Page 116 of Critical Mass
Hudson looked at Jake, Maverick, and Atlas.
“Copy that,” Hudson said. “We’ll establish overwatch and wait for backup.”
“We’ve got to contain the area,” Colton continued. “We can’t let these chemicals leave the port. Do you understand?”
“Understood.”
He disconnected. Then one by one, his eyes met the gaze of each of his teammates.
They were all thinking the same thing.
“We can’t wait,” Jake murmured.
“No, we can’t,” Hudson said. “The chemicals should be arriving as we speak. If they’re able to carry out their plan?—”
“We go in,” Atlas finished, his voice full of conviction. “Four against an unknown number of hostiles. Probably terrible odds.”
“Definitely terrible odds,” Maverick agreed.
Jake pressed the accelerator harder.
“You three don’t have to—” Hudson started.
“Of course, we do,” Atlas said. “You saved my life in Syria. I’m not letting you walk into a suicide mission alone.”
“Plus, someone needs to make sure you don’t get yourself killed before you can properly grovel to Natalie for being an idiot,” Jake added.
Hudson flinched with surprise. “How’d you know?—?”
“Love has a particular weight to it,” Atlas said quietly. “Changes how a man carries himself. We all recognized it, even when you didn’t.”
Despite everything, a surge of gratitude for these men swept over Hudson. These guys were his team. His brothers. They’d had each other’s backs on more than one occasion.
Now they might need to sacrifice everything in order to save innocent civilians.
“Okay,” he said. “Then we need a plan. We go in quiet, establish positions, and stop these chemicals from getting into the wrong hands. And we locate Natalie and extract her.”
“And if we can’t extract her quietly?” Atlas asked.
Hudson checked his gun. “Then we make a lot of noise and hope Colton and the feds get there before we run out of ammunition.”
Jake pulled the SUV to the side of the road about a quarter mile from the port entrance. They could see the perimeter fence, the massive cranes silhouetted against the evening sky, the lights of docked ships.
“Thermal imaging shows activity on Pier 19.” Maverick checked his tablet. “At least a dozen heat signatures. This has to be where it’s all going down.”
CHAPTER
SIXTY-SIX
The helicopter lifted off,and Natalie watched through the window as the ground fell away beneath them. The helipad grew smaller, then the terminal buildings, then the whole complex became just another piece of the sprawling urban landscape.
They were heading south over the water, just as her father had said.
Away from whatever was about to happen.
Except—
“We’re not gaining altitude,” Natalie said, noticing how low they were flying. “Shouldn’t we be climbing to cruising height?”
