Level Up

by Hadley Quinn

  “Stay down,” Ronan said. “Kato, any sign of distress and you take him out, got it?”

  “Yeah, Boss.”

  Gabe, Ronan, and Jessop all watched the screens for an entire minute in silence. There was no sound over the audio channels either, and Ava was even holding her breath to aid in the silence.

  The guard lifted his hand and said something into his shoulder.

  “Ahh shit,” Gabe exhaled. “You gotta jet, boys. He’s hollering for backup.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Gabe knew that Chuck had an easier exit than Kato. Kato was nine meters up a damn tree and still needed to get down it.

  “Start your way down, Kato,” Ronan told him. “Chuck, sixty seconds.”

  “I’m not gonna get there in sixty, Boss,” Kato whispered. “I picked a dumb fuck of a tree.” They could hear his light breathing as he continued his descent.

  “Just do what you can.”

  Suddenly the guard lifted his weapon and took a shot into the woods.

  “Jesus Christ!” Chuck whispered.

  “What, where’d he shoot?” Ronan asked.

  “I’m on the move,” Chuck said. “That was about twenty to my west.”

  “He’s guessing,” Ronan said. “Checking for wildlife to spook. Yeah, get trekking. Kato?”

  “Not quite,” he exhaled. “Give me another thirty sec—”

  Another shot was fired and Kato let out a string of quiet expletives. “He’s got my movement,” he said.

  “Chuck was down low with more to hide him,” Titus spoke. “Kato could be in plain view if he’s bein’ scoped.”

  Another shot was fired, and two more guards came out to join the one firing. At the same time there was the sound of snapping tree branches and then a thud.

  Everyone in the basement froze.

  “Goddamn it,” Kato finally said.

  They all exhaled at the same time.

  “Are you hit?” Ronan asked gravely. They were all bracing themselves for the worst.

  “No.”

  Everyone exhaled again.

  “But I think I broke my damn ankle.”

  “You think you did?” Gabe asked.

  “Well, okay, I broke my damn ankle.”

  The guards didn’t seem to be moving. Chuck even stated the same.

  “I’m gonna have to hole up,” Kato said. “Chuck should fall out. I’ll be okay. I’ll make my way out when things blow over.”

  “I’m almost to you,” Chuck whispered. “Stay low.”

  The guards were still scanning the woods, two with binoculars, one without. But the one without was on a radio, and Gabe could only assume they were worried about what was in the woods.

  “Hightail it for now,” Ronan said. “They don’t have any heat seekers. Don’t give ‘em time; hit the trail.”

  “Got it, Boss,” Chuck replied. “I’ll get the cripple.”

  “Fuck you, your brain is crippled,” Kato murmured. “I’m already bellying south.”

  Kit finally broke into the conversation from where he was still parked waiting for them near the road. “I’m heading in for him. I’ll meet you in there.”

  Jessop had been listening to surveillance audio and said, “They think it’s an animal.”

  “Thank God,” Ronan said.

  “But one of ‘em’s not sure. He wants to do a sweep. They’re waiting for more men.”

  “Shit. Haul ass, guys.”

  Ronan’s phone buzzed and he almost didn’t answer it. But one glance made his eyes narrow. “Yeah?” he asked cautiously. “Bobby? Where the fuck are you?” He put it on speakerphone.

  “…So the numbers are in my favor. I’m doing it now. I know where he is. Whatever you guys are doing, keep doing it.”

  “Jesus, you can’t smuggle him out without help. Just wait for us to get someone there and—”

  “Did you hear me, Ro? It’s now or never. Half the soldiers are headed for the south woods. I’m grabbing Kael and heading west.”

  “Okay, Bobby. How ‘bout we—?”

  The line went dead.

  “Shit.”

  Gabe was already up grabbing gear. Titus was doing the same without a thought. If Ronan disagreed, he didn’t say anything yet. Gabe could see that look on his face. That look that said they already had a plan because they didn’t have a choice.

  “I’m sending Titus and Mac,” Ronan said reluctantly into the radio.

  “What’s going on, Boss?” Kato asked. “I couldn’t hear it all.”

