The Lyssa Kordenay Missions - Book 12 - Butterflies and Sharks

Printer-friendly version

 

BaS cover.png
Book 12 of The Lyssa Kordenay Missions!
  Lyssa's preferred currency, the omnipresent favor,
brings Rodrick's past slamming to the forefront!

WARNING: The Lyssa Kordenay Missions may be
hyper-violent for some readers.

 

 


 

Butterflies and Sharks

 

CHAPTER 1

Lyssa chuckled looking at her facebook page. The cigarette boat rep Jim Sutton wanted a callback. Why not, Rodrick would be doing his pilot thing for another day transporting some cars to an auto show. Lyssa searched and found Sutton's number and dialed.

He answered on the second ring,"Jim Sutton."

"Hey Jim, its Lyssa, what's up," she asked.

"I'm in a really bad spot and need help," Jim said.

"Well what's the problem, need models for a new ad campaign," Lyssa chuckled.

"Oh god I wish it was something that simple, you wouldn't happen to know anybody that does repo work do you, " Jim pleaded.

Lyssa asked "Repo work? you mean somebody isn't paying for their boat? where at?"

"Yeah Lyssa I'm really in a bad spot. The guy I sent to go get the boat....well they put him in the hospital, its in the Keys,"Jim explained.

"Wow that is bad, who's trying to make off with a free boat," she asked.

Jim answered,"Randall Kagan."

"Oh hell.....you're lucky your guy only got sent to the hospital,"Lyssa admitted.

"You know him," Jim asked shocked.

"Not personally. His reputation precedes him," Lyssa sounded bitter.

"Reputation," Jim sounded puzzled,"I'm going to hate this aren't I?"

"yeah, not alot of models that work more than one season in the Miami area will go near him or his parties. Mention his name backstage and the girls hide,"Lyssa said flatly.

"Oh great," Jim groaned,"Lyssa please tell me you know somebody, anybody that might be able to get the boat back."

"Send me the location and I'll see who I know and how much they'll do it for," Lyssa said then wrote down where he said then disconnected.

She went to her computer and pulled up the location. Not bad, she knew a photographer in Key West that could get her close enough to swim in. A quick peek from a civilian satellite presented a different story. There were too many bouys around the guys place. Something about Kagan's place said stay away.

The ringing of her phone interrupted. It was Rodrick Mason, he was on his way back early. The client had to remove himself from the auto-show; he'd had a heart attack. Rodrick was quick to claim it wasn't from the sight of his bill making Lyssa laugh. She assured him that she'd found something diverting to do when he got back. Rodrick groaned, remembering the last time she'd found something for him to do. It consisted of going around the island with her control, Dannigan, in search of a suitable coffee table to replace the one they'd broken. Lyssa laughed and disconnected then called the office.

Madison answered on the first ring.

"Hey Madi, I need a favor,"Lyssa said.

"For you anything," Madison quipped back delighted to hear her voice.

Lyssa asked for any and all information on the Florida key and its resident. Turned out he had a DEA and a customs file that was rather thick but the theme was pretty much the same, a smuggler with absolutely no scruples. That and he had a thing for boats and playing rough with his dates. Of Late a non-substantiated assault charge by a local boat re-possessor. That meant either he had local LEO's on the payroll or one serious pitbull of a lawyer if not both. From the file Madison sent were higher resolution satellite imagery.The strange part was the small objects surrounding his boat docks. Their position changed randomly. She'd need to get more "eyes on" intel. Maybe Rodrick knew something about this guy.

~o~O~o~

Dannigan stepped out,"was that Lyssa earlier?"

"Yes sir, she wanted to know about a guy in the keys....DEA and Customs have files on him," Madison answered.

"And Lyssa wants to know, why," Dannigan asked.

"Not sure but I think it has to do with a boat repo. The guy sent for the boat got put in the hospital. Maybe she knows him," Madison ventured.

