Liam flattened on the ground and crawled to the ridge. He scanned the open terrain for movements.
No pursuit.
No gunfire.
Liam returned to his men and stared at the night sky. It was just stars above and a broken team scattered on the rocky hilltop. He closed his eyes. “Raven, we're clear.”
Silence.
He lifted his head. Where was she? “Raven?”
“I’m tracking your signals. Echo?” Raven’s concerned tone was evident.
“We got all five. They’re bad, but they’re breathing.”
A long pause, then, “Thank you, God.”
“Amen to that.” Liam stared across the horizon, where the first hint of light edged the black. His nerves twitched, wired, still ready for another round, but there was no more fight.
Only the fallout.
“Sending in X-Man. Extraction in three.”
Liam smiled at Raven’s use of Xander’s nickname. “Copy Charlie Five’s ETA.”
A hum buzzed just out of sight. Liam squinted, searching… There. “Get ready, boys, here comes our ride home.”
Xander landed the borrowed Sikorsky S-76D with finesse. The helicopter’s IR suppressors and muffled rotors would keep the bad guys from locating them. He hoped.
“Grab and go!” Liam helped Carr to his feet and into the helo while Dax, Boone, and Rafe took care of the others. Once the door shut and his team had things under control, he hopped into the copilot’s seat. Not that he knew anything about flying, but Charlie and Echo needed the extra space in the rear to spread out.
Xander pointed to the headset and lifted the chopper into the air. “Raven’s on this channel, and it’s scrambled. No one else will hear.”
“Raven, Charlie One. Loaded and on our way home.” He swiped a hand over his mouth and exhaled. “You saved them, Raven.”
“No, you did.” Her voice quieted. “Itriedto save them weeks ago. And no one listened.”
“They’ll listen now.” They had to. US Special Forces were in danger due to the exposure of the new tech.
“No, Charlie One. They’ll cover it up, just like before. The prototype was repurposed. They hijacked the tech to monitor our own soldiers. They turned what was meant for protection into exposure.”
His gut churned.
“I’ve been digging. This wasn’t about Echo Team,” she continued. “It was about testing limits. Seeing how long theycould manipulate the data without getting caught. You walked into a proof-of-concept.”
Liam shifted to look at the men behind him. All had headgear on. They’d heard every word said.
Carr stared at him and whispered into his mic, “We were just the test.”
Liam’s hands fisted. His gaze raked over Carr’s bruised and broken body, then turned and gazed at the sky in front of him. Pale light cracked through the black of night. “We have to stop them.”
“I will. You have my word.”
Raven’s promise twisted his gut at the danger she might bring to her doorstep. Yet at the same time, her promise gave him hope that justice would be served with emphasis on whoever betrayed the US Special Forces for profit.
CHAPTER 2
Bahía Sombra, Mexico
