Special Ops Christmas Read Online Free Page A

the Trident I accept the responsibility of my
chosen profession and way of life. It is a privilege that I must earn every
day…
    He had also sworn to love, protect, and live for Vivianne.
Aiden took both vows to heart. At times he questioned whether he could commit
to both responsibilities at the same time—even though he wanted to do so with
every fiber in his being.
    The room remained quiet. Aiden nodded and said, “Thank you,
all of you. But, guys, we won’t even get stateside for two weeks, and then you
know I can’t leave decompression. I asked permission already. We’re under
orders.”
    Tank stood up. “O’Riley, we’re SEALS. And you need to get to
Vivianne.”
    The door snapped open and everyone turned their heads. It
was Master Chief Petty Officer Kie Arora, a well-respected, yet demanding,
leader in the task unit.
    “Daniels, what’s going on?”
    Daniels stepped in front of the board and shrugged. That was
it. Aiden appreciated his buddies’ gesture, but he knew this idea wouldn’t get
far.
     “Daniels!” Arora barked.
    Still looking at Arora, Daniels slapped the whiteboard
behind him. “We need a flight for O’Riley to get home NOW.”
    Arora took three more steps and glanced at the messy
handwriting, then turned to Aiden. “What’s the deal, O’Riley, with Christmas?”
he snapped. “We all want to get home.”
    “It might be my only chance to save my marriage.”
    Arora’s eyes flickered. Silence reigned as he looked down,
considering, before raising his eyes to meet Aiden’s. “I’ll make it happen.”
    Once Arora left the room, Daniels turned toward the board.
“Whoa, it looks like Special Ops-Phase 1 has just been arranged!  Now to figure
out the rest.”
     “Hold on,” Aiden said, stepping forward to physically block
Daniel’s view of the whiteboard. He actually liked watching Daniels take the
leadership role. Daniels had only recently moved up the ranks to Chief Petty
Officer, whereas he was used to that position. At least Aiden knew the group
would be okay without him. “Before we get into this, each one of you needs to
think about the consequences of your actions.”
    No one in the room needed to be reminded of the penalties of
knowingly failing to obey a military regulation. Yet, despite visions of
punishments ranging from loss of pay to bad-conduct discharge to imprisonment,
the faces that looked back at Aiden all held identical expressions of
determination to help their comrade.
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Six
     
    The call came much sooner than expected. “O’Riley, move—
move now! We’ve got a flight if you can haul your butt over there this second.”
And with those words, Special Ops Christmas was underway.
    Daniels met his eyes. “Merry Christmas, bro, and that’s an
order.”
    “O’Riley?” Arora handed Aiden a sealed white envelope.
“You’re not officially cleared for any of this, so you might have problems
using your own ID. This contains your new ID along with tickets all the way to
the West Coast. However, I have no knowledge of what you’re doing, and I won’t
help in any other way if you get caught.”
    “Understood, Sir.” This was more than he’d hoped for
already. The new ID displayed his face but with a totally different name. He
chuckled at the high quality of the forged documents. The expert work did not
surprise him since changing identity was often needed in special missions, and
the Navy SEALs only delivered the best.
    Daniels slapped him on the back. Tank stood behind him,
grinning like a fool. “O’Riley, this is it. Get your butt in gear.”
    Aiden stood, suddenly aware his hands were shaking. Strange
for a Navy SEAL, but this was his most important mission. “Will, do.” He
saluted them, just a casual flip of his fingers, but it was a show of respect
that reflected the love within this team. Saying thanks just wouldn’t be
enough.
     
    Aiden boarded a plane full of excitement: relaxed and giddy
excitement in most of