  Ronan recited his conversation with Bobby as Titus and Gabe grabbed their choice of artillery.

  “What are you doing?” a scared voice asked. Gabe turned to see Ava sitting at the top of the stairs. He’d been so busy going into soldier mode he’d forgotten she was there. She slowly stood and came down the steps as she watched him strap a Beretta to his hip.

  “I don’t have time to rationalize with you, honey.” Titus tossed him a knife and Gabe joined Ava at the bottom of the stairs. He knew she was miffed by how blunt he was, but this wasn’t about anything other than saving his men. He bent down and strapped the knife to the side of his calf and then stood, placing his hands against her upper arms. “I love you, and I’m coming back to you, but I gotta help these guys.”

  He kissed her, and even though she nodded, he knew she wanted to argue. She held her lower lip between her teeth and looked a little pale, but Gabe was programmed to put that aside to accomplish a mission. He couldn’t think about it; he couldn’t dwell on the fact that he was going against everything he’d promised her.

  “Gabe,” Titus said. He tossed Gabe extra ammo and a pack. “We gotta go. Now.”

  Gabe listened to Ronan reel off some instructions, for him and for Chuck and Kato. At the same time, Jessop rigged them up with comm, and then Gabe and Titus were completely ready.

  “Level up, boys,” Ronan said. It was his speech before any mission, big or small. Without the fluff and frill of a wordy pep talk, it meant you have one chance so do your best.

  Ava was obviously trying to be brave. Gabe didn’t think he could handle it if she started crying, so he kissed her one more time and said, “I am coming back to you. I need those legs wrapped around me again.”

  She gave him a shy but worried smile. “I love you,” she whispered. She was about to lose it and he couldn’t bear to see it happen.

  “I love you more. See you soon.” One more kiss, and then he left.

  Once they were in the Hummer, Gabe exhaled and shook his head. He was having second thoughts and that was the worst thing he could be doing for his team. He had turned into one weak motherfucker. He was stuck in a transition phase, feeling pretty useless to both worlds right now.

  “You help Kit and make sure Chuck and Kato are out safely,” he told Titus mechanically. “I’ll do what I can to find Bobby.”

  That’s it; focus on the mission. He couldn’t be stuck in limbo and needed to fully immerse himself back into his old routine.

  “Bobby’s on a wing and a prayer at this point,” Titus said, trying to warn Gabe.

  “I know,” he nodded. Gabe watched the darkness fly past as they peeled onto the bi-way. Sixty, seventy, eighty miles an hour… Hopefully they could get to them before all hell broke loose. As of now Chuck and Kato were okay, but if they didn’t get far enough out from a sweep of the woods, gunfire would for sure ensue.

  They continued to listen to a live feed from the guys back at base. Gabe tried not to think about the fact that it was Ava’s home and that she was there too.

  So far Chuck and Kato were half a klick ahead of the enemy. The guards at the compound had gathered to do a spotlight of the woods. Report was that there were eleven of them scattered across the length of two football fields, numbers that weren’t necessarily in favor of Gabe’s team if they hadn’t been so far ahead of them already. There was no telling how deep they would search though. Hopefully not far.

  After studying the GPS screen closely, Gabe po
inted to their left twenty-four minutes later. “Here.”

  There was a railing along the road but that didn’t mean anything. Titus pulled over along the right shoulder a ways up. There was nothing that could hide their rig, so they had to work fast.

  Titus hopped out and opened up the back of the Tahoe. He hauled out the chop saw and crossed the street with it. Gabe set a scope to peer east down the road and then west, just to make sure no cars were coming. It was the middle of the night; they didn’t expect more than one or two cars at the most. They were ready to slip out of sight when it was necessary, but fortunately not a single vehicle slowed their progress.

  Titus ripped away the eight-foot section of railing and Gabe quickly backed the rig through it. A few seconds of maneuvering through trees and the SUV was out of sight from passersby, and Titus loosely replaced the section of railing for appearance sake. They slid into their packs, strapped on a few more necessities, and checked compasses for a route.

  “See you in a bit,” Gabe stated.

