Level Up

by Hadley Quinn

  All Gabe could do was wait.

  He snuck through the trees silently. He held his M16 across his chest, ready for action. Trading his nocs for a scope, he spotted the three men that Ronan mentioned. They’d come around the building and Gabe could now see them.

  “Looks like Davis to me,” he noted with approval. “Now to find out if he’ll take those guys out if things get hot, or shoot at me for show.”

  “Gabe,” he heard a tiny voice exclaim.

  Shit. Ava. He was beginning to think that Ronan wasn’t doing him any favors by letting her keep track of him now. What if he did get shot and killed and she heard it happen? He couldn’t be selfish anymore; he needed to protect her any way he could.

  “Hey, uh, Ro? Make sure the theatre isn’t open for a movie, okay?”

  There was a brief silence before Ronan answered, “Roger that.”

  “I got movement,” Jessop said quickly. “It’s Bobby. Jesus, he really does have Kael!”

  Gabe wasn’t sure why he was surprised, but his heart began pumping faster and he moved closer to the compound as he took calm, level breaths to remain composed.

  “They’re at your eleven o’clock, Gabe,” Ronan announced. “He’s waiting at the northwest corner of the building.”

  “Does he see the guards?” Gabe asked, checking him with his scope. He found his answer as soon as Ronan confirmed.

  “Yeah, seems like he does. Titus is at your three o’clock, a half-klick away. Kit’s coming in on your five about two klicks out.”

  “Ten-four,” Gabe replied.

  Now if Bobby could just make it to the woods, they’d be in way better shape—especially if the other guards stayed to the east in search mode. Apparently they were falling back toward the compound, not having found anything suggestive. Gabe could handle taking out two guards just fine, but if more came running, Bobby and his son were in deep shit.

  Please let them be safe, he silently begged someone. Whoever would listen—God, or whatever powers there were, or positive energy and such. He would plead to whatever forces could help him. But he thought about his plea and decided to change it. Please let them escape this compound safely, he prayed instead. He’d made the mistake of wording his requests incorrectly before. Please let my team get here in time was his prayer in Serbia. He should have added in time to protect Basma and her children, but he hadn’t. Did God—or whoever—require you to be more specific?

  He didn’t know, but he didn’t have time to wonder. Davis had turned away with the two guards, seeming to head deeper into the compound. Gabe could tell that Bobby was going to make a run for it any second. He had approximately sixty meters to cover just to hit the edge of the woods. After that it was seven kilometers and your odds at the mercy of unknown factors.

  Bobby made his move so Gabe crouched down and progressed toward him. His gun was trained on Bobby’s surroundings. The slightest detection of him would cause Gabe to drop some bodies. All seemed well. Bobby was crouch-running toward him with Kael in his arms and they were about halfway there.

  “Shit,” Ronan said. “The one guard is sending Davis along. He’s gonna take up post in a matter of seconds.”

  One of the guards with Davis seemed to be telling him to go ahead of him. Gabe moved closer to the compound, waiting for him to see Bobby. The ideal situation would be zero detection, but those odds were waning by the second.

  Suddenly someone yelled from across the compound—a guard running from the east, yelling and pointing, and he fired two shots.

  “Aw fuck,” Gabe growled. He moved his aim and popped him off quickly. The guy went down, but the other guards with Davis had already turned their attention his direction. They’d seen Bobby too.

  One of those two guards went down. That came from Titus. The other was shouting orders at Davis and then took off toward Bobby, firing as he ran. Davis couldn’t do anything to take him out because two more men had come out of the barracks, guns raised to face the commotion. Davis had to fall in line with them to pursue Bobby escaping the compound.

  Gabe took out the guard that was running for Bobby. Titus must have dropped the two with Davis, but there were four more coming from the east, probably from post six.

  “Oh shit,” Gabe said, the second Bobby went down, tossing Kael to the ground.

  “Bobby’s hit,” Ronan said.

  Gabe was already up and running and everyone knew it. “I’m going,” he said anyway.

  “I got the east,” Titus said.

  “Coming in behind you, Gabe,” Kit said.

  Gabe jumped the last of the woods and made a beeline for the screaming toddler.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Ava’s heart was in her stomach. Her guts were all tied up in knots. She didn’t think she was even breathing.