"Maybe but I have the feeling this may be one of her 'favor for a favor' exchanges," Dannigan speculated.

That made some sense to Madison. Just as long as Lyssa was doing something and not closing herself off. A European tabloid showed a picture of Lyssa with some man and they seemed very close. Dannigan had been down there around that time but other than being cheerful about a mission being successful he'd not mentioned anything like that. He'd seen her performance for himself. She was miffed about that, because he'd seen her dance several times and all Madison had seen was one recital. Any other time was on DVD. She was going to take some personal time when Lyssa danced again.

~o~O~o~

Rodrick walked in and had to laugh. On the table was copy of German Vogue open, but the tv was on to a show dubbed in Portugese with Russian subtitles. Dinner definitely smelled latin. He stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

Rodrick sniffed over her shoulder,"Sure that's enough?"

Lyssa laughed,"yeah, that's mine, what are you having?"

"Yours? I thought you ballerina model types did the whole 'I'll just have a salad and bottle of water' routine," He chuckled.

"Only to fit french designs," Lyssa commented,"you wish I was such a cheap date."

"Yeah well after what you pulled on Paul. I definitely want to be on your good side when it comes to dinner," Rodrick replied.

Lyssa gave him an impish look. Rodrick washed his hands then set the table. They joked as they ate, then Lyssa collected the dishes and cleaned up. Rodrick watched her with a combination of puzzlement and lust, then it dawned on him. a set up, she wanted something.

"Ok so what gives," He asked.

Lyssa smiled then asked," Know a Randall Kagan?"

Rodrick lost all humor,"That's not a name to be casually tossed out Lyssa."

"I'll take that as a yes," she remarked.

"Yeah I know him, "Rodrick said as his face hardened.

Lyssa decided not to beat around the bush," a friend is a sales rep for a cigarette boat company, Kagan bought the boat but he's only made the down payment. A local guy was sent to repo the boat. He's in the hospital."

"Lucky guy," Rodrick said,"Tell your friend to write boat off."

"Ok, you're a SEAL and you're giving this guy a side-step, what's his story," Lyssa asked.

"He's a smuggler and merc. Gives both professions a bad name," Rodrick remarked with undisguised hostility.

Lyssa gave him a look that said she knew he wasn't telling as much as she wanted. Rodrick got up and went over to pour a whiskey and drank then poured another.

"This guy is super bad juju, used to be a SEAL. Specialty was ship to ship ops, still is. Hell he's pretty much become a pirate," he said with a look of distaste.

Lyssa set out a satellite photo,"tell me about his place."

"aw shit! You wanna do this, look...these things in the water. Those are sharks and yes they are known to have eaten people," Rodrick explained," he's got low level radar but modified. he knows when somebody's coming by air or sea and as for underwater, well you can't get in there for obvious reasons swimming around."

"What about a HAHO jump,"She asked.

"You ARE nuts! You'll have to glide in, at least twenty miles, and land on the boat itself," he exploded.

Lyssa simply sat back and smirked at him.

Exasperated Rodrick asked," Ok smart ass. Let's say yes; you did glide all the way in. And yes; you are a member of the lucky club landing on the boat itself. Yippee. Good for you. How, fucking pray-tell, you gonna get it out?"

Rodrick pointed to one of the photos, "those buoys? Not there for decor; they mark a fence that rises 5 feet out of the water and there's no remote to open it."

"I have a boyfriend that's an awesome chopperjock and we can slingload the boat and me out," Lyssa giggled with a smile.

Rodrick groaned, "finally I have a girlfriend that understands the lifestyle. But she's turning out to be fuckin' crazier than I've ever been."

Lyssa walked over and kissed his cheek," baby. You don't even know the half of it."

 

CHAPTER 2

Jim Sutton's boss just got through ripping him a new butt. Not only had Kagan stopped paying on the boat, he'd put the only repo man that would try in the hospital. From shark bite. Luckily he got away fast enough to keep his limbs and life. Kagan left a message, short and simple, 'the boat was his and there wasn't anything they could do about it'.

