Page 4 of Firestorm

Sarah was here? In Idaho? “It’s not safe for you. The fallout could be deadly. You have to move as far away from here as possible.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I need your help.Blakeneeds your help,” she stressed.

“Sit tight. This line can’t be verified as secure. I’m working on getting communications up.”

“I’m coming to you. I have people who will help me.”

She’d reached out to others through the CB. “That’s not a good idea. They could be working for the enemy.”

“They aren’t. I’m coming to you. I’ll be in touch soon. I can’t stay on the line any longer. It’s not safe.”

“Wait.” He tried to reach her again, but she didn’t answer. James had no idea who she’d connected to, but it could be risky to her and to the team.

“You definitely recognized her voice as Blake’s sister?” Brookes asked. As the son of one of James’ murdered SEAL team, Brookes had met every single one of the few who were still alive.

“I’ve spoken to Sarah many times. It’s her. She’s here to help her brother. We have to do whatever we can to assist.”

“Agreed, but what’s the plan?”

James had no idea. “Let me speak with Victor. I’ve talked to several CBers around the area. Most seem sympathetic to us, but it’s hard to say, and we have to be extremely careful. If Pamphili is willing to use nuclear weapons to wipe us out, he’s not above planting people in all means of communication to draw us out.”

The CB radio squawked to life, and both men whipped around. “This is Fire Fighter. Come in, Charlie Leader.”

An alarm worked its way down James’ spine. Seconds after he’d spoken to Sarah, someone else was reaching out to him using his handle. Had he been wrong about Blake’s sister? His heart wouldn’t let him go there. He and Sarah had grown close through the years. He’d thought. . .well, it didn’t matter. That was before the world fell apart. Before staying alive became his top concern.

James grabbed the mic. “This is Charlie Leader.”

“Man, am I glad to hear from you. Switch to channel 28, please.”

James hesitated before switching channels. “Come in, Fire Fighter.”

“This is Fire Fighter.”

“What’s going on?” James ran his hand across his bleary eyes while others from his team gathered around.

“I’ve been speaking with my buddies who are assisting Desert Warrior’s sister. I think I have a way to get your people out of there quickly. My name is Holden. I live just across the mountain from where that nuke exploded. I’m guessing it was aimed at you and your people.”

James still didn’t trust this man. He’d need more to go on first. “Probably. You said you have a way to get us out of here?” James glanced around at the interested faces surrounding him.

“That’s right. My friends are the ones helping the woman to reach you right now. I’m former military. Served two tours in Afghanistan. I was part of the first wave of soldiers who liberated Afghanistan.”

All the right credentials. Still, talk was cheap and trusting people on what they said about themselves hadn’t kept him alive this long. “What do you have in mind, Holden?”

“I have a bunch of ex-pats who have been following what’s happening, and we see sides are being drawn. This guy, Kirkpatrick—he’s saying all the right things. He’s got a lot of people fooled by his rhetoric.” When James didn’t respond, Holden blew out a breath. “My friends and I are helicopter enthusiasts. Between all of us, we have four. If you give me a few hours, we can gather enough supplies to carry you and your people out of there safely. But the only question is where you will go. . . or should I say, where we all will go because we won’t be able to return to our old lives after this.”

What Holden was planning would place a target on him and his friends and put the entire Strike Force in jeopardy. He’d need the team’s input before giving the okay.

“Get your people lined out. I’ll radio you back in ten minutes. I need to speak to the rest of my team. I’ll be in touch.”

“Copy that, brother. I’ll get my guys ready and await word from you.”

James dropped the mic and went in search of Victor and Kaid. He found them assisting Doctor Oviok in treating those injured. James explained the news.

“You trust this guy?” Kaid asked. Trust was something none of them could afford to give out freely.

“Not really, but we may not have a choice. It won’t be long before Pamphili’s troops come searching for proof they killed us. They’ll have to find trace DNA evidence.”

“And your buddy’s sister? You trust her?” Victor asked. “What if she’s been compromised or worse, it’s not her at all.”

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