What he wouldn’t give for a set of spiked boots and rappelling rope right now.
“Give me a minute.”
Hoyt and Jared were both very good climbers, accustomed to putting themselves in tight and difficult positions to take out their target. If he could get one of them up to Ethan, they’d find a way to bring him down.
“Anybody got any ideas?”
Ranger said, “We could make a lasso around the trunk and try climbing up tree-logger style. I’ve got enough rope for at least that.” Each and every one of the men had come fully supplied for as many eventualities as possible. More often than not, the group’s carefully laid-out plans needed to be adjusted once they had boots on the ground. No matter how many geographical maps and satellite images and spies you had in place to tip things in your favor, the shit could and would hit the fan.
Except, in this case, the bomb had hit the plane.
Jared got up from his seated position next to his brother Hoyt and went to the tree, slowly running a hand down its bark. “Won’t work without spiked shoes on that kind of bark.”
“What about one of us tossing a rope up there and levering another guy up?” Ranger suggested.
Mack scratched his chin and studied the distance to the limb and the width. “That could work.” They’d have to get a rope up and over the limb. At least two men would be needed to pull the rescuer up and then have another two men help lower Ethan and his rescuer.
Marley cleared her throat and spoke before Mack could cut her off. “You could use a less-complicated system. Why not have one guy loop a rope around the branch above Ethan. Then he can lift himself up there with an extra rope to harness Ethan. They can lower themselves down. That’s the smallest amount of manpower and energy.”
Mack closed his mouth. His was irritated with her for intervening, but she had offered a viable option. And one that his men were easily strong enough to perform. “That could work.”
Marley lifted her chin so he could see the triumph gleaming in her eyes. For some reason this woman seemed to have it out for him.
“I’ll do it, Colonel.” Jared yanked his rope off his backpack and started feeding it through his hands as he shrugged his pack onto the ground. “Hoyt, give me yours for Ethan.”
Riser finished bandaging Marley’s arm. “You need something to weigh down the end to throw it up that high,” she said, getting to her feet. “Looks like it’s about forty feet in the air.”
Riser leaned down and picked up a rock about the size of his palm. “Will this work?”
Marley hefted the weight, testing it, and offered it back to Riser. “It’s perfect.”
Riser tossed the rock and Jared caught it with one hand.
All this transpired in a matter of seconds. Mack didn’t like it that his men were turning to her for answers. But he didn’t have time to dwell on her or his aggravation, which he didn’t fully understand. The faster they got back to safety, the sooner he could unload her and the burden she represented and get back to finding Mr. J. “Make it quick. The rebels couldn’t have missed that explosion. They’re probably heading this way now to check it out.”
“Roger.” Jared quickly tied the circle knot while Hoyt tied the other end around the rock. Those two worked on the same wavelength; they didn’t require words to get shit done efficiently.
Hoyt pulled back his arm and threw the rock, nailing his target on the first try. The rope wrapped around the branch a few feet from Ethan, closer to where the branch widened at the trunk of the tree, providing them with a more steady hold. Jared fastened the knot to the ring on his harness, which was still wrapped around his chest from the parachute jump, slid the knot above his head, and pulled his feet off the ground. Hoyt hefted the spare rope over his brother’s shoulder as he started to rise.
Although the Crowe brothers were the smallest on his team, they each topped six feet, making the task of lifting their own weight in the air a difficult feat. Jared managed to make it look easy. He kept pulling himself higher, the rope anchoring to itself each time there was tension on it. He got to his destination with speed and dexterity, swung a leg up and over the branch, and then quickly began making Ethan’s harness.
The sound of a rifle firing in the distance blasted through the jungle. Mack turned toward the sound. “Guerrillas.”
“Jared, move a little faster.” After that kind of crash, the team was in no position to effectively fend off an attack. The guerrillas of the Congo were notoriously deadly fighters. They’d become that way over time, honing their skills by fighting off poachers and logging companies seeking to cut down their habitat for profit. And Mack did not want to get into a tangle with them today. Especially with Marley here. His men’s resources would be used more to protect her than to kill the guerrillas. They needed to get out of here and reassess. Jared quickly finished the harness and eased it down to Ethan, who managed to maneuver himself into it.
“Ready,” Ethan called out a moment later.
Another round of shots blasted in the distance. “Get your asses down here, now!”
Without him having to tell them, the rest of his team got up and geared up, checking their weapons and readying themselves to bug out. Ethan cut the parachute cord tangled around him, and a large black bag flew from his body and crashed onto the ground. “Oh, shit.”
“Is that what I think it is?” Mack ground out. He could hear the rebel trucks speeding through the jungle. Guerillas hadn’t zeroed in on their exact location yet, but it was only a matter of time, and Ethan had just dropped one very precious piece of equipment.
“Sorry, boss, didn’t mean to do that.” They rappelled down the tree, and as soon as their feet hit the ground, Jared coiled the rope and quickly slung it over his shoulders.
Ethan gazed at the black bag and said, “I think we can safely say that our comm system is screwed.”
“Safely say? How about guarantee?” Their chance at radioing in to apprise headquarters of their situation had just exploded on the ground, the smashed contents held together by a black tactical bag. But some of it could be salvageable, and he didn’t have time to stand here and chastise his guy for a rookie mistake. “Grab the bag, maybe you can piece enough of it together for us to radio in.”