  Titus nodded and disappeared northeast while Gabe broke out into a jog straight ahead. He’d been moving through the dark for about forty minutes when he heard that Chuck and Kato were now half the distance from the compound and Kit was only half a klick from them.

  “They’re still searching the woods,” Jessop relayed. “They ain’t trying hard, though. You fellas are a good two jogs ahead of ‘em.” There was a minute of silence since there was nothing to report. Finding Bobby was Gabe’s objective, and if the guards were still searching the woods, he knew Bobby was still a dog on a scent with his plan.

  “Mac, you got a fan here,” Jessop said, breaking the silence. Gabe had been concentrating on jogging through the forest, keeping his night sight straight in front of him.

  “Oh yeah?” he questioned, breathing in his nose, out his mouth.

  “Hey, baby,” Ava’s soft voice said.

  “Hey there, beautiful,” he smiled. Man, it was good to hear such a sweet sound. “You keeping those guys in line?”

  “I suppose,” she said. “I’d rather keep you in line, though. You doing okay?”

  “Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just gettin’ a little exercise.”

  She didn’t reply. Gabe was going to ask if she could make him some fried chicken for his return, to keep her focused on the positive, but Ronan broke into the conversation.

  “Gabe, I got Bobby on the line, hang on.”

  Gabe listened to some indistinct audio as he continued to maneuver through the woods. Then it came through a little clearer and he heard new coordinates.

  “That’s a kilometer further west,” Gabe groaned. As it was he was still a klick from his original destination.

  “Yeah, I know,” Ronan said. “You hear that Bobby? You gotta give him more time.”

  “I don’t fucking have time,” Gabe barely heard him say. “There is no one at the seven post. I gotta take it now.”

  “Let me see what I can do to distract the guard on the six post. It’s closer to Gabe. Just give me a minute—”

  “I don’t have a goddamn minute!” Bobby whispered angrily. “Jesus, Ro. Just get the guys the fuck out of here!”

  “We’re already here, Bob,” Gabe said, hoping he could hear him well enough. “We need to work together, okay? This will work if we work together.” There was a pause and he got impatient. “I’ll be to the seven post in fifteen minutes, okay? Work with me Bobby. Ronan, keep those guys busy in the woods?”

  Another pause. Gabe almost groaned out loud, especially since he was now hauling ass, risking his footing with every step. But finally he heard Ronan say, “Yeah, we got it covered.”

  But Bobby said, “I’m sorry, guys. I can’t wait. My chance to get him is now. I got one guy to get through and then I’m making a break for it. If you’re there, Gabe, so be it. If not…” He left it unfinished. “I’m out,” he added with a whisper, signifying that he was done with communication, and that was that.

  Gabe’s guts clenched, but he couldn’t blame him. He really believed it was probably Bobby’s only chance, and if he felt he could get Kael out, he would do it.

  “Titus, hang out where you’re at,” Ronan said softly, changing the plan. “Stay closer to Gabe. Kit, you got Kato and Chuck on your own, okay?”

  “Roger that,” Kit replied.

  “Sure, Boss,” Titus said. “But lemme at least venture further west, yeah?”

  Ronan paused. “Yeah, okay.”

  Gabe understood what that meant, but he hoped Ava didn’t. They were for sure going to be amongst some gunfire, and Titus needed to be his flank. He tried not to think about it and journeyed on.

  However, Gabe found himself praying to God that he would keep his promise to Ava with his return. Praying was something he told himself he’d never do again. He’d never recovered from seeing Basma tortured and raped in front of her three children. Gabe had been beaten and held captive and couldn’t do a damn thing about it. He’d almost wished he’d been unconscious again when the rebel soldiers turned their evil onto the innocent children. His prayers were apparently unheard when his men didn’t make it to the village in time to stop it. They came like he knew they would, but it was an hour too late.

  The kids had already been mutilated right in front of him, one by one.

  Gabe lost all of his faith in God that night. Why couldn’t He have worked a little miracle one damn hour sooner?

  Gabe’s team thought he was dead, but Bobby led the rescue. They raided the village without knowing for sure, but Bobby finally found Gabe and dragged him out of there. At first Gabe fought him, thinking that the rebel fighters had their hands all over him again. Bobby had to deal with that while he got him the hell out of there, but he succeeded.

