Page 18 of Hayes
Someone would pay for that brain. But he knew that VG men were built differently. The kid would rather die than give up any secrets. Yet there were organizations, countries out there that could easily drug him and force him to tell the secrets he held within that big, beautiful brain.
If they could just get it all out, they’d be able to stop VG and definitely stop the U.S. and their superior behaviors.
“Bonds? Bonds, are you ready?” called Aamani.
“Yes. I’m ready. Are we headed up the mountain?” he asked.
“We are. We’re going to search every cave, every opening, every crevice until we find your man. If we don’t, you’ll be the one to pay for the mistake.”
“Stop threatening me, Aamani. I’m on your side. I want that damn kid as much as you do. You forget, if he’s alive, sooner or later, he’ll remember that I walked off that mountain. Then the whole world will come looking for me,” he said with assuredness and a cocky grin.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” said Aamani. “The whole world won’t care. Only a small group of men who will feel like the whole world.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I’m sorry,” whispered Hayes breathlessly as they struggled down the mountain. The trail spiraled around the rocky terrain, allowing them to be on one side, while their pursuers were on the other.
“What are you sorry for? This isn’t your fault,” she said breathlessly. His injured arm was tight to his side, his good arm draped over her shoulder.
“I’m sorry that I’m weaker than I thought. I shouldn’t need this much help,” he said breathlessly. Victoria stared up at him, then looked down and across the plain to see the vehicles getting closer.
“Let’s rest a minute,” she said. “Hayes, you have nothing to be sorry for. Your team was blown up. That child, that poor, misled child, was sent to kill you all. That wasn’t your fault.”
“I know,” he said, nodding his head as he leaned against the boulder. “Frenkel, Darnell, Hatcher, and Bonds were ahead of me. I’d stopped to ensure that we got the comms off, and the chopper would come in. I saw that kid and knew we were all dead.
“I flew backwards and started rolling. I remember looking up and seeing blood and…” He stopped, frowning.
“It’s alright, you don’t have to say anything else. I understand,” she said, ensuring they were still alone on the mountain.
“No. No, I looked and saw the blood, but I saw someone walking toward me. Bonds. Bonds was walking toward me.”
“There is no one else on this mountain,” she said. “I didn’t see a soul. Surely if someone were here, especially an American SEAL, I would have seen him.”
“I know what I saw, Victoria. He was walking toward me. The cave, the cave where you found me, were there any signs of others having been there?”
“I don’t think so,” she said, staring at him. “In fact, I only went inside because I heard you moaning. When I approached the opening, it looked like you had dragged yourself into the cave.”
“No,” he said, standing straighter. “No, that wouldn’t have been possible with just one arm and my injuries. Someone dragged me in there, and I think I know who.”
“But why would a teammate do this to you? What purpose would it have?”
“He kept questioning how I knew so much about the equipment we used. It’s all from G.R.I.P. They’re older models, but I was able to update them to suit wherever we were. At first, I thought he was curious, but then it became creepy. He’s my superior, so I tried to answer without giving answers.”
“I know what you mean,” she said, nodding.
“My rifle. Where’s my rifle?” he asked.
She handed him the rifle, and he dug inside the pack for the long-distance scope. As he fitted it to the weapon, he used Victoria’s shoulder to steady the weapon so that he could see who was coming toward them.
“What do you see?”
“Him. It’s him with a man we do not want to meet. Khalil Aamani.”
“I know that name,” she frowned. “Doug and Ryan were talking about him before I left. They said that the Rangers had asked for something that would prevent Aamani from running the region.”
“The comms disrupter,” he frowned.
“Yes. How did you know that?” she asked.
