Page 17 of Firestorm

His gaze didn’t waver. “I do,” he said without hesitating.

Her breath caught in her chest, and her eyes remained transfixed on his.

Someone stopped beside. Ben claimed the seat across from James. Sarah pivoted away. Pretended to look out the window but really, she needed to calm her crazy pulse. It was just the circumstances that had brought them back together. It made her feel vulnerable. James was someone to turn to feel less frightened.

“I have an idea.” Sarah heard Ben say. She focused on their conversation.

‘What do you have in mind?” Was it her imagination or was there an unsteady hitch in James’ voice?

“There are a handful of uniforms stowed in the back of the plane along with a Humvee. I say we go to the building dressed as military, and we tell them we have orders from Pamphili to take the prisoner with us.”

James eyed him for the longest time. “That might work unless they’re expecting the move.”

“We’ll have to act fast. There are five uniforms. I suggest you and myself, Kaid, Peter Lowe, and Brookes.”

“Agreed. We’ll have everyone else stand by. I brought the communications mics. We can communicate by them, and I’ll use the cellphone jammer, so they won’t be able to call out. But if something goes south, we won’t have a choice but to force our way in and grab Blake. If that happens, there could be a lot of lives lost.” James glanced briefly toward Sarah.

The risks were astronomical. If they failed, every member of Strike Force that went into the base would die.

“We’ll be landing soon.” James checked the time on his phone. “Let’s move to the back and take a look at those uniforms.”

Ben nodded. “I’ll get the extraction team and meet you there.”

So many people were risking their life to bring Blake home. This had to go off without a hitch. Otherwise, Blake and everyone else would pay the price with their lives.

Chapter Four

The van pulled off the road. James stopped the Humvee behind it.

Dustin came over to the driver’s side. “We’re almost to the building. As soon as you cross that bridge coming up, they’ll be able to see you. We’ll hold back here to keep from being spotted. Are you ready?”

“We are,” James confirmed even though he didn’t feel as confident. The odds were against them. Still, this was Blake. He had to try everything possible. “We’ll do a final com check once we’re closer.”

“Copy that. If we hear the word Texas, we know things are south and we’re storming the base.”

James smiled. He and Blake used to talk about visiting Texas all the time while overseas. “You got it.” As he prepared to leave, Dustin’s face darkened.

“Good luck, brother. I hope everything works out for you.” He slapped the side of the Humvee and stepped back. James pulled out onto the road and passed the van that held the rest of his team. Sarah’s face was plastered to the window. The fear on her face matched the knot in his stomach. The chance of pulling this off without the help of God was zero. But he’d seen God work miracles recently. He was putting his trust in Him.

James turned onto the dirt road leading to the structure. It was up to him and those with him to pull off the performance of a lifetime.

At one time, this building had housed a manufacturing business. A guard shack stood a little way from the massive building. From the guard shack, two soldiers manned the gate. So, the military was involved in taking Blake. The thought was unnerving.

It was clear their arrival was a surprise. One young soldier stepped from the structure. Saw the five-star general ranking on James’ uniform and promptly saluted.

“General, what brings you here?” The young soldier glanced at the rest of the people in the Humvee with a surprised look on his face.

The best way to handle the situation was to go in with swagger. “What do you mean what am I doing here?” James enunciating each word.

The young man recoiled. Glanced back at his partner who lifted his shoulders. “I mean we don’t have anyone on the list as visiting.”

“Well, that’s a big problem, soldier, because I am here to take one of your prisoners with me.”

The soldier sputtered out some sounds before he managed a coherent answer. “I’ll have to check with my commander.”

James climbed out of the Humvee and rose to his full height. “You don’t need to check with anyone. I’m under direct orders from Daniel Pamphili.”

The young man’s eyes immediately doubled in size at the name.

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