  Ronan had told her to leave but she couldn’t. And because he was busy with everything going on, he didn’t have time to make her. Oh she knew what “theatre” Gabe was referring to. The theatre was an active battlefield. That she knew. And he’d told Ronan not to let her listen when things got intense.

  Well they would have to drag her out of the basement kicking and screaming.

  “He’s got him,” Ronan said. Ava’s eyes were on the same screen as his were, but she just couldn’t force herself to believe that that was Gabe running into view, snatching up a ragdoll of a little child and making a run for the woods.

  “I got more coming from the compound,” Titus’s calm voice stated. “I had to tag Davis. Hope he forgives me.”

  “Bobby’s moving along,” Jessop said.

  Ava had noticed that too even though she was sure he’d been dead as a doornail when he hit the ground. He’d gotten up and was recklessly hobbling along. Gabe had disappeared, and thank God she heard him say, “Kit, hurry your ass up. I’d send the kid your way but he can’t see a damn thing out here.” As it was, everyone could hear the little guy crying. “Stay here,” Gabe was telling him. “You have to stop crying, okay? I need to get your daddy, but you have to wait right here and be quiet.” He made a shushing sound and spoke what Ava assumed were the same words in Arabic. The little boy seemed to babble quieter.

  “I’m here,” Kit said. “I see him, Gabe. Go.”

  “Kit, take him and go,” Ronan said. “Far as you can.”

  “We’re two klicks out,” Chuck said. Just hearing that more backup was close to Gabe made Ava feel better, but she was ready to bawl her eyes out.

  Gabe appeared on the screen again and her heart almost stopped. He was in plain sight, taking the time to aim his weapon while he walked. He was shooting as more soldiers emerged from where Bobby had come from. She wanted to scream for him to get the hell out of there but she knew she couldn’t. In fact, her voice was locked in her throat.

  Gabe was with Bobby now, protecting him while he helped him toward the trees. At the same time, massive gunfire seemed to rain down on the compound and no one was able to pursue the bodies that were escaping.

  “That should do, Titus,” Ronan said. “Now fall back.”

  He sounded calm, which helped Ava a little, but she wondered if he was screaming on the inside. Probably not. They did this kind of stuff all the time, right? “Just another day at the office,” she’d heard them say on occasion.

  Gabe disappeared with Bobby, and that’s when she noticed Ronan’s shoulders seem to relax a little.

  “Mac?” he asked.

  “Yeah, we’re hauling ass,” Gabe replied.

  Ava released a huge sigh of relief.

  “Well,” Gabe added, “as fast as lame ass can haul ass.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” she heard someone say. She assumed it was Bobby because everyone chuckled.

  “Don’t ruin my moment,” Gabe said as they were running. “I gotta clarify here. He got tagged in the ass, you guys.”

  That brought on more laughter, and even Ava laughed. Her entire body seemed to relax a little, which was probably the point of their humor. What a shitty position to be i
n. To be shot at? But she quickly sombered up, realizing that they were far from safe. What was it? Seven “klicks” to the road? The best she could convert that was…four miles plus?

  Four miles of the unknown to endure and Ava couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

  “The compound is fully awake,” Titus said. “I’m falling back as I exterminate.

  “They’re staying away from the perimeter,” Jessop told them. “They aren’t quite sure yet what’s out there.”

  “Just me and Chuckie,” Titus laughed. “ ‘Bout all they can handle.”

  “Just make sure you’re with us,” Gabe said.

  “Who has the kid?” Chuck asked.

  “I still got him,” Kit said. “We are definitely hauling ass. I think my pack weighs more than he does.”

  “Good to hear,” Ronan said. “How’s Bobby doing?”

  “Oh...” Gabe seemed to consider as he ran. “Doing well, all things considered. Kit, we’re gonna break west, okay? I’m not—”

  “Aw hell,” Jessop interrupted. “The cavalry’s cutting loose. You got an army coming, guys. I see twelve, fifteen…twenty so far. Heading for the woods.”

  “They caught on to the dissipating gunfire,” Ronan murmured. “Jess, take Holly higher. I gotta see a bigger aerial.”