  “I owe you one,” he’d later told Bobby. He’d been in and out of consciousness, but by the fourth day of his recovery, Gabe was finally coherent for Ronan to fill him in.

  “You owe me jack shit,” Bobby replied. “You’ve saved my ass dozens of times.”

  “Dozens” wasn’t exactly the correct number, but maybe a handful was about right. When you think you’re going to die, you sure are grateful for someone to save your sorry ass. Minor details don’t matter.

  Gabe was barely paying attention to the comm coming through his earpiece right now. He shook the memories from his head, the old conversations and sounds that seemed to echo whenever they damn well pleased.

  Focus, he told himself. He was running his ass off. If he went any faster he’d be setting a record for Olympic hurdlers. The woods were thick with trees, so thankfully the underbrush was minimal. Besides down trunks here and there to jump over, the only other things in his way were rocks and some up-and-down terrain.

  He could see light up ahead. He glanced at his locater and realized he was a half-klick from the compound.

  “You’re getting close, Gabe,” Ronan’s voice said. “Slow it down, lemme get Holly up to scout for you.”

  Gabe slowed himself to a quick jog, keeping his breathing steady. “What’s the news on Bobby?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” Jessop answered.

  “We’re about a half-kilometer from the road, Gabe,” Kit said. “I’m leaving Kato here and sending Chuck to get our ride. I’m heading west with you.”

  “You’re probably ten from me, aren’t you?” Gabe asked.

  “Five,” Ronan answered for him. “They swung it southeast. The truck is thirteen klicks eastbound from you; another four klick hike for Chuck.”

  “By the time I’m finished with this, I’ll have ran circles around you, Mac,” Chuck teased.

  Gabe smiled. “Yeah, good for you, buddy. Let me just calculate my life’s trek work and I’ll get back to you on that. But hey, I’m sure you’ll tally up to, oh, at least half of my leg time.”

  Several chuckles sounded over the waves, and it was good for Gabe to hear his guys from their various locations.

  “You’re a bastard,” Chuck kidded.

  “But a damn
handsome fella,” Jessop added.

  They all laughed again. It was a longstanding joke between all of them. They could get the shit knocked out of them, have the world shot up around them, but in the end, they still convinced themselves they were a bunch of good-looking guys.

  “We’re good to separate,” Kit said, bringing them back to reality. “I’m heading your way, Gabe. I’ll be at your five o’clock in, say, thirty minutes. Give or take,” he laughed.

  Gabe smiled and considered that for a minute as he continued to jog. He grabbed a sip of water and nodded his head. “Okay, sounds good. We’ll see how this plays out, eh?”

  He’d added that last part without thinking. He didn’t know if Ava was still listening but if she had attempted to convince the guys to let her linger, he was sure she got her way. He’d almost instructed Ronan to kick her out of the basement when he left, but he just couldn’t do it. For some reason he felt comforted by the fact that she was there, almost like keeping his luck and good fortune nearby to help him remain grounded.

  Gabe grabbed his binoculars to sight the compound ahead of him. He could hear voices in the distance, but couldn’t discern the emotions in them. He spotted guard post seven and it was vacant. However, he couldn’t see any people to the voices that he heard.

  “Who am I hearing out here?” he asked. He maneuvered a bit to his right to see if he could spot any bodies but he still couldn’t see anyone.

  “Behind that building,” Ronan said. “It’s an office and some barracks. There are three people. Looks like a guard and two others… I thought it was Davis at first, but I can’t tell.”

  Hmm, that would work in Gabe’s favor if it were.

  “They’re coming around the front, though. Bobby would see them if he’s in the area. I haven’t heard from him yet.”

  Gabe had no idea the exact path Bobby would be coming from, and neither did the guys. Bobby had only said that Kael was in the west barracks with the women, but instead of heading west for an escape, he had to come south—where Gabe was—because it was closer to the woods. The west side of the compound was full of open fields, parking areas, and the drive from the main road that consisted of two guarded gates a quarter-kilometer apart.