"Hayes," Orson said, stopping in front of the black man.
"He spent most of his childhood in the Philippine Islands, so he is our area expert. Also qualified on weapons and demolitions."
As Vaughn shook the man's hand, he had to wonder why his Delta Team hadn't had access to Hayes as an area specialist. They certainly could have used more intelligence about the setup on Jolo. He also noted that there was a tremor in Hayes's hand, so slight it was almost unnoticeable. Almost.
"Vaughn," Hayes said, the greeting noncommittal. He stepped back with a glance at the Japanese woman next to him.
"Tai."
Orson said her name so sharply that Vaughn was uncertain for a moment if it was her name or some expression, but the doubt disappeared as she put her hand out.
"Welcome to the team, Vaughn."
"Tai is expert in demolitions, but her particular expertise is in intelligence and counterintelligence with a specialty on terrorism, particularly in the Pacific Rim."
Orson had already moved on to a tall gray-haired man. Before he could say anything, the man stuck his hand out.
"Hey. Sinclair's my name. Spent some time in Fifth Group and the schoolhouse at Bragg teaching at SWC."
He pronounced it "swick," which was what Special Forces people called the Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg.
"Nice to meet you," Vaughn said, feeling a bit strange. Every other time he'd gone to a new unit, he'd at least known someone there, since the U.S. Special Operations community was still a relatively small one. Here he had no advance intelligence on these people and had to assume, or hope, they had none on him. He'd never met Sinclair, as far as he could remember, but Special Forces had grown into a large community in the nineties, and once he was in Delta Force, he'd little interaction with the Special Forces groups.
"Kasen," Royce said, stopping in front of the Korean.
"Formerly of the First Ranger Battalion."
Kasen's grip was strong and the skin rough, toughened; Vaughn assumed it was from a rigorous martial arts routine. Kasen said nothing, staring at him with no apparent emotion, but Vaughn felt a coldness in the man. Vaughn had gone to Ranger school but never served in one of the battalions. He had a lot of respect for the soldiers who did, since they were the most elite infantry in the U.S. Army and perhaps the world. But there was a much different attitude between soldiers in the Ranger battalions and those in Special Forces: the former were more action oriented and thought in the short term, while the latter tended to be more cerebral and considered long-term missions.
"We're glad you're finally here so we can proceed," Orson said, giving Vaughn a cold look. With that, he spun about and headed back to the door.
"Hey," Sinclair said, slapping Vaughn on the back, "I'll give you a hand with your gear."
Orson led the other three inside, leaving Vaughn with Sinclair to haul the contents of the bundle that had been left there from his previous time in the tunnel.
"Friendly fucking lot, aren't they?" Sinclair said as he hoisted a duffel bag.
"You been here long?" Vaughn asked as he threw one strap of his rucksack over his shoulder and they headed for the door.
"Six hours," Sinclair said.
"I was the third one here. I guess we've been waiting on you to get the show going."
"So everyone is new to the team?"
Sinclair shrugged.
"I am. You are. You'll have to ask the others."
"Did you have to – " Vaughn hesitated, not sure how to phrase it.
"Pass a test?" Sinclair nodded.
"Yeah, but we ain't supposed to talk about that. Everything's a big secret here. Hush-hush and all that good shit."
Vaughn had wanted to know how long Sinclair had been in Section 8, but he knew better than to ask too many questions right away. There would be time for that later. Sinclair's answer, though, did indicate this was a newly assembled team, which meant he wasn't the outsider. That was both good and bad: good, because he wouldn't have to be accepted by those who had already formed bonds; bad, because it meant they all would have to quickly form the bonds of trust and training that the upcoming mission was going to require. The thought of going on a mission with a group of people who had just been thrown together didn't sit well with Vaughn.
They stepped through, and the steel door slammed behind them. Vaughn looked around. A typical setup for isolation. Plywood boards with maps mounted on them along with satellite imagery and lists of supplies. Two more doors at the end that Vaughn assumed led to their bunks and latrine.
"Functional" was the word that applied.
The other three Section 8 members were seated in folding chairs, Orson standing in front of them, waiting with impatience. Vaughn and Sinclair dropped the gear and sat down in the two remaining folding chairs. Orson had a remote in his hand, and a multimedia projector had been set up, attached to a laptop on the lectern in front of him. Orson took a thumb drive out of his coat pocket and plugged it into the USB port of the laptop. He worked the keyboard for a few moments, bringing up whatever he was going to show on the projector.
"Our mission," he began, "is to kill the leader of the Abu Sayef, a man named Rogelio Abayon."
The face of a middle-age man appeared on the screen over Orson's right shoulder.
Vaughn felt a surge of adrenaline as Orson confirmed what Royce had promised – this was the real deal. No more pussyfooting around. No more reacting. They were going to take the war to the bad guy.
Orson tapped the screen.
"This is the last photograph we have of Abayon, and it was taken over twenty-five years ago."
"No one's seen this guy in twenty-five years?" Sinclair asked with disbelief.
"No one's taken a photograph of Abayon in that time," Orson clarified.
"He's been seen, but rarely. It appears he hasn't left Jolo Island in all those years. And outsiders aren't welcome on Jolo."
Orson looked at Hayes, a not too subtle prompt.
The black man nodded.
"I saw Abayon on Jolo once, eight years ago. Only in passing. From what I managed to pick up, he has a hiding place on Hono Mountain, which pretty much dominates the entire island. There's supposed to be a set of tunnels built up there connecting natural caves. Only his closest people know where the entrance is."
Tai spoke up.
"If Jolo is controlled by the Abu Sayef, what were you doing there?" she asked Hayes.
"My father was in the U.S. Navy. My mother was Filipino. I grew up mostly in Manila, but when I was twelve I – " He paused, as if figuring out how to say it.
" – I traveled around the islands a lot with my friends. There are a lot of people like me, people of mixed race, in the islands. So although I don't pass as a native, since I speak the language and know the ways of the land, I can go pretty much anywhere."
"Eight years ago you were on Jolo?" Tai prompted.
Hayes nodded.
"Yes."
She waited but he didn't elaborate.
"Your teen years seem long gone," Tai finally said.
"What were you doing there?" Hayes stared at her.
"I was working."
"Doing?" she pressed. Vaughn glanced at Orson and noted that he wasn't stepping in, giving tacit approval to Tai's line of questioning. Vaughn had noted that while Orson had given the background of certain members of the team, for others he'd been rather quiet. Hayes didn't blink.
"I was negotiating the transfer of funds for illicit drugs. Does that make you feel better?"