  Jessop maneuvered the camera from his own controller again. The compound shrank and the view widened at the same time.

  “Time for some fireworks, boys,” Gabe said.

  Did he sound excited?

  Ava shook her head with disbelief as the next sixty seconds seemed to change the scene right before her eyes. She heard a loud thwunk, and moments later an explosion lit the edge of the compound. Another thwunk sounded and a second blast hit some distance from the first one. As far as she could tell, they were launching grenades to the east of their actual location. Hopefully that meant they were leading them away from where they were headed.

  “We got vehicle movement,” Jessop said. “Main entry of the compound, west. They’re loading in two trucks…uh, about…a dozen armed mercenaries.”

  Silence. About ten seconds of it, but it seemed like an eternity.

  “Holly’s gotta make a suicide mission,” Gabe said. “Blow the road at the second gate when they get there.”

  “Aw, shit,” Jessop said.

  “You’re not gonna be off this time,” Gabe seemed to reassure him.

  But Ava saw Jessop shake his head, very reluctantly making some adjustments to control his feathered helo. “Yeah, well, we’ll see,” he sighed.

  “Kato, can you drive okay with your ankle?” Ronan asked.

  “Yeah, Boss,” he answered. “I’m on it.”

  “I’ll send the coordinates,” Ronan added, punching them in for him to receive. “Kit, just get that kid to the Hummer. Chuck, fall back and stick with him.”

  “Roger that.”

  “Got it.”

  Ronan took a deep breath. Ava watched him closely, waiting for some kind of instruction for Gabe. What, was he on his own out there?

  Her stomach was in knots again. For the next few minutes she focused on what Jessop was doing with that surveillance bird so she wouldn’t have to worry about Gabe. It didn’t help. She listened for his voice but he never spoke a word. She was about to grab a mike and talk to him herself but held back. She had to stay out of sight on the stairs so they wouldn’t kick her out.

  “I got the road under me,” Jessop said.

  Finally Gabe spoke. “Four seconds, remember? Make sure you’re at seventy and it’s four seconds.”

  “Got it,” Jessop replied, studying the readings on the computer.

  “They’re cruising,” Ronan said. “I don’t mean to rush you, but you know…”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jessop exhaled. He leaned forward as the first truck was about to go through the gate. “Bombs away,” he whispered. He sounded unsure, and Ava realized she was squeezing her hands so hard her knuckles hurt.

  Four seconds later an explosion clouded the screen.

  “Aw shit, I hit the back of the truck,” he groaned.

  Ronan shook his head with a smile. “Doesn’t matter, the force blew the second one over. Perfect! You took out two in one.”

  “Yeah, but I was aiming for the road in front of it. I wanted to blow the road and flip a truck.”

  “Well did it do the fucking trick or not?” Gabe asked with a chuckle.

  It made Ava smile.

  “I didn’t hit my damn target,” Jessop whined. “Three seconds. It should have been at three seconds…”

  “Maybe they sped up,” Ronan shrugged. “Forget it, Jessop. Yeah, Gabe. Done.”

  “Woo hoo!” he cheered. “Time to build Hollyhawk 13, Jess. Lucky number 13.”

  Jessop smiled. “Yeah. Sure. Uh, truck number three is loading up right now. Looks like it’s just a few guys, but still…”

  “I’m five minutes away in Gabe’s truck,” Kato said.

  Ronan took off his mike. He pointed to a screen and said to Jessop, “I’d say twenty minutes for the kid, you think?”

  Jessop studied the screen and nodded. “I agree with that. But look,” he added pointing to something else on it. Ava did not miss his not-so-subtle look back at her. Apparently at least Jessop knew she was still there.

  “What?” she asked right out. “Just tell me so I don’t nag you with pointless questions.”

  They were amused, but realized she was right. Jessop waited for Ronan to be the one to tell her.

  “Gabe’s planning to send everyone out. He’s gotta stay through the night.”

  Her heart slammed into her stomach. “Why?” she barely asked.

  Ronan sighed. “He’s smart. He knows he’d only hold them up if they waited for him and Bobby, and by then, the roads are gonna be swarming with rebels.”

  Ava felt sick, but Ronan turned his attention back to the mission. “Gabe, how’s Bobby for the night?” he asked.

