorry about Johnny Lee. I know that you guys were very good friends, and if you need me for anything, I'm right here, you know that, Michael."

"I want you to know that I thank God everyday for putting you in my life, Jill," I tenderly told her, as I gently placed my arms around her waist, "And I love you with all my heart, my angel."

"Oh, Michael," she breathed, holding me closely to her, "I love you, too, and I'll never stop."

"I'm certainly glad to hear that," I grinned, "So; when would you like to get married, my love? We'll do it whenever you're ready."

"There's no doubt in my heart or mind that I want to marry you, Michael," she sweetly replied, holding her left hand in front of her, admiring her new engagement ring, "But I'd kinda like to wait until school is out for the summer so that we can go on a nice honeymoon somewhere special...is that okay with you, baby?"

"Of course it is," I softly replied, "I'll do whatever you'd like me to do."

"Is that a fact?" she asked, with mischief written all over her face, "Well then, I would like you to take me into our bedroom and make love to me all night long. Do you feel like doing that with me, my love?"

"Are you kidding me?" I grinned, gently lifting her from the couch and making our way down the hallway, "You lead and I'll follow, baby girl..."

~~~~~~

The following Monday at work was a day full of training for us. That afternoon after work, Brad was given the choice of pulling his new partner from the graduated BUD/S classes, and because we were all such good friends, he invited us to go along with him to watch his methods of choosing his new partner. It was kinda like the way David Turner chose me. The idea is to scare the shit out of the new guy before he's told that he's been chosen by a SEAL Team. Yeah, I know that sounds pretty screwed up, but let's face it, you've got to be a little screwed up to start with to do the kind of work that SEALs do...yes?

~~~~~~

Because Dave and Danny were stuck with administrative paperwork, Sam and I accompanied Brad to the UDT barracks, where the new candidates who'd all graduated BUD/s were housed (they used to be my old barracks, too.) Class 105 had just graduated seventeen men, the class beginning with one hundred and thirty-five.