Maybe Lyssa could turn up somebody that could pull off the repo. If she wasn't certain then he'd have to tell her to tell whoever to forget it. He wouldn't lose a friend over this guy, wasn't worth it. He wouldn't mind some fun time with her either, but a friend down in Nassau said it looked like she had a boyfriend. A boyfriend with a reputation. Alledgedly he was a smuggler, not a whole lot of people talked about that, just that he ran a charter service. Maybe he knew somebody.

~o~O~o~

Lyssa checked her HAHO jump rigs; she had three. One for morning, evening and night. One of Rodrick's guys would fly the plane she would jump from while he waited nearby with a Chinook for the signal. Simple plan; she'd jump in and land hopefully on the boat itself or the dock then send the signal. While Rodrick flew in with the powerful twin rotor helicopter, she'd rig the straps and shackles and be ready with a static discharge wire running down one to the water. After pickup, the boat with Lyssa in it, would be flown to a lake so that even if there were a tracking device it wouldn't do Kagan any good. The lake didn't connect to the ocean above ground.

The boat could be retrieved only by truck or helicopter. Jim would be waiting with a truck and trailer. Not an overly complex plan. Too many moving parts and murphy could throw a wrench in it. Not so simple it was specifically countered. Anybody just showing up at his door was automatically suspect. Kagan was the type that would definitely look a gift horse in the mouth.

An ex-SEAL meant he probably had the boat wired with at least three trackers and two shape charges. The charges would be stable to handle the erratic sea so they'd have to be quick and probably need a signal jammer because he'd have a remote detonator. She would, so he definitely would. One thing for certain, she'd have to fight her way out.

Her load-out was complete: lead with a CAR-15, back up with two Jerichoes( .40 caliber automatics), six reloads, two microsyrettes in her boots, a garrote tucked into a pouch on the shoulder strap and finishing out with the Marauder knife along the back of her right thigh and a Fairbarn-Sikes knife slung inverted to the other shoulder strap. For party favors she pulled two DefTec-25 flash-bangs, a white phosphorous smoke grenade, a concussion grenade and four fragmentation. It was her basic "Hop 'n Pop" rig without any precision charges for breaching walls or doors.

All that was fine and good, the boat would be retrieved but Kagan would be beyond pissed off and he'd want to take that mad out on somebody. First guess would be Sutton because he was the rep and likely the one contracting the repo work, if he got his hands on Jim then it would only take a couple minutes to get her name. Kagan would have to be dealt with. He'd made alot of enemies; if a few were to find out that he would be in a certain place.....at a certain time......

~o~O~o~

Dannigan read the email a second time and was still as confused as he was the first time. Lyssa wanted to know the top five people screwed over by Randall Kagan and not any agencies. The list was very long but he pulled the five most vicious. Two drug distributors, an arms dealer, a high end smuggler and a pirate. He wondered what the hell she was up to. A call would put those pieces together....he hoped. Lyssa's carribean number was answered on the second ring and Danigan didn't waste time.

"What the hell are you up to now," he asked.

Lyssa laughed,"afternoon to you too."

"Does Rodrick know what you're up to," Dannigan asked.

Lyssa answered,"uh-huh. He'll be helping me with this."

Dannigan asked warily, "Is this one of your favor for a favor things?"

"yeah, a boat sales rep sold a boat to Kagan. He made the down payment but nothing else, sent the repo guy to the hospital, I'm gonna creatively take him out of the picture," Lyssa explained.

"Too bad he can't be brought back in," Dannigan lamented.

"What's his deal anyway, Rodrick got really tight-lipped about it," Lyssa asked.

"A lot of bad blood between them two. Rodrick was on Kagan's team once," Dannigan said.

"Kagan sell out," Lyssa asked.

