Free Starfish Prime (Blackfox Chronicles Book 2) by T.S. O'Neil Page A

three rib eye steaks and potatoes sizzling under the heat of the Guava wood.   Michael and Ramos sat atop an old sun-bleached wooden picnic table content to drink cold beer and watch the process. 
    The lobster seasoning turned out to be a hit with them both. The boil bag imparted a slight Cajun spice to the succulent white flesh that nicely complemented the smoked flavor of the rich marbled steaks, which they washed down with several more iced cold Colombian beers. Other than stopping once to compliment Char on his culinary accomplishments, no one said anything until all the food had been devoured. 
    They had drunk enough to make returning to the boat through the thorny underbrush a task better left to the morning. Char let the fire burn down to a smoldering glow and cleaned the lobster pot from a tank of rainwater mounted on a tower beside the propane tank. 
    The sun quickly began retreating across the horizon, casting long shadows against the buildings and palm trees. Ramos d irected them to the back of the C-Hut where a large pile of military cots sat neatly stacked in one corner. 
    They set the cots up on the weathered wooden sun deck.
    Once done, Char reclined on a cot and almost immediately asleep— a moment later, he began peacefully snoring.
    “Guy could sleep through a fire fight,” said Michael,
    unaware of how prophetic that statement would turn out to be. 
                 

Chapter Ten - Drug Deal
     
    As United States policy expanded to include counterterrorism training, Colombia, with its active counterinsurgency war and
    global drug cartels, became ground zero for the effort. The
    United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) was the major joint forces headquarters responsible for the area. Special Oper ations units from SOUTHCOM were currently training and equipping a counter-narcotics (CN) brigade. This included the fielding of Black Hawk helicopters and training CN troops in counter-narcotics operations. 
    MARSOC was also participating in joint mobile training teams that provided military training and support missions, as well as providing continual support to the Department of State’s military related programs. Therefore, Colombia was already in
    MARSOC’s backyard. 
    The MARSOC Commander called in a chit and got a raid team and a Blackhawk. Called a drug deal, in the somewhat p eculiar vernacular of the Army, it referred to a deal done under the table—outside official military channels.
    McElroy had served with a particular Army Special Forces colonel during Operation Just Cause when he was assigned as a
    Special Forces liaison to the then-Captain’s Recon Company. The Green Beret was a staff sergeant at the time and received a direct commission some time later. They had crossed paths at various times during their careers, once at a seminar on multinational terrorism at the War College, and again during Operation Iraqi freedom, when the newly promoted SF major served as SF liaison to the Marine Expeditionary Brigade McElroy commanded. 
    The colonel was now commanding the Seventh Special For ces Group and was providing support to the Colombian Counter-Narcotics Brigade. The details of the drug deal were unknown. 
    “We’re about ten nauts out,” cackled the voice in the Chief Warrant Officer’s headset. He was technically on an evaluation ride, grading the Blackhawk’s crew on night operations, including navigation and landing. 
    An SF master sergeant would be grading the team in the back on conducting a counter-narcotics raid. The unit’s normal hea dquarters was at the Larandia Army Post, a military base located in Caqueta, southern Colombia. 
    After the UH-60A had closed to within five nauts, the American master sergeant nodded at his Colombian counterpart, a captain, who screamed “Bloqueo y carga” to the raid team, a hand-picked group of eight sergeants standing in for the actual team being evaluated. They were all dressed in camouflage battle dress uniforms, Kevlar