Page 106 of Dead Fall

Opening his hand, he unfolded the photograph she had placed in his palm. It was the one from the frame, the one she had picked up from the table, showing the vintner, his wife, and their twin daughters.

He looked at it for a moment and then tucked it into his pocket.

When he arrived back at the truck, Biscuit, Jacks, Krueger, and Hookah were all standing there, gear packed, ready to go.

“This looks like a good sign,” said Harvath.

“Biscuit finally knows what he wants to ask for,” said Jacks.

Harvath glanced at the young Canadian. “I don’t know how you top hot showers, followed by an omelet station, but go ahead. Let’s manifest our next amenity.”

“It’s not an amenity,” the young man replied. “I want to recover the hostages and for all of us to get out safely.”

“And if there are no hostages?” Harvath asked, preparing his team for that eventuality.

“Then we do what we came here to do. We kill as many fucking Orcs as possible.”

“Ooh-rah,” Krueger replied.

“Slava Ukraïni!” said Jacks, adding the popular second phrase, “Heroiam slava!”Glory to the heroes.

The men returned the battle cry and climbed into the truck.

Sliding behind the wheel, Harvath removed the picture of the vintner and his family.

As he fired up the engine, he affixed the photo to the dashboard and said, “Time to clip some wings.”

CHAPTER 31

They had been on the road for a couple of hours when they finally reached their destination. It was a crossroads where they would await confirmation that the Ravens had been spotted. Nearby was a stream and an old, abandoned mill.

The mill, though infested with pigeons, was perfect. It was just large enough to get the Novator inside, close the doors, and allow them to remain out of sight.

“I’ll take first watch,” said Harvath. “The rest of you guys can get some sleep, eat, kick back, whatever you want to do.”

His was the only cell phone that was allowed to be on. If the Russians had another electronic warfare system anywhere in the area, he didn’t want it to pick up a cluster of phones all in one location. They would be begging to get shelled.

He had also completely closed the encrypted app he used with Nicholas. The only app he had open was Signal, which was popular with Ukrainians and Russians alike. If and when Vesna had intel for him, that was how she was going to make contact.

Picking a spot with the best view of the road outside, Harvath got comfortable. A few minutes later, Hookah came over and joined him.

“Smoke?” he asked, offering one of his cigarettes.

“No, thanks,” said Harvath. “I don’t smoke.”

Hookah had found an old coffee can, added some stream water to ash into, and set it on the ground between them.

Lighting his cigarette, he took a long drag and held the smoke deepin his lungs. After exhaling, he asked, “How long have you been with the legion?”

His eyes still on the road, Harvath replied, “Less than two days.”

“And already a captain on special assignment,” the man said with a laugh as he took another puff. “I don’t think lightning even moves that fast in Ukraine.”

“Wars can be funny.”

Hookah exhaled. “Not that funny.”

“What about you?” Harvath asked, changing the subject.