Page 1

CHAPTER 1
“Skipper, five hostages, northwest corner. They’re in the pen like you and Wraith figured. The walls are about ten feet high.” Ronan Alexander swore silently at Wolf’s information. The satellite photos showed the square area. That was where he’d hold hostages, which meant someone had brains in this outfit.
“Guards?” Ronan motioned to Juggernaut, sending him to the left, and then silently signaled Wraith to the right. Stryker moved up behind him as they held.
“Four.” Everyone heard Wolf in their comm devices.
“In your sights?”
“One clear. No movement,” Wolf clarified. Theyweren’t walking the perimeter, just sitting on it, which made him rethink the intelligence of the people who took the hostages.
“Copy.” Ronan acknowledged Wolf’s report. Wolf was the best marksman on the team and in position as overwatch if they needed cover fire during extraction. He trusted the four men on his team with his life. They were closer than teammates. They were brothers with a link forged through gunfire, blood, sweat, and, yeah, even a few tears.
Ronan glanced at his watch. “Dude, are we clear?”
“Affirmative. No vehicles, people, or aircraft moving in your area. Your C-17 is twenty-seven minutes out,” Dude, the faceless CCS voice that had worked with them for most of their missions, replied. Someday, Ronan wanted to meet the guy. He’d become the sixth teammate whether or not he knew it.
“Wraith to the east. Jug is west and has the power.” Ronan lifted from his knees into a crouch. “Stryker and I are moving up the center.” The team had been on over a hundred missions together, but there was no such thing as a routine op. He reinforced the plan with his words as he and Stryker moved forward down the center of the small compound to where the hostages were being held.Dude would be able to track his men with the infrared satellite surveillance system.
“Copy,” Wolf said, and then silence reigned as they moved in on the hostages.
Their night vision optics were an advantage that allowed them to move through the dark silently, and they would leverage that edge when Jug cut the electricity. His team advanced silently, using practiced movements and knowing exactly where they’d stop and hold.
“In position,” Wraith said.
“Stryker and I are in position. Cut it, Jug.” Ronan closed one eye while keeping the other open.
“Affirm,” Jug replied.
The lights flickered and then went dark. Ronan dropped his NVGs and opened the eye he’d closed, switching his vision by closing the other eye. He could hear the guards shouting at each other. The mix of Arabic and Kurdish languages was expected.
“Move,” Ronan commanded. The team advanced to the northwest corner of the compound. One of the guards cussed viciously and argued with another about who would start the generator. Finally, the guard hocked phlegm into the grass and started walking straight toward where Ronan and Stryker had moved. Ronan handed his M-4 to Stryker andpulled out his knife. It was a throwback model, Rambo as fuck, but it fit his hand perfectly.
Ronan let the man walk past him before springing up, slapping his hand over the man’s mouth, and slicing his throat. The bastard might not have been one of the men who’d killed two of the hostages on video and blasted it over the internet, but he’d aligned himself with the devil, and Ronan was paying this fucker his due. He pulled the man next to the building and slid his knife back into its sheath before taking his M-4 from his communications and entry specialist.
“One down,” Ronan said as they advanced on the holding area.
“Two,” Wraith said quietly.
“Target acquired,” Wolf said.
“Jug?”
“Hold on,” Jug whispered.
Ronan’s head popped up as he heard something drop and a bang on what Ronan assumed was the metal wall to the west.
A man called out in Turkish, “What are you doing? Running into walls?” The guy laughed uncomfortably, and after an awkward moment, he called out, “Raafe?”
“Three,” Jug said a bit breathlessly.
“Anyone have eyes on four?”
“Negative.” Wraith’s comment was immediate.
“No,” Jug said.
“I have him,” Wolf said. “He has a radio, Skipper.”