Papal Justice

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Book: Read Papal Justice for Free Online
Authors: CG Cooper
Trent.
    The skins team’s arms shot up as they howled at their opponents.
    “Twenty-one to fourteen,” called Neil Patel from his beach chair on the sidelines. He had his prosthetic leg perched on a large blue cooler. The dark-skinned Indian had his ever-present laptop open, probably hacking into something he shouldn’t or coming up with another multi million-dollar idea, even as he kept tabs on the game.
    Cal hated to wreck the moment. He would have rather gone down and substituted for one of his men, but duty called. He whistled to get their attention. Heads turned his way.
    “Bar’s open in five minutes.” He pointed back to the house. If any of the TJG warriors were disappointed, they didn’t show it. He’d given them a heads-up about where he and Diane were going. They knew something was cooking and they were used to this life. One minute you were lounging by the pool with a cocktail in your hand, the next you were flying overseas.
    Cal and Diane headed back into the house. The first to join them was Daniel “Snake Eyes” Briggs. The blonde haired Marine sniper was retying his ponytail when he stepped in.
    “How did it go?” he asked, grabbing a bottle of water from the wine fridge.
    Cal wished he’d had time to bring Daniel with him. Not only was the sniper his near-constant companion and pseudo-bodyguard, he was also the calming influence to Cal’s fiery tendencies.
    “He said to say hello,” Cal replied, taking a seat at the end of the large sectional couch.
    Daniel looked at Cal for a second like he was going to press, but he sipped his water instead and took a place next to the large kitchen island.
    Soon, the rest of the twenty man team, including Diane, were present and waiting. These were professionals and Cal never had to preface any of his briefs with token jargon like, “What I’m about to say is Top Secret,” or “This stays in this room.” Those things were a given.
    “I’ll get right to it. The Pope, of all people, asked President Zimmer for assistance. It seems that a small Catholic parish in Mexico was attacked. Half of its members were killed and half were kidnapped. They suspect it’s a group of unknown jihadists who did it.” That got everyone’s attention. They’d often sat around until the wee hours discussing the possibility of a terrorist incursion from the south. Cal knew what they were thinking: Could this be the one? “Apparently, the Pope has a group of warrior monks that he’s dispatching to Mexico. The initial plan is to link up with them and see how we can help.”
    Cal had seen Daniel’s normally cool eyes light up at the mention of the monks.
    “Is this for real?” asked MSgt Trent, the sweat still running down his chiseled NFL physique.
    “Which part?” Cal asked.
    “The warrior monks.”
    Cal wanted to laugh, but he bit back the humor. “That’s what the president said.”
    The room was silent for a moment.
    Gaucho asked, “Where did it happen? In what city?”
    “Acapulco.”
    Gaucho’s eyebrows rose and Cal saw Trent glance at his best friend.
    “What is it?” Cal asked.
    “That’s where my family’s from,” said Gaucho.
    “Really? I thought they were farther north.”
    “Most of them are now, but we came from the coast.”
    That was something. The wheels cranked into a higher gear in Cal’s mind.
    “Is there anyone who could help us?”
    Gaucho didn’t immediately answer, and MSgt Trent frowned, staring at his friend.
    “I don’t think so,” Gaucho finally answered. “No one that we could use.”
    Trent huffed. “That’s for sure.”
    Cal looked back and forth between the former Delta soldier and the huge Marine.
    “Do one of you want to tell me what’s going on?” Cal asked.
    Another looked passed between the two friends.
    “Tell him, Gaucho,” Trent prodded.
    Gaucho nodded slowly.
    “My uncle lives in Acapulco.”
    “Could he help us?” Cal asked, still not understanding Gaucho’s hesitation. He’d just told them

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