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No one speaks as we watch the helicopter land; instead we’re running toward it. The high-pitched whirl of the engine and the blades strum over the loud beating of our pounding chests.
“Let's do this. In and out. I don’t give two fucks who kills that bastard as long as the proof is recorded. I also don’t give a shit who you take down to get to him. Do I make myself clear?” I yell over the top of the roaring engines as we lift off of the ground. My eyes are trained on Jade, who looks straight ahead, still not meeting my eyes. I need to drive my point deep into them all.
My meaning is really meant for her more than anyone else. I’ve kept this to myself until now, but I saw the way she looked at the women and children during our briefing a few days ago. She stayed tight-lipped, like she should. But her eyes gave her away, showing a flicker of sadness. Grief before we even strike. It's a sore spot with most soldiers. It's one thing to kill the enemy, but when the enemy is a child or a woman, it's a hard pill to swallow.
Every facet of flying at night is unlike flying in the clear gleam of the day. Pitch black awaits you; the only lights you see are the red panels lit up from the cockpit, illuminating the determination of the pilot. Silence awaits. Blood begins to boil in anticipation, and I start to remember why I craved this kind of shit for so long in my career.
Then before I know it, the smallest of light appears on the ground and the one person I care about drops into place beside me. I close my eyes for a brief second and take in her close proximity. I'd love more than anything to take her in my fucking arms and tell her the shit that's boiling up inside me. ‘Be fucking careful, Jade. Know your strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses. It makes you invincible when you work with the knowledge of both. Don't let your guard down, and for fuck's sake, don't hesitate. Do what you've been trained to do.’
“Captain,” I whisper. Her head jerks my way. I can no longer see her stunning eyes. I reach for her hand, grasp it firmly in mine. That’s all I can give her, all she lets me have as we glide in closer to the building.
The thick woolen ropes are attached to the cabin drop. Right behind them, JJ and Jade fast-rope down and just like that, she’s gone. She's out of sight, but not even close to being out of mind.
I nod to the pilot and we lift several feet; then in one giant swoop, we drop. It’s fast and quick, just like we planned. Everyone jumps out and scatters into their positions. We're behind enemy territory. We've just jumped without hesitation straight into what we all know will be a bloodbath before this is over. Just as quickly as he dropped us off, the pilot is gone, waiting in the darkness to return.
"I need a status from my snipers." Whispering is hard when your heart is racing from the adrenaline of a run like this, but it helps when I get the go-ahead from both Jade and JJ. Knowing she's in position and safe makes me feel like I can go in and kill this motherfucker.
Lights start to turn on in several of the buildings. Harris, Roberts, and I move toward the building where we know Azham-Amir-TajUdin is hiding.
“Fuck. Everyone down,” I say into my microphone when several men run into the dingy street. Flashlights, guns, and grenades in hand, I look to Harris for his interpretation when they start yelling in their native tongue.
“Someone’s here. Someone’s here. Attack. Attack,” he whispers.
The second we hunch down to the ground, all hell breaks loose. Gunshots start to go off into the air, and I watch as three of the men in the street are taken out with one single gunshot to the head before the rest retreat back into the darkened shadows, shooting at JJ and Jade as they go. I know they've missed my team, because I can hear moving through my earpiece.
We move. I have no fear. I lead us into the building and know without a doubt they have that fucker buried in here to keep him safe. He’s no leader. He’s a damn pussy motherfucker, who gives orders to kill, to rape, and to mutilate, while he sits here in his fucking hideout, letting these suicide assholes do all his work. A true leader doesn’t expect his teammates to do anything he wouldn’t do. These men and women have been brainwashed for years. It’s like one giant piece of rotting shit that’s broken off and fed to the next person in line. They’re born to live a life not worth living. It’s so wrong. They make themselves our enemy and we make them dead as fuck.
I have no control of what’s happening outside of this building. I'll have to leave that up to my team. Gunshots ring in my ears while my men talk to each other, having our backs the farther we creep into the building.
We make a dirty sweep of the main floor of the distraught building, killing over a dozen men. Fuck, call me sick and twisted, but this is the shit I live for. To kill. It's unfortunate for every one of these fuckers who is now bleeding to death, trying to scatter away like fucking cockroaches crawling along the dirty floor. Or a snake slithering away after you’ve cut off its head. Pathetic fucking creatures. It’s time these assholes die.
They're the enemy because they, too, crave the kill. Ours. There is no fucking way I'm accepting that as our fate as I continue to leave a path of bodies behind me as I search for this fucker. I move up to one filthy asshole, his tongue dragging out of his mouth as he screams what I assume is obscenities directly in my face. “Fuck you.” I pull out my .45 and shoot him right between his eyes.
You don’t have time to blink in this situation. We are moving fast as we sweep further into the building. “Bingo, bitches.” I smile and signal for Roberts to toss a grenade.
Jade’s face flashes across my mind for one brief moment. I know she’s alright. They all are. I would know. It’s only been a few minutes since we began this battle. Very little communication is needed, but I have my ears tuned into her. I know she's breathing in my ear. It may have something to do with the fact that she's the only one in my left ear. Call me controlling, I don't give a fuck. I knew her safety would keep me clear-headed.
Her face drops out of my memory as quickly as it invades it. I nod for the go-ahead the second the three of us have retreated back down the hallway we just came through. The sound of the pin being pulled and the launching of the tiny yet powerful vessel being sent into the air takes me back in time. The sweet sound of the clapping thunder from the explosion when it hits its target has my cock twitching, and I fucking love the rush that consumes me.
We move fast through the cloud of smoke, heading toward the light shining from a room on the left. Screaming women, who I don’t trust one damn bit, submerge from their huddles. Harris stands over them with two pistols in his hands, while Roberts and I battle it out with three guards who barrel at us with a knife in one hand and guns in the other. Fucking war. I take one out while he takes out another. The last one is quick, his shot barely missing Roberts.
“Time to die, motherfucker.” I snap his hand behind his back until I hear it crack, allowing the gun to fall to the floor.
“Ask him where he is, Harris.” I spin the fucker around, and Harris mumbles some bullshit jargon. The soldier dressed all in black spits in his direction. I shove him forward and put a bullet straight through the back of his head.
“Roberts. Where the fuck—” I turn around to face our enemy, my words cut off mid-sentence. The one whose life I’m about to take is standing before me. Roberts has the fucker’s hands behind his back, his once white cloak now stained and dirty just like his heart.
“You Americans cannot come in here and do this. This is wrong.” He speaks in English. Of course he knows English. To hear my native tongue flowing out of his mouth has my hands itching to cut his tongue out.
“Wrong?” I question, my brows lifting. “This is right, bitch. Back away from him, Roberts.” The instant Roberts moves out of the way, I send the last four rounds from my mag straight the fuck into his black soul.
“Snake down.” Our code that he’s dead echoes through our ears. This means the chopper is on its way back. It’ll be here in three minutes tops. The women are folding their hands together, rocking back and forth in the corner, screaming. They're obviously praying for the death of this so-called leader. I release the clip on my camera and shove my evidence deep inside my pocket.
We leave the exact same way we came in, but now the silence greets us in the half-lit street. We run along the sides of the buildings, never cowering, yet always keeping cover.
I list off every member of my team into my headpiece. They all answer back with their chosen code word assigned to them during training. When I hear her sweet voice answer with the word ‘hunger’, my lips tilt upwards. Our mission is over, and she has no idea just how hungry I am for her.
CHAPTER SIX
