Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“Roger.”
“Deadeye, follow Cheetah, Deke, and Joilyn when they get her out of the house. Don’t fire unless our team does first. That fifty cal is loud enough to wake half the fuckin’ state.”
“No promises, Scout.” Though his words sounded defiant, it was Deadeye’s version of humor. I’d learned that in the first few hours after meeting the team. They said the man lightened up a little after meeting his woman, but if this was lighter, I’d have hated to see him before he’d met her.
“Tool. Clutch. Take our guests and go hunting.” Scout’s command was hard as steel. Unbending. “No one leaves this place alive except us and Joilyn.” That was our cue to get this fuckin’ shit over with.
The four of us took off toward the ranch, crouching in the tall brush grass. The moon was bright and only half obscured through the clouds but still brighter than I’d like. I was glad for the night vision goggles we’d been issued, even if the things were clunky as shit. Laughter filtered to us as the guys in front made fun of their buddy currently bent double and vomiting everything he’d ever eaten since conception. Much as I hated giving these guys a reprieve, the noise was the cover we needed if Scout was intent on making as little noise as possible.
“Leave the dumbasses up front?” I whispered, already starting to make my way around them before Scout confirmed my request.
“The guys on the perimeter got little to no LOS on the guys in the back. Falcon, go with Tool and take the eastern perimeter. Rattler and Clutch can take the west. Cheetah, once those two teams meet in the back to take out the rest outside the house, you and Deke start your move inside the house. Should be good to move once you get there. Sound off as each area is clear.”
Yeah. If only things always went that smooth. The closer we moved to the house, the more my anxiety ratcheted up. If there was any doubt this place had given me PTSD, it was erased. I kept expecting to hear shots ringing out, people screaming. As I looked to my left, I spotted Rattler and fully expected to see his head explode. It had happened the last time. I’d turned to give an order and the man to my left had been shot with a gun so big, his head disintegrated.
I tried to shake it off and keep moving forward. It was hard, though. The kills were easy. It was the one thing I could do to keep the panic at bay. We had to go slow, so I could concentrate on each movement and keep myself aware of where the rest of my team was.
Once we made it behind the house, I had firm control of my emotions. Yes, I was still stressed. I doubted I’d be able to relax until I was back in the Grim Road compound. And I wasn’t altogether certain it was because I felt safe there.
Everyone sounded off their kill as we cleared the perimeter around the house.
My gaze found Rattler’s when we raised our night vision as we entered the house ahead of Cheetah and Deke. He gave a short nod and we started a search of the house.
“Front room, east side,” Goose said over the radio. “Spotted two guys in front of the window.”
“I got ‘em,” someone acknowledged.
“Whoever has the phone just made a call.” I didn’t recognize this man’s voice either, but suspected it was one of the computer guys with ExFil.
“I got him.” Crush’s voice was immediate. Just knowing one of my own men was listening in, helping, eased my anxiety drastically. “Going to a local number three klicks to the north of you. It’s a hardware store in town.”
“Yeah. These guys own a business. Fine upstanding citizens with a federal agent held hostage in their farmhouse.”
That gave me pause. Once we’d cleared the house, I spoke my concerns. “I’m assuming there’s a reason local law enforcement -- or any law enforcement, really -- isn’t involved with this, Scout?”
“Might shoulda asked that question before you came along, but yeah. There is.”
“That’ll do, I guess.”
“Good. Cheetah. I assume you have the woman?”
“I do. She’s a little banged up but not hurt.”
That eased my worry for Joilyn, but also sent my mind whirling. “She’s been with these fucks for two years. How’s she not hurt?”
“Can we save twenty questions for after we’re on the road or, preferably, in the air?” Scout was losing his patience.
I ground my teeth together. “Fuckin’ hate spooks.”
“Same. You know, even though we were employed by them at one time.” Rattler moved past me to cover Cheetah when she came downstairs with Joilyn. Deke had the rear so I covered the flank.
The second we stepped into the clearing around Scout and Tool we loaded everything into two trucks. I was with Rattler guarding the trucks in case we missed someone or reinforcements arrived. The last thing we wanted to happen was to get someone hurt now. Scout tapped me on the shoulder and I nudged Rattler. I jumped into the back of one truck, Rattler got in the back of the other, and we all sped off.