Page 50 of California Wild

“Who?”

Ellis clicked the remote, bringing up an image on the projector.

Satellite shots. A cluster of jungle-covered islands. A structure deep in the terrain.

Then—

Two American faces.

Hostages.

Ellis’s voice was flat, clipped. “Two American foreign aid workers—James Adler, 41, and Rebecca Morales, 37. Abducted five days ago while providing humanitarian aid in Timor-Leste. Taken across the border into Indonesian waters. We believe they’re being held by Jemaah Ansharut Daulah.”

JAD.

An ISIS-affiliated terror group active in the region.

Jesse’s jaw clenched.

This wasn’t a small-time gig. This was high-risk, high-precision extraction.

No room for error.

Dawson continued. “Intel suggests a remote compound—well-guarded, isolated. Satellite imagery shows heavy vegetation, no roads in or out. That means we’re going in by air.”

Jesse glanced at Micah, whose expression sharpened.

He knew what that meant.

A HALO jump.

High altitude, low opening. Drop in unseen, hit fast, get out.

Ellis nodded. “Mission window is tight. Locals reported movement early this morning—if they’re preparing to move the hostages, we have to get in before that happens. We leave tomorrow morning at 0600. That means today is all about prep.”

Adam’s voice cut through the air like steel.

“Navarro, you’re running breaching and demo. Everett, point man. Laredo, sniper support. Rayleigh, dive-ready in case exfil needs to switch to water-based.”

Jesse felt it then—the shift.

No hesitation.

No doubt.

Colson was giving him a real shot.

He wasn’t about to fuck it up.

“Understood.”

The rest of the morning was a blur of movement, logistics, and ruthless preparation.

Jesse spent two hours locked in with his team, reviewing every entry point, every possible failure scenario, every countermeasure.

Then came gear check.

Jesse hit the armory, running through his Explosive charges for breaching – C4, det cord, secondary thermite for emergency burn-through. Then his Weapons loadout – Sig Sauer P226, suppressed HK416, combat knife, extra mags. Then the Comms setup – encrypted, tested, backup frequencies noted.

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