Page 108 of Not Mine to Keep

“When we get in there, don’t forget that The League wants Claudio taken out alive if possible.” I didn’t need the reminder from him, but I had a feeling what was coming next. “And Rocco—”

“Is yours?” I finished for him, then looked over at the SF guys who’d be having our six as Foxtrot Team tonight, grateful for their assist.

Constantine set aside his rifle and wrapped his hand over my shoulder. “I don’t care who gets him. I just want him dead so he can’t hurtanyone anymore.” Well, I hadn’t expected that. “So if you have the shot, take it. Fucking take his head right off.”

After we’d HAHO’d in, the four towers were simultaneously taken out by our SF guys, giving us fire superiority with Foxtrot Team on overwatch.

We left three guys to handle suppressive fire while Constantine and I moved on the target, passing through enemy territory.

“Shift fire,” Constantine mouthed to me just before we split ways as planned to flow in, letting the tangos believe we were still striking the main area of the compound, when in reality, we were about to infil our target locations.

I set my back flat to the brick wall on the south side, holding my Ruger while waiting for a clear path.

“This is Foxtrot One,” the team leader for our SF backup said over my tactical earpiece. “Alpha Two, you have two tangos on your nine o’clock, coming in hot,” he let me know.

I pushed the small button on the headset at my neck to respond, “That’s a good copy.” Taking a knee, I knocked my night vision back in place. I shifted around the wall and took out the two marks on my dirty side—a.k.a. the area where shots were being fired. “Tangos down.”

“This is Foxtrot Two, you’re clear to move, Alpha One and Two.”

“Roger,” my brother and I responded in unison.

Keeping my head low, still under NODs, I started for my target location.

“This is Alpha One. Three more tangos down. Entering the Rabbit Hole,” my brother shared.

I held back on thebe carefulwarning to my brother with two other teams on the line.

“This is Delta One,” Sebastian announced a minute later. “My team, breachers up. It’s a go.”

“Roger,” we all answered before a battery of gunfire sounded from somewhere on the property, and it wasn’t coming from my point of entry, or from the March Hare’s House, which was the building I was about to breach.

The League had gone withAlice in Wonderlandas our mission theme. It somehow felt fitting, but hopefully my wife was wrong and we wouldn’t be falling down any actual holes. Or in this case, tunnels.

“Alpha One, you good?”

“Four tangos down. But I have eyes on the Mad Hatter,” Constantine alerted back, letting us know he had Rocco Barone in his sights. I’d prefer he have my six right now.

“Keep him alive until we get the White Rabbit. He may need to lead us to him,” Sebastian popped over the line after their breaching charges went off in the distance. “This is Delta One,” he continued once they successfully breached the property. “Do you copy, Alpha One?”

No response from Constantine. “Alpha One, do you copy?” I asked this time at the sound of more gunfire in the distance—notfrom Constantine’s direction, at least. But the fact he was unresponsive had me barking out, “Foxtrot Three, take the March Hare’s House instead. I need to head to the Rabbit Hole.” Already on the move, not waiting for confirmation, I ditched my current path, needing to get to Constantine and determine why he was radio silent.

“Foxtrot Three. On it,” I barely heard in my earpiece as I took down two more tangos, nearly getting clipped in the same arm that Esposito’s wife shot me as I rounded a thick bank of shrubs.

“This is Foxtrot Two,” overwatch began. “Alpha Two, hold position. You have a sniper waiting for you to take that next corner.”

I halted and slammed my back to one of the walls of shrubs and waited for Foxtrot to handle the asshole on the long gun.

“This is Delta Two,” Sean piped up over comms. “White Rabbit is on the move. Looks like he’s heading to an exfil spot outside the compound. He’s heavily guarded. I need backup.”

“This is Delta Three. On it,” Cole McGregor said.

“Alpha Two, come in. This is Foxtrot Three, you’re clear to move to the Rabbit Hole. I repeat, you’re clear to move.”

“That’s a good copy.” Not wasting any more time, I flowed to the target location. “Anyone have eyes on Alpha One? On the Mad Hatter?” I asked, forgetting my call sign, but so help me, if anything happened to Constantine ...

“Nothing,” someone said from some-fucking-where over comms. I was starting to lose focus, worried I was already too late to get to Constantine.

“Entering the Rabbit Hole.” No call sign again. I needed to pull it together. I knocked my NODs up when I entered the lit-up building and swapped my rifle for my Sig and knife. “Clearing the property now. No sign of Alpha One or the Mad Hatter,” I said as I began clearing rooms, finding the four dead tangos my brother had mentioned, which meant I was going in the right direction.

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