19
SARAH
My hands fly to the communications panel, monitoring signal strength and encryption integrity while my heart tries to punch through my ribs. Beside me, Micah's focus stays locked on the thermal overlay, tracking heat signatures and movement patterns like his life depends on it.
"Contact," Kane's voice comes through steady and controlled. "Engaging primary targets."
The sharp crack of rifles echoes through the speaker, followed by more gunfire and shouting I can't quite make out. I force myself to breathe normally, to keep my hands steady on the controls while every instinct screams at me to do something other than sit here and listen.
"Operations, Kane." Dylan's voice cuts through the chaos. "Three tangos down, one wounded. Moving to secure surveillance equipment."
The ambush neutralized Reeve's entire team in the opening seconds. It worked exactly as planned, but my chest hasn't loosened even slightly because this isn't over yet.
"Copy that," Micah says into his headset, his voice carrying cold professionalism. "What's the status on the secondary team?"
"No change in position," I report, pulling up the latest satellite data. "They're still holding south of Reeve's location. No indication they've reacted to the engagement."
Micah nods, but tension radiates from his shoulders. The secondary team is the variable we can't fully control. If they heard the gunfire, if they're moving to investigate, if they reach Kane's position before the team can extract, this gets exponentially more complicated.
"Stryker, Dylan," Kane's transmission comes through. "Secure the equipment. Mercer, you're with me. We're checking bodies."
I monitor the encrypted channels, listening for any sign that Committee communications have lit up in response to the engagement. The channels stay quiet. Either the backup team is too far away to have heard anything, or they're maintaining radio silence while they investigate.
"Operations, Kane. We have one survivor. Reeve's still breathing."
A survivor means complications—someone who can talk about what happened here, who saw Kane's team, who might have gotten enough intel before the ambush to compromise us even in custody.
Micah's expression doesn't change. "Condition?"
"Gunshot wound to the shoulder, possible broken ribs. He's conscious but not going anywhere without help."
"Secure him," Micah orders. "Cross wants him for interrogation. Keep him breathing long enough to talk."
If anyone can extract what Reeve knows without him ending up in Committee hands again, it's her. First we have to get himoff this mountain and into her custody without the backup team finding us.
"Dylan, Operations." Dylan's voice carries an urgency now. "We've destroyed the surveillance equipment. Smashed the optics, pulled the data cards, burned the recording devices. There's nothing left that could confirm Echo Base location."
Relief floods through me. The primary mission objective is complete. Reeve's surveillance gear is destroyed, Echo Base remains secret, and we've eliminated the immediate reconnaissance threat.
We're not clear yet.
"Secondary team is moving," I report, watching the thermal overlay update with new position data. "They've changed course. Heading northeast toward Kane’s location."
Micah's jaw tightens. "How long until they reach Kane's position?"
I run the calculations, factoring in terrain and the team's current movement rate. "Minutes at their current pace. Maybe less if they're responding to the gunfire."
"Kane, Operations." Micah's voice stays calm but I hear the edge underneath. "Secondary team is inbound on your position. Limited time to secure the prisoner and extract. Move fast."
"Understood." Kane's breathing comes harder now, the sound of someone moving fast over rough terrain. "We're loading Reeve into the vehicle now. Stryker's driving, Dylan and Mercer are providing security. We're rolling."
They have minutes to load a wounded prisoner, secure all the equipment, and get clear of the ambush site before more heavily armed Committee operators arrive to investigate. The timeline is razor-thin.
Micah pulls up the tactical map, highlighting Kane's extraction route and the secondary team's approach vector. "They're going to cross paths if Kane takes the direct route back."
"Alternate route?" I ask, already pulling up terrain analysis.
"There's a service road that loops west before connecting to the main access route." Micah traces the path with his finger. "Adds time to the drive but keeps them clear of the secondary team's approach."
