Castello and his team stealthily made their way around the camp, carefully stepping over debris and piles of clay. Jeez, these dudes had obviously never heard of housekeeping. Staying well away from the fire and the men sleeping around it, they headed toward the building they needed. At this predawn hour, it was still pitch dark. Even the stars had taken a break and hidden behind the massive thunderhead cloud that gathered overhead. Thank fuck for night vision goggles. Castello was well used to the eerie green glow as he moved. He didn’t even notice it anymore. Jeez, he hoped this dude could walk. He’d carry him if he must, but it would be a hell of a lot easier to
get to their extraction point if the man could walk on his own.
Maneuvering silently to the rear of the hut, Castello scanned the outside, looking for a way in.There!The mud was crumbling in one spot near the ground. Risking it, it pulled out his Mag-Lite and flashed the light along the bottom of the mud hut. There, was that a hole? He knelt down for a closer look.Yup, that will do as a starting point.Reaching over his shoulder for the tomahawk he carried, he freed it from his load-bearing vest. He didn’t want to take any chances of making a sound that the passed out drunk assholes on the other side of the hut might hear. His plan was in and out, as silently as freaking possible. Hopefully by the time they realized Axel was gone, it would be too late. Using the tomahawk as a crude digging tool, he made short work of the clay to make a hole just big enough for him to squeeze into the building.
Axel turned his head toward the soft thump and scraping noises he could hear. That better not be a freaking lion. He was in a world of shit if it were.
He doubted the assholes who captured him would come running if he screamed. Rescue wasn’t on his mind. Nobody knew for sure that he was here. Nobody would even miss him if he disappeared, except maybe the clients waiting on their custom builds. Maybe his sister if she ever escaped where she was and went back to Miami to look for him. But considering she had been missing for so freaking long, he doubted that was going to happen.
Faint light shone into the hut as the hole in the wall got bigger. No sooner was it big enough that he could almost see into the shadows, then something moved to cover it again. Axel swallowed down the yelp that threatened to escape when the hole was filled by a large shape. It was a lion.
He was dead.I’m sorry I couldn’t find you Sis, and if you are dead, I’ll seeyou on the other side.Axel held his breath. He tried to tell himself it would be fast, quicker than when the Boss of the miners got to him tomorrow. But he couldn’t quite make himself believe it.
“Axel?”
A barely audible whispered voice calling his name was not what he had thought was on the agenda, and it made him jump, causing the chain to rattle.
“Yeah?” Axel was not ashamed to admit his voice wobbled when he answered. He couldn’t have helped it if he tried. Who the fuck was this guy and how did he know to look for him?
“My name is Castello, Griffin St. Clare sent me to get you.” Castello’s words were toneless, low, and quiet.
Grif? What the hell? How did he know?No matter how many questions he had, Axel wanted out of here more than he wanted to know the answers.
“Help me?”
“That’s the plan.” Castello whispered, in the dim lighting Axel could see his hand moving to a small radio near his chin, “TOC, One, Target Acquired.” The words were spoken so softly, Axel knew he wouldn’t have heard them if the man hadn’t been almost breathing in his ear as he worked the lock with a pick.
Axel also didn’t hear what was said in response but assumed something was when the man spoke again.
“Copy.” The lock on the chain finally gave, and Castello swiftly removed it from around Axel’s neck and carefully laid it on the ground, making sure it didn’t clang or rattle. “Are you injured?”
“I’ll live.” Axel rubbed his hands over his throat, “I’ve had worse.”Youtry growing up with John Shaw—shiners are a fact of life—these are fuckingnothing since I can still see—barely.But he pushed down his sarcasm and snark. He wasn’t about to give this Castello man any reason to leave him behind.
“Stay right on my heels.” Castello ordered and headed toward the hole in the wall, “Two, we’re coming out.” He gave Zack a head up, as the last thing he wanted was a thump on the skull with the handle of his second’s k-bar.
“Roger.”
Crawling through the hole into the night, not his favorite thing in the world, tight spaces, but Axel didn’t care, he would go through a mile of freaking tunnels if it meant getting out of this hellhole. Once he was free, he could figure out what to do. Kony knew where his sister was, he was sure of it. As soon as his head and shoulders cleared the hole, a hand covered his mouth, and another wrapped into the material of his shirt at the back of his shoulder blades, hauling him the rest of the way out, then upright. Axel struggled until he caught a glimpse of the man over his captor’s shoulder holding a finger to his lips in the universal signal for quiet. It was then that how they were dressed sank into his panicking brain. Helmets, camouflage, and a shit load of weapons. Were they military?
“Settle the fuck down.” The man who held him growled.
American!Axel couldn’t hear an accent. The man’s voice was slightly altered by the mask he wore over his face. He forced his limbs to relax and
allowed himself to be moved away from the hut for Castello to exit.
Castello got to his feet. A quick swipe of his hands sent dust flying off his pants. Scanning his men, he watched for any signal that Sawyer had an issue retrieving his drone. At the other man’s nod, Castello gave the hand signal to move out. Once again, Rafe and Balas took point, leading them out of the makeshift village. Zack followed on his heels. Castello silently urged Axel to follow Zack while he and Sawyer took swing position, carefully erasing their footprints as much as possible. Hopefully it would be enough.
***
Axel stumbled in the darkness as he tried to follow the man in front of him. Immediately, hands wrapped around his waist to steady him.
“Good?” The grumbling growl of Castello’s deep voice in his ear sent a shiver down his spine.
Now is not the time to get a fucking hard on for Captain America, jeez,
“Yeah, thanks.” As much as he didn’t want to do anything to hold these guys up, and he wanted to be out of here, but damn it his sister was more important. He needed to freaking know. “I can’t leave.”
“What?” Castello stepped on Axel heels as the other man paused mid step. “Keep moving ‘til we get to the cover of the rainforest, then we can talk.”
