Page 99 of Out of Control

No help for it.

He said clearly, “Now.”

DRAGO DROPPEDto the ground like a stone, slapping his hands over his ears and scrunching his eyes shut as he fell.

A tremendous blast of heat and noise slammed into him, and light pounded mercilessly at his eyelids. Blindly, he reached out for his rifle on the ground where he’d laid it. He flipped up the NODs and, in the light of the blazing inferno searing his back, scanned the now well-lit forest.

All the hostiles were running toward a cluster of bushes, firing everything they had at it.

“Noooo!” he roared, standing up and spraying his rifle back and forth across the line of hostiles.

A dark specter rose out of the bushes, shouting incoherently as well and spraying lead into the line of hostiles only a few dozen yards away.

Drago kept his own fire just short of where Spencer stood, shooting for all he was worth. The two of them might be about to die, but they were going to do their damnedest to take out Hamza, if he was out here, before they went down.

Something hot and painful sliced across his leg. Another fiery pain erupted in his left shoulder. He ignored all of it. He would go down fighting to protect Spencer until the last.

Without warning, a whole new line of gunfire erupted in the woods to his right, behind Spencer.

Nonononono….

SPENCER STAREDin shock as the hostiles before him toppled over all at once like pins in a bowling alley. What the hell?

He looked over to where Drago had charged away from the burning hut like some crazy suicidal hero to draw fire away from him. His eyesight dimmed for a moment, then cleared. No sign of Drago.

Oh no.

Please let him be alive. Please. He couldn’t live without Dray—

He heard movement behind him and spun around to face this new threat. Except his body didn’t do exactly what he told it to. He turned, all right, but he also staggered, then fell against a tree trunk. He righted himself drunkenly.

What was wrong with him?

Voices called out.

“Lieutenant Newman?”

“Spencer?”

“Team Ten in the field!”

He blinked, squinting.What on earth?

Four men emerged from the woods. More accurately, four men in full tactical gear.SEALtactical gear.

“You’re SEALs?” he asked. Why in the hell was he so confused? He shook his head to clear it. Oh, not a good idea. He nearly went down. One of the soldiers raced forward and caught him under the armpits.

“Sit down, boss, before you pass out.”

“Drago. Gotta get Dray.”

“We’re on it.”

“Hamza… can’t get away….”

“We’re on that too. We’ve already disabled the vehicles out by the road. No one’s going anywhere except on foot, and my money’s on Team Ten to win any footraces out here.”

“Cormac? That you?”