Maddie ran to the window. A large, unmarked Blackhawk helicopter swooped over the mountains to the south.
“Jessie. Go grab a .50 caliber and meet me outside.”
Her sister sprinted out the door. Maddie grabbed her pistol from her bag and ran after her. Maddie stopped on the main level as Jessie ran for the basement and the weapon room. Her dad was headed out the back door with an A.R. and a pistol. Maddie raced after him. She hadn’t stopped for shoes or a sweatshirt and the grass was damp and chilly on her bare feet. The morning air stung her bare arms and legs.
The chopper swooped over the lake, creating ripples in the once peaceful and unbroken surface. Maddie’s heart felt like it was beating in her throat. Would that chopper ruin her family’s peaceful existence?
Not on her watch. She’d promised not to kill if at all possible but she could still fight, and disable, and protect her family and the weapon. Maddie finally felt she could exercise her faith. She prayed desperately for her family and the secret’s protection.
The Blackhawk landed on the long stretch of grass running east of her parents’, aunt’s and uncle’s, and Papa’s house down by the lake. Armed soldiers opened the door and leaped out. All four of the men held M4A1 carbine machine guns.
Every family member who wasn’t on protection detail was now running across the grass to intercept this invasion force.
The chopper’s blades slowed and then stopped as a fifth bald soldier climbed out. The men wore battle fatigues with the SEAL trident just above the Navy cross on their breast. The tall, dark-haired man in the middle had an EOD or crab pin as well. She couldn’t tell what level of EOD he was, but he seemed to be the leader.
Five men faced them, all holding the SEAL’s choice of M4A1. So it was a four-man firing team and one demolitions expert? That was her best guess from what Aiden had taught her about SEAL teams, but she could be wrong. The men’s faces were grim. None of them were happy to be here, to be taking a battle to Americans, but she could already see … they would finish this job because it had been assigned to them.
She was glad she’d told Jessie to go for the .50 caliber. It would be worth it if these guys were hostile. Had their own military turned against them? If they had, how would the Deltas keep the secret safe? The more immediate question though: why would these well-trained and probably well-informed and prepared men land on the family’s grass and ruin their advantage of stealth rather than go after the secret quietly? They most likely had the satellites to find the cave’s location. Did they think they could overpower the entire Delta family? If they did, they had another thing coming. She felt confident they could take these guys, but it was an eerie premonition of what might be coming, and there would be casualties on both sides. Maddie’s stomach pitched imagining any of her beloved family members being killed. Though prayer felt unfamiliar after four years, she gave it her best effort.
Six of her family members were up patrolling the secret and protecting the cave, but everybody in the valley was converging on the helicopter, most holding their own favorite machine gun and pointing it at the men.
Her mom and Jessie came slowly out the back door, each loaded down with a .50-caliber machine gun. The guns each weighed 84 pounds, so it was easy to see it was a struggle, but she was proud of how tough her mom and sister were. They stopped a fair distance away and set up on the hill to have the higher ground advantage.
The SEAL team’s eyes were searching around, cataloguing the Deltas and their weapons. She could hear a side-by-side Polaris Razor racing in their direction from around the lake. Greer.
Maddie wondered what the pilot was doing in the chopper and if he was coming to join in the fight. Her stomach turned over as she realized all of her praying and her cool experience last night and with Braden might be for naught. Her repentance would be short-lived. She might have to kill one of these men today, and this time it would be to protect her own family. The worst part about killing them was they weren’t evil or depraved. These were America’s finest soldiers. They’d probably been told they were after the secret to protect it from King Frederick, but she’d bet whoever had sent them would sell the secret to Frederick.
Papa walked calmly down the grass and right up to the soldiers. They all tensed. Maddie lifted her pistol and took careful aim at the tough bald guy on the right who looked the most threatening. If they dared shoot Papa, she would have no choice but to fire.
“Retired Admiral Davidson Delta,” Papa said in a crisp military voice. “What is your business here?”
As one, the men released their grip on their guns with their left hand and saluted him before grabbing their guns and lifting them to attack position again.
“Sir,” the tall, dark-haired guy in the middle said. “Senior Chief Petty Officer Zander Povey, EOD, and my elite SEAL firing team associates.”
Papa nodded his acknowledgment.
Maddie had been right; they did have an explosives expert.
“Lieutenant Delta.” One of the other SEALs nodded to Aiden.
“Captain Hendrickson.” Aiden nodded back.
Maddie was hit all over again by how awful this was. If someone fired and they had to kill talented, brave American soldiers, it would be horrific.
Greer roared up in his Razor and climbed out. He was a big guy, wearing a cowboy hat and boots that made him look even bigger. He handled his .50 caliber machine gun like it weighed ten pounds instead of eighty.
“Morning,” he grunted, nodding to the SEAL team.
Their eyes widened, but they didn’t respond. Maddie almost smiled. If only they knew how rare a greeting was out of Greer. She glanced around at her family. Most of them were in T-shirts and sweats or shorts, but they were armed, trained, strong, and not about to back down, even to an elite SEAL team. She shivered in the cool mountain air and gripped her pistol tighter.
“What is your purpose here?” Papa asked again.
“We have been assigned to obtain the Delta weapon, sir,” Officer Povey said.
The group seemed to hold their breath. Here it was. They’d wondered if a military unit might be sent after the weapon eventually, either because the government or military officials assumed they could protect it better than the Delta family or because someone had sold out and was using the military for their personal gain.
Papa didn’t even look fazed. “I suggest you climb back in that chopper and tell whoever sent you that there is no weapon and you regrettably cannot finish your mission.”