Page 48 of Nightstalker

“Blue here, copy.”

I continued to hold my crosshairs on the man’s forehead as he paced the forecourt of the house and leisurely smoked his cigarette. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear the asshat was fucking with us. My gut tightened again and I became hypersensitive to every movement around me.

“Nightstalker you got eyes in the sky?” I questioned, something was telling me this was fucked.

“Affirmative Ghost,” Jasmin came back.

Thank fuck she had real time drone footage. We would be pinned down in the valley otherwise.

Just when I was ready to shoot this asshole to get the show on the road he flicked his cigarette onto the gravel and walked back inside. Leo confirmed the man was back in the house as his heat signature disappeared.

“Clear. Viper team move out,” I updated Zane.

“Roger that.”

Leo and I started back towards the house, less than two hundred and fifty yards to go.

“Viper team coming up on your nine o’clock, Ghost team,” Jasmin warned.

Her voice should have calmed me. Knowing she was watching over us, giving me direction, hearing the sweet cadence of her voice. It did not do a damn thing to stave off this snake curling in my gut. I turned towards my left and saw Zane and Colin coming up next to us.

“Confirmed, in my sights. Nightstalker do you have intel on any micro Doppler imaging in this area?”

My instincts were now screaming at me and I could no longer ignore them. This shit was not right. Even for a man that ruled in fear, this should not be this easy. Zane was at my side now and with a nod from him I knew we were on the same page.

Micro Doppler, along with laser vibration sensors, would tell us if there were any hidden underground tunnels or bunkers. It was a new technology. Intel coming back from it was a crap shoot but something was better than nothing.

“Negative Ghost.”

“Copy that.”

Zane gave us the signal to proceed; we spread out, M4’s drawn and shouldered. We trekked to the side of the conservatory, taking cover between large planter boxes.

Zane gave me the signal to take the lead around the corner to scope out the large bay of windows. Just as I rounded the corner I spotted the man from earlier step back outside. Now I had a clear view of Benele Yost. Fuck it all to hell. I silently crept back to the corner stopping to listen to the man as he spoke in to his phone.

“They are coming tonight, it was confirmed by the spook himself.” Yost had a thick South African accent.

“Ghost has a hostile at his twelve o’clock ten yards away,” Jasmin said through the COM.

“Copy that Nightstalker,” Zane acknowledged. “Blue, Wolf, hold your positions, over.”

“Everything is in place, he has already been moved,” Yost continued to speak on the phone.

Damn, fuck, shit! This was a mother fucking ambush. I grabbed my radio and squelched three times signaling Zane and the team to move out and evacuate. I could not speak without giving away my location.

“Confirm that last transmission Ghost,” Zane came through.

I squelched my radio again.

“Roger that Ghost. Fall back lookout one.”

“Ghost can you abort?” Jasmin asked over the radio.

I squelched my radio once in the negative. I was pinned in this corner. One move would give away my location.

“Copy that Ghost. Viper team, Black has been dispatched to lookout one. Blue team is at the mouth of the valley.” There was no hint of panic in my woman’s voice. She was a fucking warrior princess. I was so damn proud of her.

Yost was still on the phone, just lighting a second cigarette. His back was to me, making it impossible for me to hear what he was saying. As long as my team was safe and at the mouth of the valley I could stand here all day.