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“Yeah, I feel the same way. During my debrief, I couldn’t help thinking there was something Command knew, but weren’t telling us.”

“I just hope it doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass.”

“You and me both.”

After an hour, Webb appeared back in the barracks. His face was pensive, and he looked like he had been arguing. The veins in his temples and neck hadn’t completely gone down to normal.

Abarra addressed him, “Marcus, everything all right?”

“Fuck no, everything ain’t all right. It appears the shitty intel we received on our last mission wasn’t the last pile of shit we will receive. It seems we were a day late and a dollar short on infiltrating the research facility.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Neville said with his Cajun accent.

Webb continued, “It turns out that ISIS hit the facility just a day before we had arrived and stole the virus. From the wonderful intel we have, it appears ISIS has taken the virus to their cell in Dearborn, Michigan.”

“What? In the good old USA? Fucking bastards. Don’t bring that shit over here!” Doc was livid.

“Man, this shit just got real-real,” Priest muttered.

“Exactly. So, they could deploy us to Dearborn to find the cell, eliminate it and confiscate the virus.” Webb was looking more and more worried as he spoke.

Abarra squinted, “So this means we are to engage US citizens? Posse Comitatus?”

Webb shook his head, “I hope not, and we need to avoid that as much as possible. The ISIS personnel involved are here on college Visa’s studying engineering.”

“So, when do we roll out,” Miles asked.

“Ok, slow your roll. Coordination is being conducted with local authorities and the FBI. They are handling the situation. We are on standby, just in case. The only reason they are even considering us is that we have already engaged people who were affected. So, we are in an advisory capacity at this moment. So, get some chow, sleep, shower, etc. while you have the chance. Just be available if they need us, Hua?”

“Hua.”

CHAPTER 4

23:10 Fort Campbell, KY

The young corporal assigned to Fort Campbell drove through the mostly empty streets with trepidation but with purpose. They gave him orders and the look on his lieutenant’s face gave him a foreboding feeling. He knew this wasn’t just a dog and pony show and was something severe. He had never seen it that busy in the HQ building before.

The corporal rolled up to the barracks the team was staying in and slammed on the brakes. He jumped out of the SUV and busted through the barrack doors. Halfway through the door, they met the corporal with clicks, clacks, and eight barrels pointed straight at him.

“Oh, shit!” The corporal uttered as a little dribble of piss ran down his leg. It was painfully clear that the corporal had never dealt with a special ops unit before.

Shaw was the closest to him. “Holy dog shit, son. You almost got turned into a piece of swiss cheese as many rounds as you could have gotten nailed with…. WHOO-hoo.”

“Uh-uh,” The corporal stammered.

“Out with it, son,” Shaw poked.

“Uh, Captain Webb… Colonel Madison, has requested your presence, along with MSG Priest and SSG Abarra immediately. Things seem to have unraveled quickly.”

The three of them looked at one another with trepidation. “Ok, let’s go then.” Webb, Priest, and Abarra followed the corporal out the door.

Shaw hollered, “Who the hell will wipe this piss up off the floor?” They met his question with silence. “Myles, you’re up, son,” Shaw said as he laid back down.

“Shit,” Myles murmured under his breath. “Being the lowest rank sucks.”

“Yep, I get it. It sucks. Goodnight, John Boy.” Shaw responded as he laid down to fall back to sleep.

The three Light Reapers made it to the War Room within minutes. Colonel Madison was sitting at the head of the conference table, rubbing his temples. He looked haggard with dark circles under his eyes, like he had been up for days. Colonel Madison’s XO, Major Harrell, motioned them in and left to get the coffee for the meeting. Madison looked up and motioned for the three to have a seat. He took a couple of deep breaths and then sighed.