"He started running his own ops, dummied up mission plans,etc. Two of the boats he uses now he got from those bogus missions. When the brass got wise Rodrick got tapped to take him down. Rodrick got sold out by one of the others and it went nasty. the team was divided about it. Three killed and your boy spent a month in the hospital. He resigned his commission when he got out. He was already rated to fly so that's what he went with. The rest is history," Dannigan finished.

"That the candy-coated version,"Lyssa asked.

"You could say that. Look the Navy isn't thrilled about it and I even tried to recruit Rodrick once. He runs the occasional black flight for agencies but that's as close as he gets to working for us...well the thing between you two," Dannigan replied.

"The 'thing between us' I still don't know what to make of it," She commented.

Dannigan sighed,"Look. You both got raw deals. Rodrick was betrayed by people he trusted, you were betrayed by people you didn't even know. For him its an issue of trust, he lost his faith in people and left. You pulled a lone ranger and do everything by yourself. One day you two might work things out between each other. I know one thing though, you look and work good together."

Dannigan disconnected leaving Lyssa with more to think about than just tactics and strategy. She'd noticed the three round scars on his back long ago and recognized them for gunshot wounds. Now she knew their origin. That changed things. This favor just became free. Lyssa started studying the Keys and picked one thirty miles away. No houses but a small cove. She could spend the day prepping that little island, in fact she would.

~o~O~o~

Rodrick flew low and fast. The small seaplane touched down then slid into the cove and onto the beach. Lyssa climbed out and stepped lightly out of the surf as Rodrick followed.

"Ok, what's the grand plan here,"He sighed.

"Follow me. Watch and learn well," Lyssa said.

Her beautiful face like a mask of stone as she walked inland through an opening in the scrub. Rodrick watched as she began setting up the first set of tripwires to a simulator. Further down she dug a pungi pit and lined it with the sharpened sticks. Directly to the opposite side a grenade attached to a palmetto with a stick pressed to the spoon that when kicked or stepped on would release and detonate. Then she started working in rings, alternating harassing and debilitating and killing sets.

Rodrick couldn't believe what he was seeing. Traps and triggers he'd only heard of and many he knew nothing about. Very few were standard. Those he recognized were the kind they were taught in Army's special warfare school by green berets. SEALs used different set-ups from Special Forces he knew. A couple looked they came straight off the Ho Chi Minh trail. What Rodrick did know was he was watching a true expert at work. Rodrick frowned and began to wonder if the rumors of women in Special Forces were true.

Hours Later she finished with a ring of assault rifles around a clearing. Rodrick had heard that was a trick Delta Force used. He frowned again; every time he got another piece of the Lyssa's puzzle, the picture became more out of focus.

 
CHAPTER 3

The back ramp of the plane lowered, Lyssa looked out and saw the stars. Overhead the red indicator light came on so she stood up and walked slowly to the doorway. Rodrick was standing by with his Chinook. He still didn't like the operation even though he was very impressed with the island set up.

The dark sky looked peaceful as Lyssa looked out. The light turned green and the Loadmaster Carl called out,"GO!!!!" Lyssa threw herself forward out of the plane. The wind ripped by as she fell. A glance at her displays and she corrected her course then watched as the altimeter counting down to the deployment.

When the numbers flashed Lyssa pulled the handle and felt the hard slam of opening shock. She looked up and saw the canopy billow with all risers intact and even. The quarter moon and light cloud cover wouldn't silhouette her dark grey Vector paraglider and the carbon-fiber oxygen tank wouldn't reflect any radar signals. Literally there was no metal presentable to reflect light or signals.

At two thousand feet she was on final approach and unhooked the tank and helmet to drop away into the sea. A pull on the right toggle spun her back inland. At the last second she saw a figure standing on the dock and lined up on him.

