Page 23 of Skull

Several of the guys laughed, but Ice, cool as he was, never cracked a smile. He just lifted a brow. “Well, jock up what you have, lady, and get a move on.”

Eva leaned over and said, “Did he just tell you to grow a pair?”

That made Walker smile and her eyes gleam. “Hmm, you’re one of those.” She straightened and saluted.

Iceman just shook his head and Anna laughed.

“You don’t salute a—” Breakneck said.

“She knows that, junior,” Skull said.

“Oh, it’s a joke. I didn’t think Ice liked jokes.”

Everyone laughed as they filed out, and Skull moved closer to Walker. “You heading up to the room.”

“No,” she said. “Armory. With the target package imminent, we’re ready to go.”

“Walker—”

“I’ll see you at the vehicles,” she said, her voice distant as she sidled away and disappeared down the hall toward their weapons room. Nonplussed, he stared at her retreating back, now fully aware that she was spooked. He was more determined to find out what made this woman tick. She was more complex than she was complicated.

Inside the vehicles, they headed toward that compromised and dangerous town a few miles west of Bogotá. Every single man and woman keep their eyes peeled for combatants ready to engage. When they reached the insertion point, everyone exited the vehicles and quickly stacked in the shadows of the dimly lit streets. He could feel the tension in everyone, and that was that they all were jacked up on a combat mindset.

They wouldn’t be able to clear the town, that wasn’t possible since all the natives were part of Pincho’s army, so stealth was imperative.

“Moving,” Kodiak said from the head of the line, his voice clear and concise through the comms.

They started patrolling with Kodiak as point man to the target building, and the faint sound of their footsteps barely pierced the sleeping stillness of the neighborhood. They moved down a narrow street, ramshackle homes both to the left and the right. No lights were visible, not even streetlights in this poor neighborhood. With their night vision goggles, everything was green.

Skull kept his attention on the man moving in front of him, and the one behind him, but he was just as aware of his surroundings, scanning everywhere and looking for threats. It almost seemed too quiet.

The target building was a block away, nestled among some four-floor apartment buildings, more toward the back of the town, and once they reached it, they took stock of the immediate area looking for guards. There were none. A warning traveled down his spine, his instincts broadcasting loud and strong that something was off. He scanned the corrugated metal structure again. If this was their processing plant, it should be heavily guarded.

“Seems light on the security,” Skull said. There were murmurs around him in agreement.

“Stay sharp,” Iceman said through comms.

“Breakneck, overwatch. Let me know when you’re set.”

“That kid is edging me out,” Preacher grumbled, and Breakneck shot him a grin as he zipped off into the night, acknowledging that he was encroaching on Preacher’s lauded lead sniper position on the team. He looked at Iceman, who nodded. “Maybe time for him to go for more sniper training.”

“He’ll blow them away,” GQ, their other sniper, said with pride. “No pun intended.” He and several of the guys chuckled. “That kid is natural born.”

“He…and Hazard saved our asses the last time we were here,” Boomer said, his voice filled with the determination and concern they all felt.

“Yeah, I still have the gray hairs,” Iceman quipped. He grabbed Boomer’s vest and dragged him close. “Don’t get any ideas. All of us are feeling frustration and anger over Hazard and Leigh. We will not let it affect us. Got that?”

Boomer nodded.

As those pale blue eyes scanned them all, Skull even felt Bones shift. Ice’s aura was that strong.“Focus up.” Every man turned toward their leader. “Skull’s right. There should be guards hip deep here if this is a major processing plant. So, they either bugged out after some of their crew went missing, or they’re waiting for us. Heads on a swivel and pay close attention to comms. No one does a fucking thing unless I clear it.” He waited for their capitulation. “Our mission is to bag HVT Baltasar “Blade” Vega. Anything less is mission failure, and Hazard and Leigh slip further away from us. Are we clear?”

There was a low murmur of assent. They were about to do CQC or close-quarter combat. Building clear, room by room in a complex sequence of movements, the exact order and timing of which had to be improvised in a fluid, high-stress environment where mistakes could be fatal. Ice had drilled them tirelessly, ruthlessly and meticulously for these maneuvers. He was often unhappy with their performance and drilling them into this well-oiled machine was definitely due to his influence.

For a moment, everything felt off, and not only the possibility that they were walking into an ambush, but they were down a man, no disrespect to the Shadowguard. Hazard was a missing piece in their composition, in their brotherhood, in their team and in their hearts. This was the first step in gaining the upper hand, and when they had that upper hand, they weren’t going to relinquish it one degree. Pincho was going down. She was done. It was a soon-to-be fact. None of them would rest until that was a reality. She had taken the wrong people and attacked the very worst pack. The wolves in them were howling, fangs bared, loping toward rescue, and the seven of them were out for blood. Not only for Hazard and Leigh, but for many of their fallen, including Lieutenant Commander Terry “Patch” Patchett, and Petty Officer Jack Morefield, their logistics and gear man. They had been killed on their previous mission to hunt down Alzate when their TOC had been compromised, and Leigh Waterford had been kidnapped and taken into the Darién Gap.

“In position, boss,” Breakneck’s deep voice came over the comms.

“Okay, boys, let’s do what we do best. Assault. This needs to be lightning quick or we’re going to have the whole town on our backs.”Kodiak, take us in.”

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