Long Shot | 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Chapter 4

As all of us rode down to the Special Mission Compound to check the facility out and get a real good look at what we were dealing with, Tanto pointed out all the suspicious looking places and people on the way up and took photos of them on his camera for good measure. "Hey. Right here." Tanto pointed to a house with a few men outside. "These dudes. Bad guy house your tail van got towed to. Yeah, smile, motherfuckers. It's just two blocks from the compound."

As we pulled up to the compound, a man with a metal detector searched the outside of the vehicle as we kept our eyes glued to a crowd of citizens who were all gathered around one very obvious white man. "Hey, what's the problem?" the man yelled at the men who were yelling at him. "First of all, tell them to calm down. Everybody, dial it the fuck down! All right, what is the problem?"

"17 Feb." Jack told us as we remained stopped for the time being. "These guys look like fun."

"There will be no striking. All right?" the man got his last words out. "Get back to work."

Rone scoffed. "How would you feel if you had to protect Americans at twenty-eight dollars a day and then bring your own bullets?"

"Well, why leave security to the professionals, right?" I added.

Once the crowd of angry men had dispersed, we were waved through the gates and Rone drove us into the compound. Once we were through the gates, it was like the entire country had changed. The palm trees were healthy and tall, the grass was greener than green, there was no trash anywhere in sight, and the house itself looked like one of those villa vacation spots you see online.

"You know, if this place wasn't such a shit hole, I might actually want to vacation here." I confessed as I eyed the house to try and get an idea of just how big it really was.

"Nah, you want a nice vacation spot, Tahiti is the place." Tanto informed me. "Trust me, beaches like you've never seen and as much food and alcohol a man could want. It's truly paradise."

As I hopped out of the back of the vehicle, I leaned through the passenger side window at Tanto. "If you're paying, I'll go anywhere."

"Baby, I'd take you with me in a heartbeat." he joked.

"Yeah, and what about me, baby?" Boon pushed me aside and took my spot at the window. "I can wear a string bikini if you rub suntan lotion on my back."

With that, Tanto pushed his door open, which in turn also sent Boon stumbling backwards. "Would you two cut it out!" Rone called from the other side of the vehicle. "And Lex, please stop flirting with my men. They are married, might I remind you."

"Oh, monogamy is for the weak." I wiggled my eyebrows at Rone before turning and giving a sly, over-exaggerated wink to Tanto.

Cutting the bullshit, the seven of us headed up to the front steps where two men, one white and one black, greeted us. "Gentlemen!" the lighter skin man held his arms out as a welcoming. "...and lady...welcome to the casa."

"You guys picked the wrong month for a bad mustache competition." Rone joked as he pointed out the two very obvious, and sort of out-of-place, mustaches on the men's faces.

The darker skinned man nodded. "Hundred bucks on the line."

"Got this one in the bag." the first man with the lighter skin chuckled as he shook Rone's hand. "Scott Wickland."

"Dave Ubben." the second man introduced himself.

"Tyrone Woods."

Scott smiled as he gestured to the large, open doors of the building. "Come on. Let me give you the grand tour."