Too late he heard the snapping of the canopy and turned just in time for Lyssa's boot to slam into his chest as she cut away the chute. It wasn't Kagan. She gained her footing then searched him. The remote on his belt was quickly snatched away. a spare bootlace secured his wrists and she dragged him onto the boat then radioed to Rodrick.

It took only seconds to set up the signal jammer then hook the lift straps and drop the static discharge wire into the water. She checked the time, the Chinook would be inbound in two minutes so the mooring lines were cut.

Lights came on around the compound as the sound of the helicopter's rotors broke overhead . Lyssa snapped the lightsticks to show she was ready and Rodrick dipped lower. A tap drew off the static charge coursing down from the rotors and then she snapped the shackle onto the hook and waved to the crew chief. Lyssa then ran forward to the bow of the boat and hung on as it was lifted up. Several men opened fire at the big helo.

Lyssa brought the CAR-15 up and triggered off several short bursts then she palmed a flash-bang and pitched it. Two 180 decibel bangs followed by a one million candle power strobe. a float helicopter bobbed at the end of the dock. Lyssa pulled the pin and dropped the white phosphorous grenade. It popped just overhead and globs of the burning phosphorous dropped over the helicopter and dock setting both on fire. Moments later the fuel tank of the helicopter exploded. Kagan and company were now restricted to the water as the Chinook flew fast out of sight.

~o~O~o~

Kagan bellowed at his men,"Where the hell is Mcquire, he has the damn detonator!"

None indicated they knew the man's whereabouts. He stomped down the dock followed by his men. The float-copter was a total loss.

"Who was on the radar," Kagan demanded.

A man stepped forward,"I was Skip."

Kagan immediately shot the man's knee out then pushed him into the water. The already agitated sharks swarmed and attacked taking him underwater.

"While the sharks are busy get the gate open and fire up the boats,"He ordered, "Grab everything that kills!"

Moments later engines roared as men jumped onto a boat carrying assault rifles and wearing vests for ammunition. Kagan didn't know who pulled this or how but when he caught them they'd be mailed back to that idiot salesman, postage due. Whoever they were, they were good; the only possible way in had been to swim through the shark teeming water or come in from the air. Nothing had shown on the radar except the Chinook. Ian paid the price for that failure. The tracking signal was steady though, they'd be on them in half an hour.

~o~O~o~

Rodrick set the boat down gently in the cove and the crew chief unhooked the shackle. His the crew chief ran up and took the controls. Rodrick ran down to the back ramp and jumped, landing in the water like a javelin then popping back up and climbing aboard the boat.

Lyssa had already started searching the boat but Rodrick found the charges and the trackers then froze seeing her captive. Tom McQuire. Lyssa sat and looked on, her face bearing her unique pattern of black markings. He thought they were beautiful when he'd seen them before. Even more so now.

"Familiar face," she asked with a steady voice.

"oh yeah,"Rodrick answered," hey there Hi-wire Mcquire, long time."

"Hi-wire," Lyssa asked,"don't tell me this guy came from the circus?"

Rodrick answered,"So said his mama was an acrobat and his alledged daddy was a wire walker. The guy fell and died so nobody really knows for sure."

They moored the boat to a chain attached to a coralhead.

"Kagan's comin' Ramrod,"McQuire sneered,"gonna get you're little sweetie there too."

Rodrick sputtered with laughter,"You're lucky I'm here to save you from her and by the way, she did a 18,000 foot HAHO jump to get to this boat and you don't wanna know what she does for a hobby. It involves wiping out entire cocaine cartels in a matter of hours."

"Awwwww. You make me blush," Lyssa smiled coldly," Let's get him ashore. A proper hostess should be ready to greet our guests."

Rodrick chuckled as he pitched McQuire overboard then dove in and dragged him to shore as lyssa eased into the water and waded to the beach.

"Put him further in. Make them work for him,"Lyssa instructed.

Rodrick nodded then set out down the trail walking McQuire in front of him. Lyssa sanitized the back-trail and arming all the traps then concealed herself in a spider-hole at the edge of the scrub. It was disguised as a pungi pit.

