"Command wants us in the briefing room in thirty minutes. Full team." Hawk's expression was carefully neutral. "It's Iraq."
Logan's heart rate kicked up. "Related to Mara?"
"Don't know yet. Just got the notification. Mission briefing, wheels up timeline to be determined." Hawk stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Could be coincidence. Could be something else. Either way, we show up, we listen, we see what we're dealing with."
Logan grabbed his towel and headed for the showers. Thirty minutes later, he was in the briefing room with the rest of his team. Bulldog, Risk, Ghost, Joker, and Hawk. All of themlooking alert despite the early hour. All of them knowing that whatever was about to happen might be their chance to get to Mara.
The briefing officer was a colonel Logan didn't recognize. Probably from JSOC based on the unit patch. He waited until everyone was seated, then pulled up a map of northern Iraq on the main screen.
"Gentlemen, we have a developing situation in Iraq. Intelligence suggests that Rashid Nazari has resurfaced after going dark for the last four months." The colonel pulled up a photo of Nazari. Same face Logan remembered from the last briefing. Same dead eyes. "Nazari has been operating from the shadows since his family was extracted and his prisoner was recovered. But recent communications intercepts suggest he's preparing to move a significant arms shipment through the region."
Logan kept his face neutral. Nazari. The same arms dealer who'd held him. The same man whose compound they'd assaulted to get Steele out. The same region where Mara had disappeared thirty-six hours ago.
"Your mission is to locate and capture or kill Nazari. Secondary objective is to interdict the weapons shipment if possible. This is a high-value target operation. Time-sensitive. We have a narrow window before Nazari moves the shipment and disappears again." The colonel brought up more intelligence data. "Current intel places him in a compound approximately sixty kilometers northeast of Mosul. Same general region as your last operation involving this target."
Hawk spoke up. "Do we have confirmation he's at this location or is this based on patterns and intercepts?"
"Intercepts primarily. We have communications chatter indicating Nazari is personally overseeing this shipment. The location matches patterns from his previous operations in thearea." The colonel pulled up satellite imagery. "The compound is fortified. Estimated twelve to fifteen armed personnel. Nazari's personal security detail plus local militia providing additional support."
Logan studied the imagery. The compound was in the same direction as the vehicle tracks from Mara's abduction site. Same general area. That couldn't be coincidence.
"What's the timeline?" Risk asked.
"Wheels up in forty-eight hours. You'll stage out of Erbil. Insert via helicopter approximately five kilometers from target. Approach on foot. Rules of engagement are weapons free on confirmed combatants. Priority is Nazari. Capture if possible, kill if necessary." The colonel looked at each team member. "This is a second chance at a target we missed last time. Command wants him off the board permanently."
Ghost was typing on his tablet, cross-referencing the coordinates with something. Logan saw his expression shift slightly. Saw the moment Ghost made the connection between this compound and the direction Mara's captors had traveled.
"Sir," Ghost said carefully. "Has there been any intelligence suggesting Nazari might be holding prisoners at this location?"
The colonel frowned. "Prisoners? No. Why would you ask that?"
"Just want to make sure we have complete picture before we go in. Last time we encountered his compound, he was holding an American hostage. Want to know if there's any chance of civilian complications on this operation." Ghost's tone was professional, giving nothing away.
"No intelligence suggests prisoners at this location. This is strictly an arms dealer interdiction mission." The colonel pulled up the operational timeline. "You'll have full ISR support. Drones will provide overwatch during approach and assault.Exfil will be staged at the same LZ as your insertion point. Questions?"
Logan raised his hand. "What if we develop intelligence during the operation that changes the parameters? If we find evidence of prisoners or other complications?"
"Then you adapt and overcome. That's what you're trained for." The colonel's expression suggested he thought the question was odd but not suspicious. "But I wouldn't expect complications. Nazari's smart. He went underground after we hit him last time. He's not going to be holding prisoners and drawing attention to his location."
"Understood, sir."
The briefing continued for another thirty minutes. Tactical details. Equipment loadout. Communications protocols. Contingency plans. Logan absorbed it all while his mind raced. Nazari's compound was in the exact direction Mara's abduction tracks had led. The timing lined up. The location matched. This wasn't coincidence. This was an opportunity.
When the briefing ended and the colonel left, the team stayed in the room. No one spoke for a long moment. Then Hawk locked the door and turned to face them.
"Ghost, show them what you found."
Ghost pulled up his tablet and projected it onto the main screen. Two maps side by side. One showing the location of Nazari's compound from the briefing. The other showing the vehicle tracks from Mara's abduction and the projected route.
"Same location," Ghost said quietly. "Nazari's compound is exactly where those tracks were heading. Margin of error is less than two kilometers."
"She's there," Logan said. The cold certainty in his voice matched what he felt in his gut. "Nazari has her."
"We don't know that for sure," Hawk cautioned. "Could be coincidence. Could be different players operating in the same region."
"You don't believe that any more than I do." Logan stood and walked to the screen. "Nazari went dark after we pulled me. His family was extracted, he lost face, he's been operating from the shadows. Now suddenly he resurfaces in the same location where an American operator gets grabbed? That's not coincidence. That's revenge."
Bulldog was nodding slowly. "Mara was part of the team that pulled you. If Nazari connected her to that operation somehow, if he figured out she was involved, taking her would be payback. Would be his way of balancing the scales."
