Page 38 of Gray

“SITREP!” Jett barked.

“Shots fired,” Luke said in a calm voice. Several more gunshots sounded, coming from multiple directions. “The Baltimore PD have engaged with two subjects. Two tangos taken out. Everyone okay?”

“Roger.”

“Affirmative.”

“Ready to roll. Don’t suppose any of them were Ivan,” Ford said.

“Nah. That’d be too damn easy,” Nick countered. He pointed to an area in the distance atop a warehouse as the men all rose to their feet again. “I’ll set up there. It covers the parking lot and is on the opposite side of where Boone’s located. We’ll have eyes on multiple areas.”

Gray nodded, and then Nick was turning and jogging away, his rifle slung across his back. He spoke quietly into his headset, notifying Jett that he was getting into position.

“We’re moving in,” Gray said, beginning to jog toward the loading area. While the Baltimore PD had been made aware that a team of former soldiers was moving in to retrieve a hostage, he wasn’t sure they knew what to make of it. Normally, the FBI would be involved in something like this. Gray wasn’t even sure that Jett had notified his contacts at the Bureau. Everything about this mission was unconventional, from operating on U.S. soil to saving the woman he loved. And yes, he loved Lena without a shred of doubt in his mind. He’d been falling slowly for her ever since they met, and now it felt inevitable that she was the one. He just had to get to her in time.

His gaze scanned the area, taking in the massive crane and multiple stacks of containers aboard the vessel. He looked over the rows and rows of various colored metal boxes, all of them looking ominous in the dim morning light. It felt like Lena was inside a casket—alone and cold, no doubt in the dark, and probably without food or water. He swallowed down his fear, taking a shaky breath. They’d search them all if they had to. Failure wasn’t an option.

A loud fog horn sounded, indicating a ship’s eminent departure. Gray nearly stumbled, watching in shock as the massive container ship began to slowly move away from the dock. A tugboat operator began yelling from the shore, waving his hands frantically. “Someone stole my tug! Stop! Stop them!”

A police officer and harbor security ran by, walkies in hand. “Alert the Coast Guard! Repeat. Alert the Coast Guard! There’s an unauthorized departure of the Container Ship Apollo from terminal four. They are not allowed to leave this area. Over.”

“No!” Gray yelled, sprinting toward the massive ship. He didn’t even care if he was in danger from whoever had fired at them before; he couldn’t let the ship sail without him.

Gray heard static over his headset and then Nick’s voice. “I’m in position. There’re two tangos approaching from the south. I’ve got them in my sights.”

Jett’s command was final. “Take them out.”

Two gunshots sounded, the men crumpling to the ground behind him. Had Nick taken the kill shot or Boone? Gray couldn’t tell from this angle. Maybe they’d each taken out a tango. Panic rose within him as the ship began to fire its engines. This was a massively crowded harbor. If someone had commandeered the vessel, it could be dangerous to everyone around them.

Helicopters began to circle in the air, searchlights pointing down at the ship. “This is the United States Coast Guard,” a voice said over a megaphone. “Cease and desist all operations of Container Ship Apollo. You do not have permission to leave the harbor. Repeat. You are not authorized to set sail.”

“We’re going to be too late!” Ford shouted, running at Gray’s side. Gray sprinted faster, leaping through the air and landing in the icy cold water. Shock washed over him from the chill as he plunged into the icy depths, and then he pushed upward with his arms, kicking hard and resurfacing. Gray swam to the bow of the ship, forcing his body to move in the cold. He heard Ford shouting behind him, and then Jett’s voice over the headset. The ship continued to move slowly away from the pier, and Gray was already climbing the ladder, his hands like ice. He nearly slipped, almost falling back into the water, but held steady.

“There’s someone else on the bow,” Jett said into the headsets.

“Roger that. I’ll be careful.” Gray climbed the rest of the way up, shaking in the cold. His body couldn’t lockdown now. It couldn’t. Not after he’d endured so much. Briefly, his mind flashed back to the desert. The searing pain. The whippings. The swelteringtent. It felt like a thousand tiny knives were cutting into his skin right now, prickling every nerve ending, but he pushed on, flinging himself onto the bow.

The ship was still moving as the helicopters circled. Gray clicked his mic. “Do they know who I am?”

“Affirmative. They won’t be shooting at you,” Jett confirmed.

“Well thank God for something going right,” Gray muttered. He spotted a man’s big sweatshirt in an area where some gear and equipment was stored. The ship had departed so rapidly, someone had no doubt dropped it there in the rush. Gray heaved himself over and remained low, stripping off his Kevlar vest and soaked shirt. He slid the sweatshirt on, cringing at the feel of it against his scars, then strapped the wet vest atop it. His back was the last thing he needed to worry about right now. It was surprisingly easy to ignore given how cold the rest of his body was.

Gray checked his weapon, peering around the area, and rose to his feet.

The helicopters continued circling above, the sun rising further over the harbor. It would’ve been a nice sight, the sun gleaming off the sparkling water, except his girl was trapped somewhere on a runaway ship. Gray took several steps as he took in the massive vessel, hopelessness battling against anger within him. There were so damn many containers. Hundreds. It would take days and the entire team to thoroughly search each one. They could’ve stashed Lena anywhere. And how sick did those men have to be to put a woman inside, to sell her then ship her off like an object.

He clicked his mic. “Do we have any idea what type of container Lena was loaded in? Color, description, anything?”

“Negative,” said Jett. “West is working on obtaining all the footage from terminal four’s loading area.”

“There’s a goddamn crane right there,” Sam said. “Didn’t the operator see anything? If they were still loading containers onto the ship, Lena must be in one on top of the stack.”

“Let’s question him. He might’ve been paid hush money, but we’ll get him to talk,” Ford replied.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and Gray dove to the ground. A second shot sounded, ricocheting off the metal. “I’m under fire!” he yelled. He lifted his rifle, aiming it up against an unknown enemy that was currently out of sight.

“I can see a man running toward the bow,” Luke said from the pier. “White male. Dark pants, red shirt, black hair. He scaled the containers and is looking for you down below.”

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