Page 10 of Firestorm

Victor nodded. “Thank you. I’ll leave some of my people here to help sweep the area so there’s no signs remaining of our presence here. Let’s gather everyone else into those vans.”

“Appreciate it,” Holden told him.

“We’ll divide into two groups.” James pulled Sarah aside. “Stay with me.” He had to keep her close. Couldn’t think about losing her.

“You think they’ve searched the bomb site by now?” She held his gaze.

James couldn’t lie to her. “It’s possible. Pamphili doesn’t care one iota about his people’s safety. He wants us gone, so he’ll risk exposing them to radiation to serve his purpose, no doubt about it.”

She visibly shivered. “That man sounds terrible.”

“He is.” As they headed outside to one of the waiting vans, James wondered about the depth of information Blake had shared with his sister. He and his former soldier had spent long hours together before it became too dangerous to talk about what loomed on the horizon from a Christian standpoint. But never once had he imagined this would be how it played out.

He and Sarah found a small space to sit in the van, already packed with Strike Force members. With Kirk driving, they bounced down the rough drive.

James was worried about his friend. Pamphili’s people had put things together. Blake’s connection to James and his SEAL team, and that they had discovered the deadly VX gas remains in several former training camps around Afghanistan. The camps were supposedly used by a made-up terrorist group. Until Kaid and Sidney along with Ben had figured out the terrorist persona was just a ruse for something much more diabolical.

“We had better stop here. Any closer and their people will hear our approach. The base is just through those trees,” Kirk told them and then climbed out.

James looked to Sarah. “Stay here, we don’t know what we’re facing. If something goes wrong, I’ll have my people get everyone out of here.” He searched her face. So many things he wanted to say to her. Had wanted to tell her for a long time, and yet now was not the right moment.

She slowly nodded. “Okay.”

“Here.” He handed her his spare weapon. “Just in case.” With one final look, he jumped out along with the others from the team.

“What’s the plan?” Brookes asked when he and Abby connected with them.

“It’s best if only four from our team check out the site. Kirk, we’ll need you with us as well,” James told him. “I’ll go along with Victor, Ben, and Kaid. The rest of you stay close. We don’t know who might happen upon this place. If anything looks out of sync, get everyone out of here.”

“Keep your eyes open,” Sidney warned. “I find it hard to believe Pamphili’s people would leave their planes unsecured.”

James did as well. They’d all survive so many attacks, setups, and near-captures since going underground. Was this another attempt?

The woods grew thick. It was a struggle to move through the heavy underbrush and be as quiet as possible.

Kirk suddenly stopped and held up a hand. The men caught up with him. “We’re almost there.” He pointed straight ahead. “The last time we checked before the explosion, there were four men stationed on-site. The location used to be a private airstrip. Guess that’s why they used it.” Kirk motioned to move quietly.

As they continued, James could feel the hackles on the back of his neck rising. The trees thinned up ahead. He pulled out his night-vision binoculars and panned the base.

“Four men still. Two by the hangar. One near the small guard shack. Last one by the first C-130.” James handed the binoculars to Ben.

“I see them. Let’s split up. We need to hit hard and fast. We can’t afford to let any escape.”

“Roger that.” Victor focused his glasses on the guard shack. “I’ll take the one near the shack. Ben, circle around behind the hangar. Kaid, go with him.” Victor peered at James. “You take the plane. We need to do this quickly.”

James waited until the rest of his team was in place. Then he eased toward the cargo plane.

“I’m coming with you,” Kirk confirmed. “This is my war, too.”

James smiled and nodded. They kept low and moved closer to the cargo plane while James’ heart pounded loud enough to drown out all sound around him.

They reached the back of the plane and stopped. The soldier positioned near the front puffed on a cigarette, white smoke drifting up. The faintest of sounds grabbed James’ attention. He recognized it all too well. A fight for life and death. The man near the plane heard it as well.

“Everything okay?” he called out. The sounds of the struggle continued. The man started toward the hangar. James rushed from his hiding spot with Kirk at his back. The soldier whirled around with his weapon aimed. James fired once. The shot took the soldier down immediately.

Gunfire resounded from the hangar. He and Kirk raced to the aid of their teammates.

By the time they reached the hangar, the two soldiers were dead.

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