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TWENTY-ONE

The noise inside the cabin was deafening. Wood chips flew in all directions, spinning away in cartwheels. The fire was creeping down the cabin walls. Flaming debris and roof shingles fell and ignited the furniture. Intolerable heat burned exposed flesh, and although Kane had covered his face, breathing was difficult. The fire had sucked all the oxygen from the room. They kept firing as a hole appeared in the wall. The sudden rush of air fed the flames and all around them an inferno roared. The team didn’t stop firing until the hole was big enough to step through. Kane reloaded. “Carter, you first. Stay low and run toward the corral. I’ll put down cover fire over your heads. Stay low. Go, go, go.” Beside him Blackhawk pushed Duke and then Bear through the hole.

“Zorro, with me.” Carter dived through the shattered wood and took off with the three dogs close behind.

Flames crept across the floor, heating Kane’s boots as he sprayed the forest. The last man to leave was Raven. With the loud buzzing in his ears from the gunshot, he turned when he touched his arm and only just made out what he was saying.

“I’ll be your wingman.” Raven gave him a nod. “I’ll go right and cover your back.” He ducked out of the hole and began to lay down fire for Kane to escape.

This wasn’t the first time Raven had been beside him when they faced great danger. He’d saved Kane’s life during a deployment. That time didn’t exist for him any longer. That person died in a car bombing in DC almost seven years ago. Dave Kane had emerged from the ashes with a new identity and face. If Raven recognized him, both of their lives could be in danger. With his fingerprints removed, the only way Raven could identify Kane would be by a retina scan. Hopefully, Raven’s old friend would just be a memory. He pushed the past away and ducked through the hole. His backpack stuck tight and he turned to tug it free and then jumped down. To his right, Raven kept firing in wide arcs, his bullets tearing through the pines splintering branches. Fire licked the broken boards around the hole. Coughing with eyes streaming, he turned to Raven. “Get out of here.”

Backing away from the inferno with Raven at his side, Kane sent bursts of gunfire into the trees and then they ran for their lives as the forest exploded into flames. As he reached the others at the corral, everyone was frantically throwing saddles onto their horses. He turned to see the cabin light up the clearing. The roof had caved in and the intense fire would soon spread. Nothing they could do would save it now. Duke ran to his side barking, but he could hardly hear him with the buzzing in his ears. Wolfe, his face blackened and eyes red and running, came over with Warrior’s tack, and Kane stood, his burning-hot rifle against the corral fence, and saddled Warrior. The horse held his head high, nostrils flaring and stamping his feet eager to leave. He’d been through forest wildfires with Warrior before and he was as solid as a rock. He lifted Duke onto the saddle. The dog trembled and tried to arrange his fat body, almost slipping before Kane climbed on behind him. He rubbed Duke’s ears and held him tight. “It’s okay, boy. You’re safe.”

He looked around at the soot-streaked faces, lit up with the light from the fire, and pointed into the wind. They took off in single file following a track heading north. As the track came out onto a fire road, Kane got his bearings. They’d ridden to Bear Peak. Ahead of him, Wolfe was on the phone. He rode alongside him and waited for him to disconnect. “Fire department?”

“Yeah.” Wolfe coughed and spat. “They’ll need someone out here before the forest burns to the ground.” Wolfe turned to Kane. “Paramedics are on their way. We’re heading to the forest warden’s station and they’ll meet us there. We need oxygen and treatment for our eyes.” He coughed again and turned red-rimmed eyes to Kane. “They must have used drones to drop incendiary devices onto the roof.” He waved a hand toward the forest. “This entire escape has been a ruse to take down Jenna’s team and the FBI agents you use. Souza has masterminded all of this and he’s using notorious serial killers like puppets.”

The same conclusion had crossed Kane’s mind. Everything that had happened was slick and well thought out. Souza had been one step ahead of them all the time. The next steps to take could be fatal. This man spearheaded the import of illegal arms and drugs, specifically fentanyl, which was killing hundreds of thousands a year. In prison he still maintained his cartel no matter how many of his soldiers were apprehended. The vicious hold Souza had on his cartel meant no one in his organization dared to disobey him. He made examples of them by brutally murdering their families.

Determined, Kane stopped, pulled out a bottle of water, washed his eyes, and then drank and spat. A vision of Jenna holding a newborn and sitting beside Tauri slid into his mind. Would he ever get to see his child? Would he be there when Jenna needed him the most? The odds wouldn’t be in his favor. In front of him, Duke trembled as if he understood the impossible position this incident had put him in. He looked at Wolfe and couldn’t believe he’d made the decision. It was the only one to keep his family, friends, and America safe. One phone call to POTUS and he’d become the sniper again, the secret government asset needed to remove Souza from existence once and for all. “The team here can deal with the escaped prisoners. We’ll have reinforcements by daylight. The escape was just a distraction. Call it in. It’s time I took down Eduardo Souza.”