Page 75 of Dead Fall

“This is it,” Harvath stated. “This is all the Ukrainians could spare.”

Hookah shook his head. “I don’t like this. It sounds like a suicide operation to me.”

“I can’t force you to come. But what I can do is take you off the line for a night, offer you a hot meal, and give you a full debrief on everything the Ravens have done. After that, it’s up to you. Either you join me, and we go after them, or you go right back to whatever you were doing before I got here. Sound fair?”

“Throw in a hot shower,” quipped Biscuit, “and I’m all in.”

“I’m hoping they’ve got hot water where we’re going, but I can’t promise anything.”

“We’re not going back to the FOB at Staryi Saltiv?”

“No, we’re going to a village, about thirty klicks from here, called Kolodyazne.”

“What’s in Kolodyazne?” asked Jacks.

“It’s the last place the Ravens are known to have struck.”

“If they’ve already been and gone,” replied Hookah, “what’s the point of us going?”

“I’ll explain once we get there. So, if you’re coming, toss your gear in the truck and let’s mount up. If not, good luck with the war.”

As Hookah, Krueger, and Biscuit conferred, Harvath pulled Jacks aside. He assumed that, as a fellow officer, he could speak frankly with him.

“Obviously, there was a breakdown in communication somewhere. You guys wereneverbriefed?”

Jacks shook his head. “All we were told was that we’d be assisting a Special Services Group operation. We figured it might be some hit-and-run thing behind enemy lines. Some sabotage or something like that.”

“And you weren’t given a list of gear and equipment to stockpile?”

“No. We were not.”

“What can we get our hands on?”

“Ammo,” Jacks responded, “grenades, maybe some medical supplies.”

“What about Javelins?”

“That kind of request happens back at the FOB and has to be put through by—”

“A company commander,” said Harvath, repeating back what the Supply Sergeant had originally told him. “What about night vision? I lost my goggles in an attack this morning, along with my thermal scope.”

“Krueger has a thermal scope in his pack he’d probably lend you. As far as NVGs are concerned, though, I don’t know what to tell you. Next to body armor and high-end rifle optics, night-vision goggles are a hot commodity over here.”

“If he’s in, I’ll ask him. Thank you.”

“We’re in,” said Krueger as he walked back over with the other two men.

“At least as far as Kolodyazne,” stated Hookah.

“Then it’s unanimous,” Jacks confirmed. “Mount up.”

After a resupply of ammo and grenades, they headed downhill, past the checkpoint, and back into farmland. Harvath kept his headlights off and piloted the vehicle via the Novator’s onboard night-vision cameras. Jacks sat next to him riding shotgun and the rest of the team sat in the backseat. Everyone kept their weapons close at hand, ready to go if the enemy made contact.

The men were exhausted, yet too wired from the stress of combat to sleep. Unlike Givi, none of them wanted to talk. They rode in silence, save for occasional words from Jacks, who was helping Harvath navigate.

Despite heavy shelling, the road was in relatively decent shape and Harvath was able to make good time.

When they arrived in Kolodyazne, he knew exactly what building he was looking for. Even though the buildings around it had sustained serious damage, the Ukrainian Baroque architecture of the Mother of God Convent had been left completely unscathed. To the nuns who comprised its inhabitants, it must have seemed like a miracle; that they had been blessed by the Holy Mother herself, at least right up until the moment the Ravens had arrived.

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