The motorboat coasted to a crawl about a hundred feet offshore just as the two helicopters that had been patrolling the area turned and headed back toward the main building. That was what they’d been waiting for.
“That’s it,” he said, grabbing his gear and heading toward the back of the boat. “Shift change is starting and we don’t have time to waste, so let’s move.”
Jake, Jes, and the rest of the team slipped over the side of the boat as one, using their waterproof backpacks to help them stay afloat as they swam to shore. Behind them the two members of the STAT support team began silently paddling the boat back to deeper water. The plan was for the boat to hang around about a half mile out, beyond the farthest distance they’d seen the helicopters roam. If the raid went to hell in a handbag, the support team would try to extract them.
Jake secretly didn’t hold any more hope for that part of the plan than he did the rest of it. If they were forced to bail in the middle of the operation, that boat would survive for all of two seconds once the helicopter caught sight of it. A few rounds from the .50 caliber machine guns on those birds, and their extraction plan would be toast.
He and his teammates moved quickly through the water, the sound of their feet kicking covered by the pounding of the waves on the shore. Well, most of them moved quickly. Surprisingly, Forrest floundered like a drunk goat, bringing up the back of the pack. The guy was fit, so he should have been more graceful in the water. It was something Jake could worry about later though…if they all survived this mission. Until then, Jake reached out and got a hand on the other man’s backpack, hauling him to shore.
They moved quickly once they hit the sand, taking tactical vests and weapons from their backpacks, then stowing what they didn’t need near the rocks. They split into teams of two to make their way across the mile-wide strip of beach and vegetation that stood between them and the closest section of the perimeter fencing. Moving in pairs, instead of all at once, was risky because the team could get separated, but it reduced the chances of anyone seeing them.
Before they left the hotel, they’d all agreed it’d be best to pair each human with a werewolf—him with Jes, Caleb with Forrest, Harley and Misty. If the shit hit the fan, that arrangement improved their individual chances of survival, though Jake had gone to great lengths to make sure Jes was on his team. No way in hell was he letting her farther out of his sight than necessary.
Jes darted across the sand and scrub ahead of him, making good time considering the soft footing. The black tactical uniform she was wearing to match his and the rest of the team—exactly like the ones the local security personnel wore—helped her blend into the dark shadows cast by the taller brush and trees.
Jake and everyone else were breathing hard by the time they made the fence line. The watch on his wrist told him it had taken them eight and a half minutes to get there. Not a world record by any means, but across soft sand and rolling terrain, carrying the M4 carbines and all the extra gear and ammo they had, it wasn’t horrible. And with the helicopters and roaming guards nowhere to be seen, he’d definitely take it.
Caleb and Harley slipped behind a cluster of brush hugging one particular section of the fence and started to cut through it with handheld snips. It was time-consuming, but easier than trying to climb over the razor wire atop the fence, especially for Jes, Misty, and Forrest. Besides, if they had to run to get out of here, having a hanging flap might just be a lifesaver.
The two werewolves worked fast, and in less than two minutes, they had a four-foot wide section of the chain link they’d lifted away like a garage door. When they let it go after they were all on the other side of the fence, it hung so naturally no one would see it if they weren’t looking for it.
Straight ahead of them, about a quarter mile away, were a group of buildings, collectively called “mission control.” They housed most of the systems and personnel who managed the space center and controlled the launches. The front side of the complex was lit up like a small city, but fortunately, the back side wasn’t, which was why they’d chosen this section of the fence line to make their entrance. It was the only route that gave them any chance to approach the buildings without being seen.
The launchpads were farther to the south, each with its gigantic Ariane 5 rocket already standing there tall and proud. The rockets and their gantries were lit up even better than the mission control building. Darkness covered everything outside these four parts of the complex, since the space center was way too big to keep every square inch of it illuminated. But sunrise was getting closer by the minute. Then, the whole place would be lit up.
“Damn, those things are frigging huge,” Caleb whispered in awe as he knelt down inside the fence line alongside everyone else. “I hope we can figure out an easy way to stop whatever Darby has going on because if we don’t, I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do with those things.”
“True that.” Jake agreed. “Which is why figuring out what the hell is going on is our first goal. So the primary plan is just that—we split up into our teams and go sniffing, starting with the mission control building, then the launchpads. The moment one of us finds something, we radio the other teams. Then we regroup and go from there. Harley, plan B is all you and Misty. If everything else goes to shit, get her to a computer, then cover her while she goes in and wipes out everything she can on the mission computers. It’s not a long-term answer, but it will keep them from launching those damn satellites today at least.”
They did a quick comms check to make sure the time in the water hadn’t screwed up their radios, then got to their feet. As they made their way across the lawn toward the back of the mission control building, Jake glanced at his watch again. They still had another couple minutes before the helicopters came back around, even more until the ground patrols moved through this area.
A few steps later, Jake felt a tingle run up his spine.
Shit.
“Incoming!” he shouted.
The words had barely left his mouth before both helicopters appeared over the top of the building, turned sideways so their door gunners had a wide-open shot at their whole team.
Large .50 caliber rounds ripped up the ground around them at the same time Jake heard the roar of large diesel engines. Tactical vehicles sped around both sides of the building ahead of them, headlights and spotlights illuminating the entire area as roof-mounted machine guns slewed their way.
It was a perfect fucking ambush—like security had known exactly where and when they’d be coming in. And Jake had led his team right into it.
“Spread out and get to the mission control building!” he shouted as he lifted his M4 and started firing rounds at the closest helicopter. “It’s the only chance we got!”
His teammates immediately moved forward, Harley taking on the second helicopter while everyone else split up and returned fire against the oncoming tactical vehicles.
Jake had barely moved ten feet before a .50 caliber round from the helicopter slammed into his right thigh, putting him on the ground. Cursing, he rolled over and looked down, terrified he’d find a shattered mess where his leg used to be. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the damage wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought. It was a bloody wound to be sure, but he’d survive.
A flash of movement on the right caught his eye, and he looked up to see Jes hurrying over to him. He shoved himself to his feet, waving her off.
“Keep going! I’m okay!”
She hesitated for a moment but did as he instructed.
Stumbling forward, he lifted his M4 again, growling as he steadied himself and put half a magazine’s worth of rounds through the open door of the helicopter hovering over them. There was a startled cry barely audible above the rotor noise, then the gunner was falling out of the bird, only to be pulled up short after a few feet drop by the straps that were designed to keep him from plummeting to the ground.
Useless without its gunner, the helicopter peeled away. Jake kept moving forward, gritting through the pain as he turned to see if the rest of his people were okay.