 
The wait wasn't long. She heard the deep roar of the engines as the boat came into the cove. Lyssa stilled herself and filled her mind with the mental picture of the trail above her. It wasn't verifiable fact that such technique really worked, but many experts swore by it. Mentality was always a major factor in battle so why not utilize the technique. She had to stifle a giggle hearing Kagan and his men angry that the boat wouldn't start and chained underwater to a coral head below. She pressed the button on the remote. The two charges they'd relocated from the boat went off sending up water and sand. Right on cue, Rodrick let out a bellow and then a quick burst from his assault rifle.

Kagan immediately took charge,"Slow down guys....McQuire may or may not bought it but we ain't about to run down the snake's throat."

The pointman took two steps forward then leaped back as his footing had started to give way. He signaled 'danger immediate' and they all froze. Kagan moved forward slowly to look at the spot of sand his pointman indicated. He pressed down with the barrel of his rifle. A sand covered grass mat gave way to reveal the hole lined with sharpened sticks.

"Gloves are off, no more screwing around," Kagan ordered, "I want these fuckers!"

 
CHAPTER 4

Rodrick watched quietly waiting for anyone to show themselves. He'd secured McQuire to a palm tree and booby trapped him with a grenade. A twig snapped in the distance, it was one of them not Lyssa. A moment later another noise caught his attention: a scream cut short. A flare went off then shots, a moment later a grenade exploded then somebody screamed loud and long until a single shot silenced him. A flash-bang went off next then a volley of auto-fire.

Suddenly he felt a presence and heard a whispered,"shhhhh. its me."

Rodrick relaxed, the woman was a ghost. Gone into the scrub again. Another grenade went off followed by burst of auto-fire. He knew she was leading with a CAR-15 and they favored MP-5's. The last burst came from Lyssa. He swore he saw a nearby bush move then someone elsewhere stood up and started running towards it, firing from the hip. Rodrick triggered off a burst and the figure cartwheeled.

Lyssa watched as someone stepped wrong and their foot went down into a pungi pit. He drew a lot of attention yet no gunfire or investigators. They were waiting for her to go in close then they'd spray the area with their subguns. Lyssa knew their tricks better than they did. She circled wider and removed one with her knife. She found another crawling to what he thought was a better position. He found himself facing the muzzle of a suppressed pistol. Lyssa stroked the trigger, the auto-loader chugged once.

Rodrick heard a concussion grenade go off on the far side and saw more bushes move. He understood now, she was driving them to the small clearing. Someone slithered close to the edge of it, then two more and another three. On impulse he flattened himself to the ground. A group of claymores went off.

"When the hell did she set those up," he asked himself.

A minute went by, then another. Finally someone stood and called out for Kagan. The only response was a short burst from an MP-5 and he dropped. Two more grenades went off in the distance. a snap and then a scream followed by a single pistol shot.

All became deathly still for a few tense minutes then McQuire yelled out,"HERE!!! I'm over here! Kagan over here!"

Rodrick moved closer then saw the large silhouette of Randall Kagan slowly rise up facing the palm McQuire was tied to then bring up his MP-5. Suddenly the dark figure had a shadow. It moved on its own, bringing the rifle butt hard to the back of Kagan's head and they both dropped to the ground.

Two minutes later he heard a whisper,"all clear."

Rodrick watched as Lyssa slowly stood up close to him. He had to chuckle.

"Follow me honey, mama brought home the bacon," Lyssa said coldly.

They walked over and there was Kagan, face down bound wrist and ankle.

"Wow, who should we give him to," Rodrick asked.

Lyssa shrugged,"I just gift wrap, you're the delivery guy."

They both laughed but were cut off by McQuire swearing at them.

Rodrick looked into Lyssa's bright eyes,"we need both of them?"

Lyssa pulled her right pistol and detached the supressor,"is he the one?"

