Once a Marine by Patty Campbell Read Free Book Online Page B

old mother and tossed her mutilated body on the street in front of police headquarters.
    Rafi shook his head with trepidation and disgust. “Jesus, I hate it when there are kids involved. We could all end up getting our asses shot off. Kids are so damn unpredictable and noisy. Christ!”
    Rafi had seen a lot of brutality since he and Joe joined the Marines at the tender age of seventeen. But the barbaric murders and savage actions of the Filipino guerrillas made the hair prickle on the back of his neck.
    Abu Sayyaf’s goal was to form an independent Islamic state in western Mindinao. Their recent surge of violence coincided with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the People Power Revolution and the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos.
    They sought to exact revenge for the killing Abdulkarim Sali, a key member of the terrorist organization and the mastermind behind the kidnapping of two American missionaries in 2001. Not to mention numerous bombings and beheadings in the past ten years.
    Rafael could have resigned the assignment if he chose, but the opportunity to take down some of those radical murdering bastards would be very satisfying. And the money was too damn good to pass up. He had to build up as much in cash reserves as possible to keep his charter airline going until he got financial breathing room.
    Silverstone recruited Rafi for this particular mission because his first language was Spanish. He’d mastered several of the local Filipino dialects while stationed at the Marine air base at Zamboanga.
    He and Joe had worked with Silverstone Security almost since the day they were discharged as active-duty Marines. Once a Marine, always a Marine. In fact, doors had been opened for Rafi because of his sterling service record. He’d been one lucky son-of-a-bitch so far. How long could his luck hold out? He very much wanted that luck to hold. He had a real good reason now for wanting to get back to the States in one piece.
    The operation was black, unofficial. No ID. Nothing to tie them to Silverstone or the Philippine or US governments. After they landed in Zamboanga, they would make their way to the coast and proceed to Basilan by boat. If the mission went in the crapper there would be no record. Nobody ever heard of them. There would be no help. They would disappear. Nobody would ever know what happened to them.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    Shari lifted her sunglasses from her nose and pointed a slender manicured finger at BD. “So why are you still here?”
    BD flicked a few drops of water in Shari’s direction, climbed out of the pool and settled on the chaise. “I’m still here because we haven’t come up with a plan. What do I have to rush back to? Nick’s history, and without you I don’t have a job.” She rubbed her hair with a fluffy towel.
    Datu arrived with a tray of iced tea and sandwiches. “You lady too skinny. Angara nag me you don’t eat.” He set the tray down with a thump on the small table between them and scowled.
    Shari snatched a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic SPF 15, just before it fell from the table. She grinned. “We’ll either eat them or hide them, Datu.”
    He nodded. “Good. I bring back empty tray, wife shut up.”
    BD watched his retreating back. “How do you always manage to hire the best domestics? I don’t get it. Why would any of them work for you?”
    Shari extended the sunscreen in BD’s direction. “Why do you work for me?”
    BD took the bottle. “That’s a question for the ages. I’ve been puzzling over that one for the past week.” She smoothed lotion on her shoulders and sun-browned arms. “Am I getting burned on my face?”
    Shari lifted her glasses again, squinted at BD. “You’ve finally got some color. It suits you.” She picked up a sandwich. “You should get in the sun more.”
    BD helped herself to a sandwich. “I do whenever you unchain me and let me out of the workhouse.”
    “Very funny.”
    “I thought so.”
    They ate sandwiches and sipped tea in silence.