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Prologue
Kade
“Alpha Team approaching target,” I murmured.
“Hold your position.”
As soon as I heard the command over my comm, I held my fist up, an indication for my teammates to halt. Huntley, my lieutenant, silently appeared at my side, his eyes alert, and his M4A1 Carbine at the ready.
We’d developed a good rhythm when he’d been my assistant officer in charge, back when I was on my first operational deployment as an Ensign. We’d both received promotions since then, and he’d requested me as his AOIC when he moved into the OIC spot. I was more than happy to fill the post, and we’d fallen right back into the same easy comfort level. Our whole team was a tight-knit band of brothers, and we were one of the best in the Navy.
We listened for a few more seconds as information came in. “A few guys just stepped out the back door for a smoke. The commander wants two of you to keep on this path and take them out while the rest of you shift to the side entrance.”
“Hooyah,” Huntley murmured as he signaled to Silas and Heath. When they jogged over, he repeated the order, and theynodded in confirmation before resuming their trek toward the back of the building.
The rest of us shifted west and crept through the trees. Through the branches, I saw the concrete walls of the small, abandoned school where our guy, Petty Officer First Class Simon Lazlo, was being held hostage by members of a budding local terrorist cell.
Simon had been on his first mission—a sneak and peek—and someone had tipped off the enemy. They were ambushed, but our guys went down swinging, killing two of their men before the recon squad was subdued. Simon and his three teammates had been at a local bar, so the shoot-out and abduction hadn’t gone unnoticed, and an informant got word back to the operations commander within ten minutes. But it was long enough for the kidnappers to get off the grid.
Once intel about the abduction reached the proper channels, my team was dispatched to retrieve our sailors.
When we made it to the perimeter, we waited for word from Silas and Heath that they’d taken care of the guys out back. After we received confirmation, we breached the building. Two men were sitting at a table near the entrance, and they stood, aiming guns our way. But they were both dead before they got a single shot off.
We split up into teams of two and headed down separate hallways. Arlen, one of our newest team members, stayed on my six as we explored each room along the way. About halfway down, an insurgent came running around the corner, already firing.
“Fuck!” Arlen grunted as we both discharged our weapons, causing the rebel to stagger backward, then fall to the floor.
I glanced behind me to see Arlen bent over, breathing hard and rubbing his chest. “Fucking hell,” he muttered. “Doesn’tmatter how many times I take a bullet to the vest, I never get used to it. Hurts like a bitch.”
Despite his complaint, it only took him a couple of seconds before he was once again upright, rifle at the ready and giving me a nod to let me know he was ready to move on. When we reached the end of the hallway, we could hear thepop pop popof gunfire in other parts of the building as Huntley and Deacon ran up to us from another corridor that ended at the same place.
The space was wider, so each pair checked the classrooms on one side of the hallway.
“Clear left.”
“Clear right.”
Finally, we hit a dead end at two double doors that looked to lead to what had once been the cafeteria. Huntley and Arlen stood at the ready while Deacon pulled open the door, then I ducked in and came to a halt. “Shit!” Two men were racing for the doors on the opposite side of the room, one carrying a badly beaten Simon.
I fired at the kidnapper who wasn’t carrying the hostage, and he screamed as he hit the floor. The other rebel twisted around as he ran and shot a handgun in our direction.
A searing pain slashed through my calf, but as I continued forward, I concluded it hadn’t hit bone. More rebels entered the room from another set of doors, and the others engaged in a firefight with them, leaving me free to pursue the man with Simon.
I followed through the exit he’d taken and out into the night, where I saw Simon’s body slumped in the back seat of an old car. The insurgent scrambled into the passenger seat just as his buddy hit the gas.
They jerked into motion, and I aimed my weapon for their tires, taking out the back two. The car slid on the muddy road, spinning around so I faced the vehicle head-on. Since the vehiclehad only managed to drive a few feet before I crippled it, the spin sent it hurtling right at me. My injured leg slowed me down by a split second, just long enough for the car to clip my leg and send me staggering backward as I heard an audible snap, and my limb exploded with pain.
I fell on my ass just as several of my team poured out of the building and took out the two rebels.
“Fucking hell,” I cursed as I tried to stand but fell back down when my leg wouldn’t hold my weight.
“Kade. Shit.” Huntley bent down and draped one of my arms around his shoulders while Simon did the same with my other. Together, they managed to get me on my feet—or foot—and we hobbled into the cover of the trees.
Silas grabbed Simon from the car and carried him over. I looked around to see if any of my other teammates had the additional hostages, but Heath shook his head. “Dead.”Fuck.
“Building is clear,” Deacon said over the comms. “Target acquired.”
“Alpha Team is moving out,” Huntley grunted.
