American Terrorist (The Rayna Tan Action Thrillers Book 1) by Wesley Robert Lowe
Authors: Wesley Robert Lowe
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traumatized teenaged girls.”
“It’s not just them. It’s the mothers, widows and older women in the villages, too. Let me make a call.” Barry punched in a number, putting the phone on speaker.
“Christ, Barry. Can’t a guy get some sleep?” said a groggy but vaguely familiar voice to Rayna.
“Boom Boom, I’m sending someone over to keep you company.”
“I love babysitting. What’s the deal?”
“New group calling itself the American Muslim Militia just posted a video of their leader beheading somebody.”
“That’s hardly news over here.”
“They’re threatening to come here. We need to nip it in the bud so I’m sending someone over.”
“Why? You don’t trust me?”
“You lack the feminine touch. I’m sending Rayna Tan over. She’s working with us now.”
“You mean the ‘I’m better than you because I got into JTF2 Chinese broad?’”
“I never said I was better than anyone,” interjected Rayna.
“You’ll have enough time to catch up later,” Barry interjected. “We’ll send details on what’s happening and we’ll connect in an hour.”
“Roger that.”
Barry disconnected the line and turned to Rayna. “Boom Boom’s with First Militia Enterprises (FME). When we first met, I told you I didn’t know that much about them. That was... a bit of an exaggeration.”
Julio bellowed. “A bit? Fidelitas helped found the damn thing. It’s registered in Canada as a not-for-profit organization and as a humanitarian Non-Government Organization (NGO) in the United States, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“How long has Boom Boom been with them?” Rayna asked.
“A little while,” Barry replied. “When he left the Canadian military, he joined up with a mercenary group, but killing for money just didn’t suit him—even though he was damned good at it. When he quit that, he went around America trying to talk other ex-U.S. and Canadian soldiers to join the cause. While he had interest, he had no money and no infrastructure. We suggested the humanitarian aspect, which made it easier to gain NGO status and, consequently, access to sensitive areas. You don’t have a problem with Boom Boom, do you?”
“No, we’re good.”
Chapter 10
The video became known as the “Beheading Video” to make it easier for all the team to refer to. For the next half hour, Rayna pored through it again, trying to see if there was any new info she could glean, but nothing worked—she was paralyzed by fear of failure. Inwardly, she was sweating bullets. How could she possibly come up with anything useful when she was surrounded by geniuses?
Suddenly, in the back of her mind, she found herself thrust into the memory of her fiancé, Tanner, as he was violently killed in front of her, and her brain and emotions threatened to shut down. To take her mind off the brutal scene, she went back to watch the video for the sixth time when Helena came up to her and plopped two-year-old Kasha on her lap.
“Look at her, Rayna. Look inside her.”
A curious command. Rayna obeyed while Helena prepared a pot of herbal mint tea. After pouring the water into the pot, Helena began to massage Rayna’s neck—her muscles were wound tighter than a drum. Helena’s deep penetrating fingers worked into Rayna’s neck, then down her spine. Rayna felt tension exiting her body. Oohing and gasping, she held baby Kasha up in the air as if offering a sacrifice.
It was only ten minutes but, in that brief span, Helena managed to take away, at least for a moment, the ache and agony of losing Tanner.
“You haven’t had a chance to properly grieve, Rayna,” whispered Helena in a voice that felt like a fresh mint soothing a sore throat. “It doesn’t go away fast. It might take years... or it might be never...” Helena giggled. “Or it might happen when I set you up on a date.”
“Am I that obvious?”
Kasha began to bawl and reached her arms out to Helena, who quickly took her back. She held the tot to
“It’s not just them. It’s the mothers, widows and older women in the villages, too. Let me make a call.” Barry punched in a number, putting the phone on speaker.
“Christ, Barry. Can’t a guy get some sleep?” said a groggy but vaguely familiar voice to Rayna.
“Boom Boom, I’m sending someone over to keep you company.”
“I love babysitting. What’s the deal?”
“New group calling itself the American Muslim Militia just posted a video of their leader beheading somebody.”
“That’s hardly news over here.”
“They’re threatening to come here. We need to nip it in the bud so I’m sending someone over.”
“Why? You don’t trust me?”
“You lack the feminine touch. I’m sending Rayna Tan over. She’s working with us now.”
“You mean the ‘I’m better than you because I got into JTF2 Chinese broad?’”
“I never said I was better than anyone,” interjected Rayna.
“You’ll have enough time to catch up later,” Barry interjected. “We’ll send details on what’s happening and we’ll connect in an hour.”
“Roger that.”
Barry disconnected the line and turned to Rayna. “Boom Boom’s with First Militia Enterprises (FME). When we first met, I told you I didn’t know that much about them. That was... a bit of an exaggeration.”
Julio bellowed. “A bit? Fidelitas helped found the damn thing. It’s registered in Canada as a not-for-profit organization and as a humanitarian Non-Government Organization (NGO) in the United States, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“How long has Boom Boom been with them?” Rayna asked.
“A little while,” Barry replied. “When he left the Canadian military, he joined up with a mercenary group, but killing for money just didn’t suit him—even though he was damned good at it. When he quit that, he went around America trying to talk other ex-U.S. and Canadian soldiers to join the cause. While he had interest, he had no money and no infrastructure. We suggested the humanitarian aspect, which made it easier to gain NGO status and, consequently, access to sensitive areas. You don’t have a problem with Boom Boom, do you?”
“No, we’re good.”
Chapter 10
The video became known as the “Beheading Video” to make it easier for all the team to refer to. For the next half hour, Rayna pored through it again, trying to see if there was any new info she could glean, but nothing worked—she was paralyzed by fear of failure. Inwardly, she was sweating bullets. How could she possibly come up with anything useful when she was surrounded by geniuses?
Suddenly, in the back of her mind, she found herself thrust into the memory of her fiancé, Tanner, as he was violently killed in front of her, and her brain and emotions threatened to shut down. To take her mind off the brutal scene, she went back to watch the video for the sixth time when Helena came up to her and plopped two-year-old Kasha on her lap.
“Look at her, Rayna. Look inside her.”
A curious command. Rayna obeyed while Helena prepared a pot of herbal mint tea. After pouring the water into the pot, Helena began to massage Rayna’s neck—her muscles were wound tighter than a drum. Helena’s deep penetrating fingers worked into Rayna’s neck, then down her spine. Rayna felt tension exiting her body. Oohing and gasping, she held baby Kasha up in the air as if offering a sacrifice.
It was only ten minutes but, in that brief span, Helena managed to take away, at least for a moment, the ache and agony of losing Tanner.
“You haven’t had a chance to properly grieve, Rayna,” whispered Helena in a voice that felt like a fresh mint soothing a sore throat. “It doesn’t go away fast. It might take years... or it might be never...” Helena giggled. “Or it might happen when I set you up on a date.”
“Am I that obvious?”
Kasha began to bawl and reached her arms out to Helena, who quickly took her back. She held the tot to
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