Read Online Champagne Romance (Romance Novel) by Suellen Smith - Free Book Online

one woman, which he might have had a
relationship.
    Slater rubbed the back of his stiff neck. He
was restless. He was ready for some action. By the middle of
January, he got his wish.
    Slater, Bear, and Dog were no longer part of
the United States SEALS. They had not been for over ten years, but
because of their expertise in delicate international matters that
involved kidnapping and extortion, wealthy companies and private
individuals often hired them. It wasn’t long before they were in
the top 25% of the world wealth themselves. They would, however,
continue to take risk-taking jobs from time to time because they
enjoyed the thrill and success of the hunt.
    Slater and his private commando unit were
contacted for a delicate and dangerous kidnapping assignment. He
soon found himself on a chopper for jungles in an unknown
destination somewhere in Bogotá. Bear and Dog sat across from him.
They had both felt that Slater wasn’t nearly as focused as usual.
This was crucial as in dangerous situations death could be only one
second away for any of them. Neither soldier, however, wanted to
have their head bitten off, so neither pointed this out to Slater.
There had always been tough scenarios with distractions and he
always come through. There was no reason to doubt that this time
would be any different.
    They each backpacked grenades, guns, and any
arsenal they felt would be needed to free an American hostage from
renegade drug dealers and terrorists. Their mission was to get in
and get out of the Bogotá jungle with the American oil executive in
tow.
    Today, they had flown out of the Dallas/Fort
Worth airport. It was an International airport that flew soldiers
all over the world. The port was full of troops getting ready to
evacuate to Iraq or a desert area, which was obvious from their
camouflage uniforms that were the color of cream and tan. Many had
on the new uniforms whose fabric was made on the computer with a
digital look. Those that were flying to a green belt wore the
multi-colored green and brown. Slater and his unit of two wore the
traditional green.
    All the soldiers were roaming the airport
shops, restaurants, and bars hoping to get their last glimpse of
America before they departed to unknown foreign lands to try to
keep world peace and democracy. About half of them had never been
out of America. Some would never see it again. Others would be
seeing combat for the very first time. It was just as well that
they had never been to war, as all too often it is not what they
could have ever imagined.
    Desert areas were hot and dusty, 115 degrees
was not unusual. When the wind blew, dirt would fly into your
mouth, eyes, and ears. Handy wipes from home along with DVDs,
magazines, TP, cookies, jerky, and other personal items that
arrived in containers the size of shoe boxes from loved ones and
special organizations were sometimes the only items that made this
foreign land tolerable.
    The first time a platoon saw combat was the
most difficult. In a war zone, a buddy was always dying. Troops’
puking up their breakfast was not an uncommon sight. Charlie Med
always had the worst job of sweeping areas and looking for injured
soldiers after the combatants left the war zone. The medics would
then load them on Chinook helicopters to get them back to medical
facilities before death. Many didn’t make it. Some wished they had
not.
    Slater was no novice to war and neither were
his buddies. Their experienced team was what made them the best in
the world. That was why they were often contacted when diplomats
and heads of state disappeared into the unknown. That is why their
little unit had just departed to Columbia.
    Before they left the States, they had
received classified information from the US State Department that
contained certain information in a special document about the drug
warriors of Columbia. It was much easier to have a successful
mission when you knew your enemy and had an outline of what to
expect. However, they