Page 61 of Lucky Charm

“You’ll see.” Tommy shrugged, his aviators hiding his eyes.

Hunt shimmied into the opening. The tight fit made him draw in a breath and push through. On the inside edge, he looked down.

A man lay at the bottom of a ten foot drop off, pebbles and smaller rocks around his body, as ifthe earth had broken away and caused the fall. His clothes were mucked up, his body partially covered in snow, and his hands were scratched and damaged from the elements.

Dead. Face planted in the dirt.

He turned back to Tommy. “Any way around to that spot without going through here?”

“Easier crevice over a bit, but not as close to the body. Not even sure it goes through. I didn’t go down.”

“Let’s find it. Not much room to maneuver here.”

“Who do you think it is? Quaid’s CIA contact?”

“Not sure until we see his face.” Hunt squeezed out from between the rocks and studied the formation. He clicked his radio. “Carter, Hernandez come to me.” Acknowledgements were quick in reply.

“Lead the way. Let’s check.”

Tommy motioned to the right of the rock he’d been leaning on. Hunt went ahead, carefully searching.

In his mind, mission-focused thoughts ran alongside white-hot fury at the risk taken with Doc’s life to gain access. Finally read into some of the CIA’s concerns about Haquiri, their idea to find IQS by using Cait felt as wrong now as when command first suggested it.

Hunt got paid to range around the countryside and engage the Taliban and shitheads like Haquiri. Those hunts discovered intelligence that helped the Afghan government protect its citizens and the USmilitary protect their own. He took the risks because he was trained to a blade’s edge to fight terrorist actions. If he got killed, that was a consequence of the job he signed up for. Doc did not. Doc was their white angel savior on the other end.

Stopping at the next wider opening, Hunt pushed between the rocks to the crevice edge. Shoulders scraping the rocks on either side, he forced himself into position. At the ledge, he noted he was five feet above the trail base. The rough edge around the track would be more difficult to avoid, however. He could jump the distance but would need to keep his balance to avoid falling. Whether he could get back to the dead body was also a question.

“Carter, Hernandez coming.” Tommy’s back was to him, his tone muted to stop the sound carrying in the open space.

“I can jump. It’s only five feet or so.”

“You should wait and let Hernandez and Carter back us up.”

“Fuck that, Tommy. I want to see this guy’s face. Have Carter follow me when he gets here. You wait with Hernandez.”

“Are we bringing the body back?”

“Only if he’s one of ours.”

Hunt pushed out of the space, shed his gear, noted how close Carter and Hernandez were, and squeezed back into the crevice. Stepping to the edge, he flexed his knees and jumped. Solid land.

Now to find the body.

Tommy’s head appeared. “You okay?”

“Yes.” He studied the path and followed the route edged in the rocky landscape.

Doogie’s quiet voice came through his earpiece. “LT, we’re at the vehicles.”

“Copy, stay there. We’ve found a body. Checking it now.”

“Copy. Holding.”

Hunt looked to the sky and noted the tumbling clouds. They’d driven to the area again and needed to get back out without burning vehicles or climbing mountains. While he trusted their search, he didn’t trust the quiet.

∞∞∞∞∞

Cait rubbed her forehead and flipped another page. Good thing it was a quiet day today. Who knew it would take this long to flip through every page. The men were all starting to look alike. Some she’d paused over as familiar, but then passed over. Maybe she wouldn’t be so much help to Hunt after all. The man did this for a living. He had to have all these characters memorized.