Is that who we’re looking for?
He glanced at his wrist computer. They were still miles from where Ghost’s computer program, FRED, had pinpointed. He could hear two men, maybe three, laughing about something. Close enough to make the wrong move deadly.
Is it a cartel patrol?
Shit, did they move her?
Rowan eased backand touched Valley and Titan on the arms as he passed them. Using hand signals, he directed them to circle around and see if the hostages were with these men. Within seconds, both operators faded into the canopy and disappeared.
Knowing the others had watch and would cover him, he studied the map. If the hostages were here, then they’d have further to go to get to their exfil point. Just in case that happened, he needed a route. Using his thumb and forefinger, he enlarged the map andscrolled to look for another clearing he could use as a secondary pickup point if it was needed. He found a likely location and dropped a pin in it, knowing Theo would see it on the screen in their Tactical Operations Center and mark it in case it was needed later.
Valley and Titan appeared silently out of the trees. “No hostages,” Valley whispered.
Shit.
Engaging them here, while they were on the move, might have sucked for extraction, but it would have been a hell of a lot easier than engaging the cartel in a place where they’d dug in and secured their perimeter. Rowan glanced at Gael, silently asking his opinion. His brother pointed to the south.
New route it is, then.
They shifted direction by a couple of degrees and fanned out, each man moving silently. Jericho moved to point position and cut a path down the slope with a machete. Colson stayed rear guard, watching the trail behind them for anything coming up on their six.
Rowan felt the weight of every footfall and every shift of his gear. Even the sweat rolling down his spine beneath the harness and the pull of his rifle strap on his shoulder all urged him to hurry.
He hadn’t thought it was possible for the air to get any thicker or heavier, but as they moved past a tangle of low vines and into a hollow choked with ferns, it did. He swatted at something buzzing in his ear and bit his tongue to keep himself from allowing the screech that bubbled up his throat from escaping.
Even the fucking bugs are huge.
I fucking hate it here.
Hate. It.
He could hate it all he wanted; it didn’t change the fact that they were back in the hellscape that almost killed his twin. He held up his fist and dropped into a couch while he checked the SAT receiver on his wrist. The map showed an elevation change ahead.
Finally, we are close to the ridge line.
Gael moved silently next to him. “They’ll have watchers on the high ground,” he murmured, just low enough for him to hear.
That tracks.
Even where no man should be able to track them, the cartels were cautious. Had enough time passed since he and Joel laid waste to their compound to rescue Gael? Maybe, but once again the jungle was silent, and he’d trust the creatures’ instincts more than technology.
Rowan nodded. “We’ll go wide.”
Gael pointed to the west with his thumb. “There’s water down that way. If we follow it, it’ll mask our approach noise.”
“Risk?”
Gael’s jaw tightened. “Flooded ground. Leeches, the usual shit for this place. There might be a camp downstream.”
Rowan considered it. “Better than walking into a gun barrel.” He gave the signal, and they shifted direction again, this time moving toward the waterline. His boots sank into the spongy earth with each step. He kept his head on a swivel, rifle up, his eyes tracking everything that moved. He didn’t need maps andGPS to tell him they hadn’t much further to go. He could feel it, the adrenaline ramping up in his system. Telling him a fight was coming. All he could hope for was that their hostage was still alive, and that she’d survive the fight to come so he could keep his promise and bring her home.
“TOC, Seahorse One. You still with me, over?” he spoke into his encrypted helmet comms mic.
“Seahorse One, TOC. Still here. Still babysitting your asses, as ordered.”
Rowan slid in behind a thick root web when Theo responded in his ear, “Are we ready to party, TOC?”
“Yes, Sir,” Theo replied. “G-TOC kicked tech ass and has our eyes in place, so we’re ready to roll when you are.”
