by Kelly Moore
I know for a fact, in spite of Mad Dog’s size, Lawson could take him down. Instead, he yanks off his sock hat, running his hand over his smooth head. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Mad Dog lets go of his collar.
“No more talk as we get closer to the compound. I don’t want to take any chances of them hearing us.” I lead the way.
A retching noise has me turning back around. Remington is wiping black goop off his forehead and puking up his guts. I look up to see a pipe leaking above him.
“Sorry, sir.” He retches again. “I think it’s the sewer line because it smells like shit.” He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
“You done yet?” Tate walks past him.
“I think so.” He leans over and heaves again.
“Pansy,” she snorts.
He stands up tall. “This coming from the woman who doesn’t like to fly.”
“Enough! Not another word,” I bark in a low tone.
We make our way through the muck in the tunnel with only the sounds of our boots sloshing. I stop and put my finger to my lips then point upward. There is a set of stairs leading to a metal grate inside the compound.
“That’s our way in,” I whisper.
I climb to the top and hear chaos. Men are yelling for each other, and some are screaming in pain. Water sloshes down on me as a large black boot runs over the grate. I wait a few minutes and push it up far enough to peer at the surroundings.
“There’s an open door directly across from us. I’ll go first to make sure the coast is clear.” I ease the grate to the side and pull myself up to the ground. I take off in a run with my weapon out and head to the door. It’s a small room that looks like a single bunk area.
“Clear,” I say and stand guard for each team member to make their way out of the tunnel. Mad Dog is the last one, and as he’s getting out, a man dressed in all black comes out of nowhere. Mad Dog is at a disadvantage because he’s only halfway out. The man takes aim at him and falters when Lawson hits him from behind. He outsizes Lawson by a foot, and he’s built like a Mack truck.
The man straightens his back and moves his head from side to side, cracking his neck.
“Oh, you want to play.” Lawson smirks at him and waves the man to him.
He charges at Lawson, but he quickly ducks, weaves, and comes up with a hard hit to the man’s jaw. He wavers, and Lawson goes in for the kill with a high kick to the man’s chest. He hits the ground hard. Mad Dog is on his feet. He drags the guy to the opening of the tunnel, tossing him like a rag doll. He hits with a loud thud.
Once we’re all inside the small area, I shut the door. “Since we have no schematics on this place, we need to find a way to get into the main part of the compound.”
“There.” Tate points. “The heating system in the ceiling. I’m sure they’re all connected.”
Mad Dog reaches up and removes the vent. “I’m not going to fit in that space.” His deep voice is low.
“Remington, Williams, you go with Mad Dog and take out as many men as you can. Tate and Lawson will go with me.”
“I’m not sure I’m going to fit in that space either.” Lawson looks up.
“You don’t have a choice. You may be good at hand-to-hand combat, but I need our most skilled men with weapons out there.” I point.
I jump up and grab the edge of the ceiling leading to the heating ducts and pull myself up. Once inside, Tate follows with a hand from Mad Dog. I crawl in the direction I believe will lead us to the main part of the compound.
Lawson makes it in, but it’s a tight fit. “I’m not going to be able to move very fast,” I hear him in my radio.
“That might be a good thing. If we clear this space and get caught, they won’t know you’re here…and they can’t kill you,” I add. “No more talking or grunting.” I can hear him with every move.
Right now, we are two men down against a force of who knows how many. The odds are stacked against any of us making it out of here alive. I have no regrets other than wanting more time with Fiona. I can’t make her a widow the day after we said I do.
I stop moving when a sound echoes beneath me. I hold my hand out behind me to stop Tate from moving. I inch my way quietly to a vent and listen.
“We lost half our men in the avalanche, sir. It took out our generators on the west end of the compound, and the heating system is down. If we don’t get it up and running, we’ll all freeze to death, sir.”
“How about our prisoners? We’re any of them killed?” a commanding voice asks.
“Three. The president is unharmed.”
“Move them to the east wing. I don’t want him dying until I’m ready to put a bullet in his head.”
“I think we should abandon this mission and save our own men, sir.”
“We will finish what we started!” I hear a chair scrape across the floor.
Another voice chimes in. “The avalanche was ignited on purpose. A couple of our men heard a loud explosion, sir.”
“Take half the men that are left and watch out for whatever team was sent in to rescue him. Plant four men at the president’s side. Get the other half working on the power and heat,” he orders.
I still don’t know how many men are left, but at least I know where they’re taking him, and four men are better odds of getting him and his people out of there.
The door closes in the room beneath me, and it sounds empty. I move the vent and look down. “They’re gone,” I say. I touch my ear. “Rebel, can you hear me?” Nothing. “If you can, they’re taking the POTUS to the east wing. There will be four heavily armed guards with him.” I hop down quietly into the room. “Tate, you follow me. Lawson, keeping moving in the vent. When you come to a turning point, go left. That should take you to the east wing.”
“Oh, sure, leave the big guy in the vent,” he says snarkily.
“We need the element of surprise. If we get caught, you’re it.”
