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E xtraction Point

Maddox

I was beginning to regret this gig.

It wasn’t the extreme heat. I preferred a tropical environment.

It wasn’t the goddamn bugs, even if they were the size of my hand.

Even the snakes didn’t irritate me. There were more venomous humans.

And I certainly didn’t mind the danger. Hazardous missions I could eat for breakfast with a slice of treachery.

It was the fact that I’d been dragged out of retirement. I didn’t appreciate anyone fucking with my schedule.

I moved through the darkness, the night vision goggles illuminating the thick foliage.

A sharp sound drew my attention and I shifted to the side, holding the assault rifle in that direction.

Just another boa constrictor slithering down the trunk of a tree.

As I moved through the opening, I shoved its dangling body aside, keeping a careful eye on the dense jungle.

Another sound forced me to stop. I slipped behind a tree, paying close attention to the environment.

If the intel was right, the woman I’d been sent to extract was in the compound just up to the right.

If the fuckers had provided the wrong information, I’d grab the next flight home.

First class. At the mission commander’s expense.

At least I knew almost every square inch of the acreage, every concrete building, every guard’s station, every bloody burial spot.

If she was being held in the facility, she’d be in one of two concrete bunkers chained like an animal.

I didn’t relish that for a single soldier, but especially not for a woman.

Crouching down, I continued to scan the area checking for booby traps.

I couldn’t put anything past the savages.

They used every trick in the book to protect their environment.

I’d witnessed good soldiers, men with families step onto the carefully placed foliage, falling into a deep ravine, impaled by crude spears. Ridiculous, but effective.

Another noise.

A single voice, a slight whistle. Maybe I was right on the money.

The humidity was thick, my face covered with sweat. Even my clothes were soaked. At some point, I’d need to prepare for a rainstorm. This was fucking monsoon season after all. That would add complications I didn’t need.

I’d stashed the beat-up Blazer at a secure location a few miles back, the area hidden away from prying eyes.

Once I’d freed her, we’d have several hours on back road before reaching the destination point where we’d meet the assigned pilot.

Freeing her from the compound might be the easiest part.

Once the men responsible for holding her realized she’d been rescued, they’d stop at nothing to get her back, including blocking off the roads.

That meant we’d need to stay hidden for a day, maybe two.

The concept didn’t make me very happy, but I knew how the monsters worked.

I moved through the jungle, keeping low, homing in on every sound.

I’d studied the satellite photos, paying close attention to the thermal imaging and the activities during various hours of the day and night.

It would seem they were creatures of habit even after all these years.

If my calculations were correct, this was the perfect time to strike. Fewer soldiers were on duty.

There was nothing like the cloak of darkness to create an aura of protection. Only I knew better. One false move and I’d be swimming with the alligators or worse. A flicker of light through the maze of trees drew my attention.

Torches.

Yeah, I was in the right place.

The place had always reminded me of an episode of Survivor .

I moved to the edge of the trees, hunkering down and doing nothing more than watching.

As expected, there were four soldiers guarding the prisoners.

From what I’d seen on the imaging, there were at least ten people being held.

There hadn’t been an adequate way of determining if they were all women, although it was assumed from the reports I’d been privy to that that’s what I was dealing with.

Only I wasn’t here for all ten. I was only here for one.

One goddamn reporter who’d ignored every warning, heading into one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Was I irritated? Fuck, yes. Why did people do stupid things?

I shifted forward, swinging the AK-47 back and forth. After eradicating the soldiers, I’d have less than five minutes to perform the extraction.

As expected, the fuckers decided to take a smoke break, standing in front of the building of choice where the prisoners were being held.

The bastards were nothing if not keeping to a tight schedule.

That much I admired about their loyalty to the most brutal man on Earth.

The rest was reprehensible. I’d had firsthand experience dealing with the aftermath of an El Salvadoran massacre.

And I’d enjoyed a five-star stay for weeks at the glorious compound enjoying the finest cuisine of worms and stale bread. A snicker formed on my lips.

Fuck the assholes.

I moved forward, taking a deep breath. When I was in position, I couldn’t help myself.

“Hey, boys. Got a smoke?” My deep voice carried exactly the distance I’d calculated. The surprise was exactly what I was hoping for.

They were startled, losing all sense of their training.

I sprayed a round of ammunition, gunning four of the men down.

My training kicked in and the next slight crack forced me to turn to the left.

Pop! Pop!

The last of the soldiers was down.