  ***

  Gabe was slowing down at that point, searching for the thickest section of woods he could find to hole up in. “He’s okay,” he answered. “I’m gonna fix him up better in just a few. A report on Kael, please. So I can shut this fucker’s whining.”

  Ronan paused so Kit could check in with a report. “He’s being tough,” Kit said over the radio. “He took some water and he’s eating a few crackers for now.”

  “They’re one-point-two from the Hum,” Ronan said. “Kato, you’ve got a half klick.”

  “Pulling over,” Kato announced. “Getting out…goddamn my fucking ankle.” There was a pause and Gabe heard the big steel tool case open on his truck. “Ooh, these are some sexy options, Gabe,” he joked over the airwaves.

  Gabe smiled as he pulled him and Bobby to a stop next to a large boulder and some shrubbery. “You like?”

  “I love,” Kato told him. “Haha, Gabe has his arsenal arranged by lethality,” he joked. “Grabbing the Milkor now. New toy, Gabe? You’ve been holding out on me.”

  Gabe chuckled. “The MGL? That’s not new. I added the M2A1, though.”

  “Nice.”

  “Third truck is almost to the road,” Jessop announced. “You’ve got…about three minutes, Kato.”

  “Roger that.”

  “Sheriff’s been called,” Jessop also added. “Apparently some kind of explosion woke the nearest neighbor thirty fucking klicks away,” he joked.

  Ronan chuckled. “I’ll make a phone call to take care of it.

  “We’ll be out of here by the time anyone finds this place,” Kit broke in. “I see the rig. Anybody got a clue how I can get this kid out of here besides past the trucks that are gonna get blown to smithereens?”

  At that same time, Jessop announced the vehicle roaring toward Kato, and Kato counted, “Three…two…one…have fun in hell, assholes.”

  Gabe could see the fire light up through the trees some distance away.

  “I’m checking it out for you, Kit,” Ronan said over comm. “Let me check for an al
ternate exit.” Pause. “I think you’re gonna have to go northeast on the Truck Trail and loop around. It’ll take forever, but it’s the best I can do.”

  “Got it, Boss.”

  Gabe could hear some quiet firing from where Kato was most likely still scoping the wreckage of the blown vehicle. They couldn’t take chances on having survivors.

  “I’m all clear on the road,” Kato said. “Anybody else gonna try their luck?”

  “Negative so far,” Jessop answered. “Got some movement on the west, but they don’t know what the hell they’re doing yet. They’ve pulled out of the woods, too. Gabe, you settling?”

  “Ten-four. When you give me the clear, we’ll hike it out of here.”

  Gabe was currently camped in a makeshift cave, hidden in some shrubbery between a boulder and a tree. It was pitch black out but he worked on Bobby’s wound through night goggles. The bullet was lodged against the bone of his left cheek. Thankfully there was minimal bleeding and a safe enough extraction route. It was gonna hurt, though.

  He prepped the site routinely, working out of his med kit as Bobby remained silent. Gabe shot a dose of painkiller into Bobby and then positioned the bullet forceps over the gaping hole.

  “You ready, pal?” Gabe asked him.

  “Jesus Christ, aren’t you done yet?”

  Gabe smiled. “Trying to make it count. Okay, here goes.”

  “Hurry the fuck up so I can see my son.” He groaned as the metal tool was introduced to his ass. “Man, that kid is big,” he said, trying to talk himself through the process. “It’s only been a few months, but I swear he’s grown a few inches.”

  “He did look bigger,” Gabe agreed, keeping himself focused on the task as he conversed with his fellow comrade. “How’d you find out he was here?”

  Bobby winced again. “Uh,” he exhaled, “Azura.”

  Gabe was surprised. Bobby’s wife that had betrayed the team in the first place? “She develop a conscience or something?”

  “Fuck no. Her family took Kael from her so she’d give them more information about me. When you guys faked my death, her family still did what they could to make her cooperate. She didn’t know anything, but I tracked her movements and found out she had hired someone from Radic’s compound to smuggle him out, away from her family. I don’t even want to know what her father did to her after that, but it’s not my problem. I’ve got my kid, it’s all I care about.”