"Yeah, he's the one," Rodrick said grimly taking the Jericho from her.

Lyssa untied Kagan's ankles and dragged him up,"I'm not getting paid for this so don't tempt me into creative expression asshole."

Just as Lyssa and Kagan reached the waterline; the first shot was heard with several more intermittently as they waded out to the boat.

Ten minutes later Rodrick waded out and climbed up onto the boat,"thanks."

"better now,"she asked.

"Yeah, that was a long time coming. So what are we gonna do with him,"Rodrick asked.

" A coast guard crew is inbound, they'll get him to shore and then Dannigan will take over. This boat will be given back to the company,"she explained.

"Oh. what about that other boat," he asked pointing to the sport boat.

Lyssa answered, "well he killed the owner of it to get, so I'd say: one for me. I know a guy that can do some interesting things with boats."

A searchlight then lit and played back and forth across the cove. The coast Guard announced itself a moment later. They took possession of the cigarette boat and the Rogue SEAL and left without asking questions.

~o~O~o~

Dannigan watched the live stream. A sniper took his position then chambered a round into a Barrett sniper rifle then a split screen came up. He was seeing the sniper and what the sniper was targeting.

a voice came over the speakers," target acquired, standing by to fire."

Dannigan typed in a single word.

Another voice came over the speakers,"sniper you are cleared to fire at will."

He replied,"Firing."

A moment later the rifle bucked. The picture distorted then cleared as the round slammed into Randal Kagan just below his neck. The head almost completely severed as blood blasted backward from the round.

"Solid hit. target is down; hard. Traitorous bastard," the sniper announced.

Dannigan shut down the video then gathered his coat and briefcase and left.

~o~O~o~

Rodrick stared as Lyssa reclined naked on the lounge chair on the deck of the small yacht.

"you look entirely too comfortable here,"he commented.

"Not yet,"She replied then held up a bottle of tanning oil.

Rodrick took the bottle and proceeded to smooth some onto her.

"If it bothers you, we can sell the boat and buy one or donate to a charity or something," Lyssa said.

"That's not it. A lot to process; Kagan, McQuire. How damn good you really are at what you do. I mean yeah you're a great dancer and an Operator the likes of which I've never seen before. I've never been to a real runway show before but I can make a safe bet you're awesome at that too," Rodrick listed.

That got her undivided attention, she sat up,"Rod you aren't intimidated are you?"

Rodrick sat for aminute then looked at her and said,"well.....yeah I guess maybe i am a little."

Lyssa smiled,"Don't worry baby, I'll keep you safe. all you have to do is love me and tell me I'm pretty."

Rodrick smiled back," that's easy enough because you are and I do."

Lyssa raised up and kissed him," I'm all your's hotrod."

They both laughed and relaxed the rest of the day.

 
 
 

Lyssa Kordenay will return in Roses and Butterflies!!
up
504 users have voted.
If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos! Click the "Thumbs Up!" button above to leave a Kudos

Comments

inspiration and late night talks

Alecia Snowfall's picture

long ago a certain person and I were talking. I asked what was the worst enemy to face. He looked me straight in the eye and said "One of my own team." I didn't have to think very long to see the wisdom in that statement. Its true. The worst enemy we could ever face is own of our own gone rogue. So I wrote this one with that in mind. To me there is no greater sin than betrayal.
 
here's a disclaimer- when I have been and continue to write the Lyssa Kordenay Missions certain aspects of tradecraft(operational techniques) used by the U.S. Military I adjust a little or a lot. I do so to protect my brothers and sisters still out there fighting for what we all believe in, a better tomorrow. HOOO-AAHHHH!

quidquid sum ego, et omnia mea semper; Ego me.
alecia Snowfall

You surprised me.....

D. Eden's picture

By remembering the ground wire for the static discharge from the chopper. It's something I luckily have never forgotten about, but I did have the dubious honor of watching a young Marine forget once. Damned near killed the poor young man. That kind of object lesson tends to help you remember!