Tate climbs down, and Lawson pokes his head through the vent, followed by his middle finger, shooting me the bird. I chuckle and point for him to keep moving.
“Thorn.” Silence. “Thorn, do you copy?” Still not a sound. “Honor, have you had any luck reaching them?”
“Not a word from either of them.”
“Did the chopper make it to the landing point?”
Commander Lukas chimes in. “The chopper will not be able to land. The freezing fog is getting thicker, preventing any visibility. We’re working on a way to get him close enough for extraction.”
“Damn. Not what I was wanting to hear. Have you pinned our exact location?”
“Yes, and other than landing directly on the compound, there is nowhere to put down the chopper close enough for the rescue mission to be successful. The weather is too much of a hindrance.”
“Keep me posted and let me know if you hear from Rebel or Thorn.” I crack open the door and look out into the hallway. I don’t see or hear anything. I open it wider and plant myself flat against the wall with my weapon drawn. Tate follows suit. We sidestep down the corridor, listening as we go.
The two-story compound was built without windows. Besides the outbuildings, the place is one solid mass of concrete. For the life of me, I don’t know how they got the supplies this far up and built this place. There’s a door at the end that looks as if it leads outside. I get on one side and Tate on the other. She pushes it far enough open for me to see.
It’s built in a rectangle with flat ground in the middle. There are men dragging bodies out of the rubble and snow. Injured are being taken into a building across from us. A team of armed men are on the east end guarding an area. Snipers are on the two remaining walls left standing.
“I’m betting that’s where they’re keeping the POTUS.” I indicate the direction with a tilt of my head.
“How are we going to get him out of there?” Tate asks.
“Mad Dog, where are you?” I speak quietly.
“We’re trapped behind a stor
age container on one of the outlying buildings.”
“Have you been seen?”
“No. There are two guards marching back and forth.”
“Take them out and get to the east end. We’ve located where they’re holding the POTUS. We’ll find a way to meet you on the roof.”
“Roger, that.”
Tate softly lets the door close. We go back into the hallway and duck in a room when we hear footsteps. Both of us line either side of the door when a man dressed in all brown enters the room. I jump him from behind, and Tate shuts the door. Knocking him to the ground, I jump on top of him and press his face to the concrete floor, holding a gun to him.
“Don’t make a sound other than answering my questions, or I’ll put a bullet right through your temple.”
He nods.
“How many men are here?”
“We lost half our men in the avalanche.”
“Not what I asked you.”
“Twenty.”
“Are you all military trained?”
“Most.”
“I’m assuming by the men guarding the east building that your target is still alive.”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to tell me how I can bypass the men outside to get to him.”
“Fuck you.”
“Wrong answer.” I hit him in the head with the butt of my gun.
“Now he can’t tell us anything.” Tate looks down at him.
I stand. “I’ll figure out a way.” We walk back over to the door and listen, staying quiet as more footsteps pass in the hall.
I turn to talk to Tate and catch the man that was on the floor headed straight for me. He slams me against the wall then his body goes limp. As he falls to the ground, I see Tate pull a knife from his neck.
I lower him to the ground, so he doesn’t make a noise. “Now he can’t tell us anything,” I mutter.
“You’re welcome.” Tate wipes the bloody knife on her camouflage pants and tucks it back in its sleeve.
“Remind me never to sneak up on you.”
“What’s the plan?” She’s all SEAL.
“We’re going to find a way to the outside parameter and scale to the roof.”
We creep back down the hall and find another door leading to the back of the building. I take rope and a hook out of my bag and toss it to the roof, pulling on it to make sure it anchored into it.
“You first.” I hand Tate the rope, and she climbs up with ease.
I do the same. As I reach the top, I hear voices beneath me. I turn to see Mad Dog and Remington at the bottom. One by one, they scale the wall. “Where’s Williams?” I gaze down.
“He didn’t make it.” Mad Dog hangs his head.
“He wrestled with one of the guards, and he pulled a knife on him.” Remington gives us the details.
“We’ll come back for him. For now, we have to stay focused.”
“Guys, it’s starting to get warm in here,” I hear Lawson in my ear.
“They must’ve gotten the generators working. How far have you made it?”
“I’m over the area where they have the POTUS and his people. I can hear them talking.”
“We’re on our way. Don’t move.”
“I’m going to have to move sooner or later, or I’m going to die from the heat.”
“Stay put until I tell you otherwise.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” he says sarcastically.
We make our way to the ledge of the roof and hide behind it. I look over the wall, followed by my team. “We need to move one building over. There are four guards on the inside and two on the outside. Tate, you’ll stay up here and take those two out. Mad Dog, you’ll keep anyone from coming inside. Remington, you set up explosions to take out more of the men.”
“You can’t take out all four of the men inside,” Tate states.
“I can with the help of Lawson. The trick is going to be getting us all out of here.” I tap my ear. “How is that chopper looking?”
“Headed your way. Flying silent until you give us the word. He’s carrying a cargo net that will get you out off the ground and into the bird.”
