Page 10 of Knight's Fall

Gang members surrounded them, roughly pulling them along to a location Wings still had to determine. A few of the enforcers would squeeze the women’s asses or breasts, a reminder of what would happen if they didn’t comply. Wings’ feet were moving before he had time to rethink his position.

He pushed his way through the enforcers for a position closer to the women. He scanned the perimeter before finally seeing a movement among the brush. It was so slight that anyone else would have dismissed it as a bird or some other such native animal. But he knew that while they were out of sight, he was surrounded by his buddies. The problem was he saw the enforcers ready their weapons as if they also knew the Alpha Team was close.

One woman among the hostages caught his attention. Fear darkened her eyes, but she kept calm on the exterior. She muttered reassuring words to the others, and they seemed to follow her lead. Her back was to him more than it wasn’t, but his gut told him this was Rafferty’s sister, Audra Jenson. She possessed the same steely spine and calm under pressure that her brother was known for.

Wings made his way closer to her, keeping pace behind her. When he found an opening, he whispered in her ear.

“Don’t react. Pretend I’m not talking to you. I’m American. Your brother sent me and my friends to rescue all of you. I need you to follow my instructions exactly. Touch your ear if you understand.”

She stumbled over her feet when he first spoke, but she recovered. Never looking his way or verbally responding to his words, she hesitated a moment before reaching up to brush limp strands of hair behind her ear. He took that as her agreement. He had to warn his friends of what was happening, and he had to figure out a plan to save all their asses. The longer they went without action, the more dangerous their exit strategy became.

They filed down a narrow dirt path that led between a wooded area and the tight cluster of huts. Wings kept his head on a swivel, on alert for anything unexpected that might come.

Wings started to notice a gang member or two drop down into the wooded area but not reappear. When one of the women was grabbed and carried into the trees, he almost broke his cover to go after her, but then he heard a familiar sound wafting from the trees. The subtle squawking mimicked a bird, but he recognized the annoying noise as BB’s attempt to get his attention. His team was among the trees, taking out the gang members one by one and rescuing the women as they could without drawing attention to themselves.

“What’s happening?” Audra kept her voice low, but he heard the concern behind her words. She witnessed her friend disappearing, and she tightened her hold on the young girl he guessed to be Milborn's granddaughter.

“It’s okay. It’s my team.” His whispered words sounded more like a hiss than he’d intended.

So far the chaos of moving the hostages had kept the other enforcers clueless as to his team’s movements, but he knew that wouldn’t last for long. Wings’ mind spun with ideas on how to rendezvous with his team and make their escape when they were outnumbered.

Though it felt like their trek was long and arduous, they were actually getting closer to the convoy that waited to move the women out. The guards started to close ranks, scoping out the perimeter for any trouble. Another woman was grabbed and stashed among the trees. That only left Audra, the teenager and one other woman, and Wings wondered if he should take a chance to grab them and run like hell toward his friends. The move was risky and would likely result in someone being hurt in a gun battle, but he was out of ideas.

An enforcer emerged from the trees and fell into step with the rest of them. He carried himself with the same confidence and tension as the others, but Wings recognized the stride and noted the tanned skin tone on the wrists of the hands gripping the automatic weapon. He adjusted his step to gain a better view of BB while staying close to all of the women. BB dropped one hand to his side, his palm facing in Wings’ direction. BB opened his fist enough to give Wings a glimpse of what he held, and Wings understood what his team had planned.

“Stay close to me and wait for my signal. Then move as fast as you can into the trees and don’t look back. My team will intercept you and take care of you,” he told Audra.

She jerked her head to the side before realizing her mistake. Then she faced forward as she whispered back. “What about you?”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

Shouts raised from in front of him. He snapped his gaze up and saw the guards that had reached the convoy shouting to each other and pointing back in his direction. They must have seen him speaking with Audra and realized he wasn’t like the others. His cover was blown.

“Now!” His shout carried over the din.

The women veered left and ran just as he instructed. He saw BB pull the pin in a grenade and toss it in a perfect arc that would have made his high school football coach proud. The grenade landed in the dirt at the enforcers’ feet, and the explosion was instantaneous. He and BB dove into the trees, covering their heads to protect themselves from flying debris. When Wings looked up, he was met with BB’s wide grin.

“I think we need another distraction. What do you think?”

Wings was already scrambling to his feet. “Hell, yeah, man. I have the men stashed in the opposite direction. We need to get to them and get the hell out of here.”

BB nodded as he pushed to his feet. “Copy that. You go on ahead. Get to the plane and get it ready to head out. We’ll collect the hostages and meet you there.”

Smuggling a plane into Port au Prince hadn’t been easy, but they managed to succeed so they would have a means of escape. Wings ran as BB sailed another grenade through the trees at their targets. As he moved deeper among the trees, Wings heard more shouts followed by a second explosion that pounded in his ears for several minutes after it erupted.

As he double-timed it to the plane, he wished their coms were operational. He wanted to know his team had retrieved the men and had gotten them and the women safely away from the mayhem.

A rustle in the brush to his left slowed his run. With his weapon at the ready, he ducked down, his eyes scanning the area on all sides for signs of an ambush. Then he spotted Roy’s face peering through the brush, and he motioned for the man to join him.

“I told you to stay put.”

Roy shrugged. “I thought you could use back up. The others have met up with the women and your team.”

Wings’ eyes narrowed. “I’m surprised my team let you loose. That’s not how we do things.”

“I took off before they realized it. Look, you guys risked a lot to rescue us. The least I can do is help out. Shouldn’t we be on the move?”

Wings’ frowned though he was glad to have the older man’s help. He liked the former cop, and he didn’t usually form an instant bond with someone. Something about this guy, though, made him think he’d met an older version of himself.

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