Page 16 of Wired Courage

Jake had shown him some of the isometric workout exercises he was so fond of, and doing some of them while watching the live stream helped control his frustration—but barely. The mind-numbing surveillance could be so much better done by hooking it into Security Solutions’ AI nanny cam software, but there was no way to train the system without developing a typical baseline. He’d begun gathering that information in case they were here long enough to enable that system—a terrible thought. They were running out of food and supplies.

This trip had a two-week window, and they were nearing the end of it.

Connor had sent short text messages to Sophie and Bix, apprising them of progress. But five days after the planting of the cameras, he and Jake still didn’t have any confirmation on Momi’s location. No ransom or other demand had come through, either, according to Sophie—so they had no alternative idea of where to look for the baby.

Connor mulled over the activity of the last few days.

The men had continued to optimize their situation, moving closer to the stronghold until they’d found a mounded hillock above swampy ground that was screened with vegetation to hide their camping area. Jake had supervised the setup of electronic perimeter alerts and a rotating two-man watch detail. And then they’d settled in to wait and watch for a sign of Momi’s presence, some confirmation of where they could retrieve her.

The hours spent battling boredom and mosquitoes dragged.

Not having his computer eyes and ears, just this one grainy window into the building, was driving Connor nuts—along with a rising conviction.

He’d made a grave error coming on this mission. His time would have been much better spent on Phi Ni, monitoring the situation from a safe distance with high-speed internet. The Ghost could have kept working in the background, looking for other ways in, other places the baby might be.

He’d been driven by emotion when he came on the op; he hadn’t been thinking clearly about the best use of resources. But this situation couldn’t go on for much longer . . .

As if that thought had conjured it—BAM! Something blew Connor backward into the fabric of the tent.

Darkness.

Connor came backto consciousness in stages.

Shouting.

The rattle of nearby gunfire.

Connor curled onto his side, covering his ears with his hands, shutting his eyes instinctively.

The weapons fire stopped.

Thank God.That shit wasloud,and his head was already pounding like ataikodrum.

Another detonation, right near him this time.

Light flashed red behind his eyelids. More blackness.

He was being dragged. By the back of his shirt. His cheek scraped and banged on the dirt. Whoever was dragging him was yelling in Thai. He struggled to assign meaning to the rapid, liquid sounds of the language:“Bring the rest of them. Put them in a line.”

They’d been captured.

Adrenaline surged through Connor in a potent wave. He pulled in his center of gravity, yanking in his arms and legs. He thrust up to stand, wrenching his shirt out of his attacker’s hand. He spun around to run—if he got away, he could get help.

Powerful LED lamps switched on suddenly, blinding him, throwing the jungle into sharp relief and giving a surreal look to the scene.

Ninjas three deep faced him on every side, their black outfits menacing, their weapons even more so.

Connor went down under pummeling fists and feet, and was soon forced into a ragged line with the remaining survivors.

He, Jake, Thom Tang, two remaining Security Solutions operatives named Snowman and Davies, and Rhinehart were the only ones left alive from the blitz attack that had overwhelmed their camp.

The ninjas secured their hands and feet with zip ties and pushed and prodded them until all of the men sat up on their knees.

Jake, beside Connor and last in the row, spat blood on the ground. He had a huge shiner swelling one eye, but his grin was untamed. “Not bad for a civilian. Took four of them to bring you back into the lineup.”

“Too little, too late,” Connor said darkly. He had a bad feeling about the way they were lined up.

“They’ll negotiate our release,” Jake said. “Let Rhinehart do the talking. He’s good at what he does.”

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