Page 32 of Red Line

“He’s ready?” T-Rex asked. They put Poole in the middle of the blanket. T-Rex and Nomad took hold of the front corners since they were the same height. Havoc took both back corners with the weight of Poole’s legs and feet.

With Rory leading the way, on the command, “Rory, find the car.” They headed to their vehicle, dumped Poole in the back with Nomad, and made a beeline for the coast.

So far, so good.

Chapter Eleven

Nomad

The infrared light that Nomad lassoed across the night sky signaled Echo Team Bravo that Alpha had arrived on the beach, and it pinpointed their location.

Within minutes, they saw one in return—message received.

“That was surprisingly easy.” Rory was positioned between Ty’s knees, getting a well-deserved scritch.

Havoc looked over his shoulder. “Too easy?

“I’ll take too easy,” Ty responded.

“Hear that?” Havoc whispered.

They sat silently, listening to the motor approach. T-Rex tipped down the night vision apparatus, checking that it was their teammates in the boat roaring forward. He stood. “Here they come.”

Jeopardy and Nitro cut the engine, and their forward momentum pushed the inflatable up on the beach. “Hey, change of plans,” Jeopardy called, jumping out of the boat and reaching for a bag.

“How’s that?” T-Rex headed forward.

Jeopardy pulled a tablet from the backpack and squatted as he initiated an encrypted satellite link.

T-Rex squatted next to him, reaching for the screen when the connection came through. “Colonel Watts.”

“You have Poole?”

T-Rex looked over to where Jeopardy and Nitro moved over to their prisoner. “Yes, sir.”

“Anything I need to know about?”

“Clean mission, sir.” He walked the screen over to the sleeping Poole to show Colonel Watts.

“You have no bruising, no blood,” Watts said. “You must have had an okay time of it.”

“It all went to plan, sir.”

“Outstanding. I’m rerouting three of your team. Ty and Rory, Nitro, and Jeopardy are heading to the sub to complete the last leg of the Poole mission. I want Nomad and Havoc to gather ‘round.”

T-Rex lifted his chin. “Havoc. Nomad. We’re not done here. Nitro. Jeopardy. Ty, get Poole and Rory onto the boat and get ready to launch.”

Once the three had gathered around the screen, Watts said. “CIA has an MIA. Johnna Red was doing fieldwork on the Lebanese side of the Syrian and Lebanese border, southeast of your position. There was a hotel explosion.”

“Yes, sir,” T-Rex answered. “We were briefed on the event prior to our mission. It’s in the same vicinity as our operation took place. The CIA thinks Red was caught up in that?”

“The bomb went off at the time and place where she was last in contact with her team. Langley needs to make sure she’s healthy and functioning.”

“Is her role important to this conversation at all? Is anyone trying to get to her or hurt her?” T-Rex asked.

“That we don’t know. What I can tell you is that we got a call there’s an American secret squirrel in possible danger. She’s high-dollar, and they need her back in whatever condition. You need to find her or her remains and get her moved. If she’s in a hospital, you need to come up with a silent exit strategy. She can’t be mumbling under her breath no matter what.”

The screen changed to a map. “I’ve sent these to your phone.”

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