My ANGLICO team was both jump and airmobile qualified, as well as both HALO and HAHO qualified. We did actually make a few operational HALO insertions, but never an actual operational HAHO.

It's nice to see someone who actually gets some of the details. Most action stories tend to completely ignore the real life facts, and for those of us with some intimate knowledge it always takes away from the enjoyment of the story. You learn to ignore it as much as you can, but sometimes it gets so blatantly wrong as to be insulting.

On the other hand, it's easy to judge the accuracy of an author's writing by how many memories it dredges up. A few really good writers have even triggered nightmares for me.

This was easily up to the standard you have set for your work, and enjoyable as always.

Dallas

D. Eden

Dum Vivimus, Vivamus

object lesson

wolfjess7's picture

Is an understatement. I remember back in my days as an air assualt cav trooper whatching one of my best friends getting the s**t knooked out him by a static discharge. He spent the next 10 days in the hospital and 20 on medical leave.
I can still hear my Top's words of wisedom the next day about remembering the ground wire for the static discharge from the chopper. "The Dumbass the forgets to use a ground wire will spend the rest of their time in MY company as the company Bitch." Needless to say nobody forgot the ground wire.

May the peace and happiness of the Goddess keep and protect you
as always your humble outlaw
Jessie Wolf

Luckily for me......

D. Eden's picture

As a Navy officer in command of a mixed Navy/Marine ANGLICO unit, the Marine involved was not one of mine. He was part of the battalion we were supporting, so he was somebody else's problem. The ironic thing about it was that it was a Navy Seahawk picking us up, and my 2IC, a Marine Gunnery Sergeant, had just commented about not seeing a ground wire when the poor kid got knocked six ways to Sunday.

The only good thing about the whole incident was that I didn't have to do the paperwork, lol.

D. Eden

Dum Vivimus, Vivamus

I have one worse.

Dawnfyre's picture

yourself.

try to take yourself down.
not just the same training, but the same thought patterns.
same blindnesses and strengths.


Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.

Always

Dahlia's picture

As always, exceptional. Thanks so much!

Dahlia

Lyssa

strikes again.

It's the author's perogative to be sufficiently vague and change some facts to protect secrets.

Joanna

Too good

Darn it! Just when I thought you couldn't get any better. Well I am suitably impressed. One thing does trouble me, I was raised on the 45acp then along comes the government & likes the 9 MM and the 40 cal. I am still active shooting but never heard of the Jericho I sure would appreciate some info from you on it please.. Hugs to my favorite author

tech data

Alecia Snowfall's picture

Jericho- .40 cal semi-auto by Israeli Arms (Desert Eagle)

quidquid sum ego, et omnia mea semper; Ego me.
alecia Snowfall

RE; tech data

And the Jericho is based on the CZ-75 design.

Specifically the right handed version of the CZ-75 and not the ambidextrous one.

this should make you smile...

Saw this as a decal on the back window of a pickup.

.45 ACP
Because shooting
twice is just silly.

Available through Amazon from Bargain Max Decals

Enjoy.

lol

Alecia Snowfall's picture

nice. I still prefer .40 custom loads(yeah..I know. I'm spoiled)

quidquid sum ego, et omnia mea semper; Ego me.
alecia Snowfall

Snowfall,

Snowfall,
I really like that Lyssa and Rodrick have teamed up. They both seem suited for and to each other, as both possess skills that complement the other.
Lyssa is by far the much better operative, but if she trains Rodrick a little, he could very well become rather close to her skills except those of course that are strictly female in nature.
I am still of the mind that this series would make an excellent series of movies, as the stories have pretty much what both sexes like, Lyssa as a Signature Ballerina, model, Female lead and role model, and then action-adventure episodes that attract the male half. The there would Rodrick for the women to set their sights on if they chose to do so. All good when put together.
Janice