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Rain beat our shoulders as we slugged through the thick terrain that had been our home for the past three days. Heavy mud clung to our boots, and drops of water constantly ran into our eyes. To say I missed the desert was an understatement.
Keith was on all our minds; it was hard to put it aside. This mission was hard both mentally and physically. I’d finally begun to understand the depth of the Cartel. They just never stopped coming. They were an army of thousands with endless funds to replace any who fell. We had been ambushed at one of the locations we’d thought we had already cleared. One of them came out of nowhere, and Keith nearly lost an arm. I popped two in the guy’s back even as I wondered where they’d come from. We had been so careful to clear every inch of the land we were covering. Our scouts were in constant communication, so either something was going on we didn’t know about, or Cole was right—they were just getting better.
It was clear to me why Blackstone needed another team. They were up against impossible odds.
We came to a road, and Cole put his hand up to indicate that someone was communicating with him. He leaned his head to the side and listened to his radio.
“Copy that.” He turned to us. “Our informant says he last saw the girls in a house in a town to the west of us. I’ve got the coordinates.”
“Why hasn’t Frank given us the lowdown on this informant?” Mike chewed a piece of gum as he spoke. “Hey, Logan? I mean, it’s not how we operate.”
“Frank must have his reasons,” he nodded, “but yeah, I’d like to get my own read on him myself.”
While the guys took a breather, I pulled out a length of tubing from my bag along with two thin air pumps. I connected a piece to both pumps and slipped one into each of my boots then loosely tied them. I stood and threaded the rest of the tubing through my fatigues attaching the end to a clip I’d sewn in before we left.
“What in the hell is that contraption, Beckett?” John sucked down a protein gel.
“One winter, it rained more days than I could count,” I explained. “We were so wet that we nearly lost our minds. So, I got creative and made this.” I pointed to my boots. “As I walk, the pumps shoot a puff of air under my clothes. It helps keep me dry.”
“So, you’re telling me that every time you take a step, your nuts get a shot of air?” Mike grinned. I could see the piece of green gum he held between his teeth.
“Yeah, and it feels fucking phenomenal.” I chuckled, and the rest joined in.
“That’s brilliant.” Cole studied the tube under my shirt as I held it up in the back. “But doesn’t it make sound when you walk?”
“No. It took some time, but I worked the kinks out. It’s pretty well silent now.”
“And now we know one more reason they picked you for the new team commander.” Mark fist bumped me. “And that you like your nuts to be fondled.”
“Every guy has their thing.”
“I’m impressed, Beckett.” Cole checked the time, and I knew we needed to move. “I want to see that when we get home.”
“Hooah.”
* * *
We made it to the target destination in good time and without encountering any more Cartel.
“Clear,” Mark whispered over the radio.
“Clear,” Mike repeated.
John checked in. “Both rooms by the stairs are clear too. Anyone find out where that smell is coming from?”
“Negative,” Cole spoke up, “but someone was here. Stove’s still hot.”
“Affirmative,” Mark confirmed.
The house was massive, and it required patience and focus to clear each room. There were so many spots a person could hide. We couldn’t miss a thing and kept our sweep tight. The smell John referred to was odd and overpowering, and my sense of smell was down for the count. I eyed the photos on the wall carefully, as I knew they could be used as peepholes. I walked by a small table and reached down to check it out. A piece of furniture could be nailed to the floor to hide the top of a trap door. Nothing could be overlooked.
Slowly, I moved light on my feet in and out of each room. The rooms were small with tiny windows, but the lights from the hallway flooded each room. Again, that was something that caught my attention. Why were there so many lights on at an empty house? Did they leave in a hurry, or were they still here somewhere?
The floors were dirty, and when I felt confident enough and we were in the clear, I’d get down and study the smudges on the tile.
I nudged the second to last door in the basement open and scanned the room through the scope of my rifle. Two doors on opposite sides of the room were partly open. There was many times in the past that it was me on the other side of those doors with a clear shot of any company entering the room. I blocked everything out and tuned in to my sixth sense. My throat contracted to the point of pain when I swallowed.
I wasn’t alone.