“Just great. I love dangling in the sky,” I add.
We squat into a duck walk and stay low, making it to the side of the building. Tate stays behind and sets up her weapon. Remington heads off in another direction. Mad Dog and I leap to the next building. We remove a panel that has a latch on it and climb down the small stairs leading inside. Following the sounds, we locate the room the POTUS is being held in.
“Tate, it’s time.” We wait until she tells us she took out her targets.
Mad Dog rushes to the front of the building and seals it shut.
“I need you to make some noise,” I tell Lawson. As soon as I hear a banging sound, I rush into the room and take out three guards who are staring at the ceiling. The third guard grabs the POTUS and moves behind him with a gun to his temple. The other people in the room lie flat on the floor.
“I’ll kill him if you take one step closer,” he snarls. The guard takes a step back with him when he hears an explosion.
“Our team has surrounded the building. You’ve lost,” I say.
“That’s highly unlikely,” the man responds.
I hear a clanging noise, and Lawson falls out of the ceiling on top of the guard. He jars the POTUS away from him and takes cover. Lawson and the guy wrestle for his weapon, and it goes off. For what seems like a solid minute, both men are completely still. I let out the breath I was holding when Lawson rolls off him.
“Shit, that hurt,” he says and gets off the ground.
Mad Dog comes charging in the room. “I can’t hold them off.” Blood is covering his right thigh.
Three men burst in the door, and shots ring out. They all fall to the floor. Behind them stands Rebel and Thorn with their weapons out.
“Theo, get the president. Mad Dog, you gather the rest.”
I call back to base camp. “Now would be a good time for that chopper.”
Two more explosions go off, causing the building to shake. “We need to get out of here before Remington blows us all up,” I say. “Tate. Keep the coast clear. We’ll meet you on the roof.”
“We can’t go out the way we came in,” Rebel states.
“I know the way out.” I point up.
Mad Dog limps toward the door. “Follow me,” he tells the hostages. He leads them to the stairs, and one by one, they all go up. I keep the president tucked into my side. There’s never been a better sound than the chopper blades coming our way.
Rebel and Thorn line the roof, taking out more men as the cargo net is lowered. “I’m sorry about this, sir, but it’s our only way out. The chopper can’t land,” I yell loudly over the noise to the president.
“It’s okay. I’m only glad we’re getting out of here. I’m just sad that not all of us made it.”
The net lowers to the ground. Four at a time climb in, and it’s raised to the chopper until the only ones left on the roof are the Gunners. Tate joins us, and Remington makes it up the stairs with Williams draped over his back.
“Leave no man behind,” he says, placing his body in the cargo net. He gets in along with Tate, Mad Dog, and Lawson, leaving me, Rebel, and Thorn the last men standing. They make it in, and the net is sent down again. The three of us get in, but before they can raise it, several men rush up the stairs.
“Get us out of here!” Rebel yells.
The chopper lifts, crushing us together in the net. The sound of bullets flies by us. One grazes my leg, others nearly missing us as we lift higher into the air. The wind is freezing cold as we slip into the fog. We huddle together, but it doesn’t protect us.
“You need to land before we die from hypothermia.” My teeth chatter
Remington responds. “Hold on. The pilot says it will be another fifteen minutes before we can land anywhere safely.”
“I’m not sure we have fifteen minutes.”
Chapter 5
&
nbsp; Rebel
I watch the POTUS and his remaining team members climb safely aboard an airplane. He shook every one of our hands before leaving.
“Congratulations on a successful mission.” Commander Lukas slaps me on the back.
“We didn’t all make it back, sir.” I glance over at the body bag being carried to another chopper.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “He knew the risks like the rest of you.”
“That never makes it any easier when we lose a team member.”
“I think the Gunners have earned some time off. You might want to take it before your names are plastered all over the media for your rescue mission.”
“None of us want any part of that. I’d appreciate it if you’d convince the president’s team to keep our names out of it. But I think I’ll take you up on the time off. Right now, all I want is a steaming hot shower to get the chill out of my bones.” I start walking toward the base tent.
Fiona is wrapped in Theo’s arms. Mad Dog is being attended to by a medic. Thorn is shirtless, and there is a massive bruise covering his ribs, but it doesn’t stop him from draping his arm around Lauryn’s waist. Remington and Tate are plopped down on the ground, leaning their backs against one another, and Lawson is standing in the corner looking lost.
“Hey, man. You okay?”
“That was some scary shit.”
“No different than any other mission.”
“No wonder you were all fucked up when you came back from Afghanistan.”
I chuckle. “This is what each of us lives for.”
“I’m going to have to beef up my training routine.”
“How about we take a little time off first. I’ve never been to Montana. We could rent a motorcycle and ride to a small town and lay low for a couple of days.”
“It’s too fucking cold for that, but I like the sound of some downtime. What about Williams?”
“They will hold a military funeral, but it takes a couple of weeks to set up.”
“Then there is nothing stopping us.” He claps his hand to my shoulder.
“I’ll make arrangements for one of the jeeps to take us down the mountain.”
