Page 30

Shit, this is bad. Though I know what I would do, I’m not in charge here. And Avara isn’t exactly fond of my profession. I half expect him to order us to stay out of his way, but he shocks me instead. “I’ve got eight men, but none of them are trained for cave theater. Masters has been telling everybody you guys are former Raiders. Is that bullshit?”
“Aaron and I were Raiders,” I report. “Zach was a green beret, and Maxen can’t confirm the existence of his unit in the Army.”
Avara nods, understanding the Delta insinuation. “We… I’m going to need some help if there’s a chance at all to get our men out.”
Avara goes stock-still, waiting for my evaluation. Or for me to tell him to fuck off. A cave system, an unknown number of combatants, and a rescue team of fourteen people. Shit.
Pointing to the helipad, I take a deep breath and say, “Find some pilots for those Black Hawks. We lift off in ten.”
At the order, my crew rushes off to gear up, and Avara leaves to gather what’s left of his platoon.
I turn to follow my team, calling for Bastien and Chelsea when they reach the door. “You two stand down. You’re not going. You need rest, and I need you to be ready to coordinate some help if this rescue mission goes pear-shaped.”
Bash doesn’t look happy with the command, but he doesn’t argue.
At the nine-minute mark, Avara’s platoon is loaded into one of the helos, and Avara jumps in the other with my team. “There hasn’t been any more contact from Masters,” he yells over the helo’s engines.
“He’s probably turned off the radio to shield his location.” Or it’s more likely that he’s dead.
Just over thirty minutes after takeoff, we’re landing a safe distance from the reported entrance to the cave. Night blankets the area in total darkness, and none of us has any idea of the infrastructure inside the caves.
Everyone in our group sets up with NV goggles and do a coms check, even though our radios won’t work inside the mountain. Once everyone is ready to move, I nod to Sergeant Avara. Like it or not, he’s in charge here. Since he asked for our help, I’m fairly confident that he won’t be an ass about assigning my team.
He looks at his men and stiffens his spine. “I have no idea what we’re walking into. All I know for sure is that the nine of us are in over our heads. Fortunately, we have four experienced special forces operatives here. You’ll take your orders from them.”
He turns to me and nods humbly. “Phelps.”
Holy shit! Masking my surprise, I tip my chin in acknowledgment and dive right in. “Ok. I know intel was wrong and didn’t know about the caves, but you all should still be familiar with the layout of the buildings. I need two scouts on the roof of the building closest to the cave. These have to be your stealthiest guys.”
“Stanley, Banks, that’s you,” Avara calls out.
“I want two more looking for Masters. He’s the only link we have to the inside. Hopefully, he’ll be able to give us some useful information. Do any of your men have infrared scopes?” I direct to the sergeant.
“No. NV only.”
I fish mine out of my bag and reach over to Brock for his, passing them along to Avara’s men. “I want the rest of you to split into two teams. One in each team is to be on IR at all times. We’re setting up to have four teams fanned out and advancing toward the mouth of the cave.”
No one objects, which is promising, and, I’d add, surprising. “You scouts get moving. We’re going to need you to guide us in. Zach, go with them. You’ll break off to rejoin us as soon as we reach your location. As much as I hate to say it, we’ll have to play it by ear for a while. Hopefully, we’ll find that our assholes packed up and left, leaving our guys tied up in the cave.”
“What if they didn’t pack up and leave?” one of the men asks.
“Well, then we’ll let you know because my team will be the first to go inside.”
The army guys are visibly shocked that we’re not planning to sacrifice them while watching from a safe distance. I don’t say it, but sending them into a situation like this, for which they have not been trained, would not only endanger them but would more than likely get their teammates killed. If they’re even still alive.
Five minutes after the scout team sets out, Zach radios in. “The trucks are gone. There’s a body on the ground about fifty feet outside the cave.”
Dammit.
One of the guys with us asks, “What if the colonel is already on his way back to base?”
Avara turns and glares at the young private. “Without radioing in?”
Another voice reports through the radio. “It’s Masters. They must have found him when they took our trucks.”
Avara’s eyes meet mine, desperate and utterly void of malice. He’s just figured out what my team already knew. The rest of his platoon and the colonel are dead. Holding his gaze, I ask for a status report from the scout team. “Scout team, are we clear?”
“Affirmative. There’s nothing out here but crickets.”