I didn’t waste any time lamenting over their deaths, racing toward the building where the prisoners were being housed.

I threw the grappling hook toward the block windowsill, the teeth digging in.

Within five seconds, I’d cleared the window, staring down at the interior.

The goggles allowed me to count the number of hostages, but I couldn’t tell a damn thing about who they were or their conditions.

I dragged the goggles off my face, the strap holding them in place, and grabbed the flashlight, peering inside.

The beam highlighted several figures hunched over.

Well, fuck. It was the worst case possible.

They were all women.

My guess was at least a few had been purposely kidnapped to serve Alfaro’s world building desires.

And from the looks of their conditions, they’d been beaten or worse.

I slithered through the opening, dropping down. When I swung the beam around the space again, an unwanted emotion grabbed at my chest. There was utter terror in their haunted eyes, strangled moans of anguish pushing past their cracked lips.

Except for one.

The woman pushed her way through the others, facing me with utter hatred in her expression.

“Who the fuck are you?” she demanded, taking several shallow breaths. Her fists were clenched and instead of cowering, she took determined steps toward me, taking a fighter’s stance, rocking from foot to foot.

I’d extracted dozens of men and women during my career, most injured or displaying the effects of torture and starvation.

Some had attempted to display bravado in the middle of a shit storm, but the defiance on the woman’s face along with her determination to protect the other prisoners was notable.

And a pain in my ass.

Yet she was strikingly beautiful, even covered in sweat and ugly bruises, her long hair plastered to her face.

My observation skills were keen, honed by years of facing unknown enemies. This woman had no intention of backing down even in the face of extreme danger.

“Lieutenant Maddox Grant. I’m here to escort you to safety.

” I shifted the light to the other prisoners, broken women who’d obviously been here for a long time.

Their gaunt faces, rags for clothes, and bruised bodies were a clear indication of the horrific treatment they’d received. “You’re Charmaine Douglas?”

She stared at me, never blinking. “Yes.” Her answer was given through clenched teeth.

“We need to leave. Now.” Time was ticking. To top everything off, it was the goddamn monsoon season.

“How do I know you’re who you say you are?”

A single noise caught both our attention. Whatever we’d heard was a reminder we had no time to stand around and chitchat. “Sweetheart. We don’t have time to play games. Either you come with me, or you will die. It’s as simple as that.”

Charmaine kept shifting from foot to foot, only this time moving closer. Did she really think picking a fight would do her any good? “Not without the others.”

“I was ordered to bring you to safety. That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Come with me. Now.”

She took a defiant step backwards, folding her arms. “Then I’m not going. Not until you at least let them go.”

“Christ’s sake. I’m one man.”

She shook her head.

The woman wasn’t going to budge.

How the hell had an extraction become such a pain in the ass?

“Fine,” I hissed. “But you will do as I say. They can fend for themselves.” I hadn’t been offered the resources to save the others. That had been left up so someone else.

“Asshole,” she muttered.

The woman had no idea.

I moved toward the door preventing the hostages from escaping, shooting off the lock.

As soon as I threw open the door, I moved into the night air.

“Come on. Everyone. Let’s get going. Stay close to the river and you’ll find a town about four kilometers from here.

” I put the goggles back in place, turning off the light.

The last thing we needed was to draw any attention.

The women had been brutalized, most moving slowly. There was no chance in hell I could guide a group of ten women to safety. The odds of survival were already against them.

I stood guard while the other prisoners moved into the darkness, calculating the time we had left before another brigade of soldiers moved in.

Maybe three minutes.

Some scattered immediately, others unsure of what to do. “ Manténgase fuera de la vista. Siga el río ,” I told them in Spanish this time.

Stay out of sight. Follow the river.

There was no way of knowing their nationalities. They could be anyone. Tourists. Wives of foreign government leaders. Students. The man holding them used them as bait or as whores. Whatever suited his disgusting mood.

At least the light of the torches guided their way. While I hated leaving them, I had no other choice.

The sound of loud voices seemed to knock them from their trance, almost all finding resilience deep within. They scattered into the night, surprisingly silent given all they’d endured.

I didn’t waste any time, taking Charmaine by the arm and heading in the opposite direction.

“Where are you taking me?” she threw out, struggling in my hold.

“I told you. Somewhere safe.”

Loud voices cut through the night sounds, the fury in their tones finally causing a reaction.

“Are you hurt?” I asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“Then if I were you,” I told her, “I’d run.”