Mustang continued, tilting his head toward the quiet man on his right, “This is Jag. Don’t let his quiet nature fool you. What he lacks in conversation the man more than makes up for in the field. And this is?—”
“Aleck.” The final SEAL didn’t bother shaking hands, but instead gave a lift of his smooth-shaven chin. “Guess he saved the best for last.”
A few of the other men on Aleck’s team rolled their eyes. A couple others released a round of deep snorts.
Beckett remained quiet with a slight tilt of his head as he tried narrowing down his thoughts on the young frogman. Then he realized the smartass seemed familiar because…
He reminds me of me.
“I’m Falcon.” Beckett’s teammate introduced himself before adding, “And this is Apollo.”
Mustang dipped his chin at them both. “Good to meet you, gentlemen. Now, no offense, but if it’s all the same to you, we’d love nothing more than to take care of these pirate assholes quickly so we can all get back home to our wives.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more.” Falcon nodded with a grin.
Apollo—the only other member of Tac-Ops who was married—remained quiet, but Beckett knew the hard-hitting former SEAL concurred. With a wife as sweet and talented as Nicki, it was easy to understand why.
Hell, he and Evie weren’t even engaged, and he was already itching like mad to see her again. See her. Kiss her. Touch her.
Make her mine.
“This is us,” Mustang spoke up again, motioning toward the SUV they’d previously exited. “You guys can follow in that one.” He pointed to the one parked behind it. “I’m assuming you’ve been briefed on the plan for our approach?”
“SCUBA gear’s right in here.” Apollo patted a hand against one of the bulky bags jostling against his side.
“Good.” Mustang reached for the driver’s door of his team’s appointed ride. “We can give you a brief rundown on how it’s gonna go once we get to the beach.”
With a grumbled “See you there”, Digger led Beckett and the others to their awaiting vehicle. Once their gear was stashed in the back cargo area, the team climbed inside and waited for the fun to begin.
Thirty minutes later,Beckett found himself swimming beneath the water’s surface, soaking in the peaceful serenity the ocean granted to all those who entered. His hooded wetsuit was like a second skin, the neoprene holding an insulated layer of water between his body and the suit’s black, thick material.
Hence the moniker “wetsuit” versus dry.
The tranquility of the Atlantic surrounded him on all sides as the gentle sway of his fins pushed him closer to the man he and his team were hired to save. Like those around him, Beckett held his dive light securely in his fist, the circular beams from both teams shining through the otherwise impenetrable abyss.
God, I love the water.
He loved everything about it. Being on it. Swimming through it. Diving deep to explore what he’d always considered to be the great unknown.
But tonight was different. This wasn’t a mission to explore, and Beckett and the others knew exactly what they were about to face. Even so, they had about twenty more minutes until they reached their target location, making it damn near impossible to keep from getting lost in his thoughts.
As he often was while diving with his team, he was reminded of a childhood spent swimming at the public pool. Those dayswere some of the best memories, and time had changed very little about the things he enjoyed the most.
Even now, while being swallowed by the monstrous, rolling sea in the dead of night, he felt a sort of peace only the water could bring. Like a dream he used to have over and over again as a child.
The recurrence of the scene always the same…
I’m in the water. I have the pool all to myself. I’m swimming underwater, and I never have to come up for air.
The memory spurred him into action, and Beckett reached a hand over to the man swimming close to his right. Because Digger was his permanent dive buddy during any dive-required op, it was Beckett’s responsibility to let the other man know anytime he needed to go up for air.
With his light in his left hand, he used his dominant fist to give Dig’s bicep a tap beneath the water. Almost immediately, the other man turned his focus to his partner. The two men made eye contact through the clear shield of their airtight masks.
Beckett pointed toward the surface, indicating his need to take a breath. With a nod, Digger began his ascent as he motioned to the others to do the same.
One by one, each member of both teams became alerted to the necessary change in their positions. Following their deeply engrained training, they kicked themselves closer to the surface, ensuring they remained present and accounted for by all.
As he approached the impending break in the water, Beckett slowly began rolling over onto his back. His mouth cleared the surface, and just as he and the others had a few times during their current swim, he immediately began sucking in as much air as his lungs would hold.