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Echo blinked, the fight draining from her posture. She slumped back slightly, sighing. “Stop making sense.”
“Yeah, it sucks when he does that,” Ace added with a grunt of agreement, his dry tone drawing a faint smile from her.
Bandit straightened, wiping his hands on his pants. “Doctor’s orders: Stay off your feet as much as possible. I’ve padded the blisters with moleskin and covered the wounds. You’ll still be a little uncomfortable, but you’ll be able to move when you have to. Let me know if you need some painkillers.”
She shook her head firmly. “No unnecessary medications. Chemicals aren’t my thing.”
“See, Cap?” Ace said, standing up and stretching. “She fits right in here.” He nodded toward the jungle. “I’ll go relieve Rip so he can grab some food.”
“I’ll relieve you in a couple of hours,” Bandit called after him as Ace faded into the shadows. A raised hand was Ace’s only response.
Ranger approached, handing both Deacon and Echo MRE pouches. The familiar plastic crinkled in her hands as she tore it open. Settling back on the rock, she began preparing her meal alongside Deacon.
“You never answered me,” she said, her voice calm but persistent.
Deacon finished a bite of his cracker slathered in peanut butter. “About what?”
“How do we even know the device is there?” She spread her jalapeño cheese over her cracker, the processed smellsurprisingly appetizing after the long day. The first bite tasted like heaven. Hunger made even the blandest food taste good.
“Gut feeling,” Deacon said, nodding toward the camp. “No helicopters under the netting, but there are empty fuel cans. That means a chopper fueled up there recently.”
She raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. “And?”
“If you couldn’t access the device and exhausted all obvious methods, what would your next move be?”
She frowned, mulling it over. “I’d get help. Find someone with expertise or a fresh perspective.”
Deacon nodded. “With a storm system rolling in tomorrow, when would you act?”
“Now, hence the missing helicopter,” she admitted, squeezing more cheese onto her cracker. “Okay, I see your point.”
Deacon’s expression darkened slightly. “Getting in and out without being noticed is going to be a bitch.”
“You can say that again,” Ace muttered, reappearing from the shadows.
Echo glanced up at the canopy and sighed dramatically. “He’s the curmudgeon among you, isn’t he?”
Ranger choked on his food as Bandit and Deacon laughed quietly. Even Ace admitted, “Yeah, I resemble that remark.”
Echo rested her head against Deacon’s shoulder again, her voice soft. “Please be careful. All of you.”
No one answered, but Deacon placed a warm hand on her thigh. “We don’t take unnecessary risks. No guns blazing. No high-noon cowboy stunts.”
She hummed in acknowledgment, though her worry lingered. The bond she was forming with this team, especially Deacon, was more than she’d expected. More than she was prepared for.
CHAPTER 8
Deacon crouched low, his muscles coiled with tension as he studied the camp through his night vision scope. The pale green glow illuminated the guards on overwatch, perched on raised platforms that were little more than planks lashed to trees. No railings. No safety nets. Two guards kept their backs pressed to the thick tree trunks, their eyes scanning the dark jungle in lazy arcs. One sat at the edge of his platform, a faint ember glowing as he took a long drag from a hand-rolled cigarette. His posture screamed boredom, not vigilance—definitely a step down from the professionals who’d worked during the day.
Deacon’s lip curled in a faint smile. Sloppy. An exploitable weakness.
Bandit and Ace had already checked in, their voices low over the comms. Rip’s voice came last, his "in position" a quiet confirmation in Deacon’s ear. He glanced at Ranger, who gave a single nod, his expression unreadable in the dim light. Together, they melted back into the jungle, the thick undergrowth muffling their movements as they worked their way toward the stream.
The distant sound of water grew louder as they approached the hydro-pumps hidden beneath a dense canopy of vines andmoss. Deacon worked quickly, his fingers steady despite the humid air and stream water splashing him. Disabling the pumps took less than five minutes; the machinery fell silent.
Ace’s voice crackled through the comms. “Lights are out in two of the three structures, Cap. Must have batteries in the comms center.”
Deacon didn’t respond. A low, guttural rumble vibrated the earth beneath his feet, the storm’s warning growl announcing its approach. He and Ranger retraced their steps to the camp, the oppressive air growing heavier with the storm’s impending arrival.