Jacob took aim at the men surrounding the truck that now held Doc. He dropped another before Jared yelled a warning. Jacob hit the ground just as Jared lifted his weapon and fired. An unmistakable thud of a falling body resonated behind him. Jacob’s palmed his Interceptor 911. The fourteen inches of steel severed his enemy’s throat with little effort. He liberated an AK-47 and two magazines from the still convulsing body.
Jacob nodded to Jared and stood spraying a barrage of bullets towards the area from where both he and Jared had been receiving fire. Fuck. This. Shit. Drake stood at the same time and fired.
A fireball exploded at the rear of the vehicle convoy. The explosion lifted a jeep, sending it tire over axle into the air. Another explosion, and then another took out the rear half of the cavalcade. Jacob’s ears rang as the decibel level exploded renting the air with waves of pressure followed by roaring turbulence. The impact of the percussion threw Jacob to the ground where he instinctively rolled to cover. Bravo team’s medic threw his body on top of Jason and Dixon, protecting the wounded men.
Another tremendous explosion followed with torrents of mini blasts pulsing in a staccato reverberation. The truck carried explosives and the cargo was going up in one hell of a detonation. An avalanche of debris rained down on the combatants. Phosphorus shrapnel screamed across the open compound and embedded in Drake’s shoulder. Smothering the chemical-laced lead was the only chance the man had of not being cooked alive. The medic for Bravo team launched toward him instinctively and pinned Drake to the ground. He had a hell of a time keeping Drake down long enough do the job. Drake’s body was being roasted from the inside out and Jacob’s man fought like crazy to get away from the pain. Finally the medic doubled up and knocked Drake unconscious.
Jared picked off another of the slimy bastards just before he launched over the rock embankment toward his wounded men. Jacob sprinted toward Jared when he heard the distinctive sound of a M72 LAW rocket hiss through the compound. Jacob looked over his shoulder. The weapon was fired at the convoy from his six. A sneer plastered itself to his face. Joseph. The evil mother fucker had to be the one who fired the missile. The shoulder-launched missile gave the team exactly what they needed to escape.
Instead of stopping at Jared’s location both men kicked it for his team. Jacob grabbed a clip off Dixon’s belt and reloaded as another series of explosions rocked the encampment. Got to love that evil bastard!
Jared lifted Drake’s weapon and started firing at the deuce where Doc was being held. Jacob glanced back in time to see Chief being dumped into the same truck. Fuck, three down at his feet and two of his men in enemy hands.
Jacob made the only decision he could. Get the wounded out. Come back for his men.
Jacob lifted Jason to his shoulders as Jared threw Dixon on his back in a fireman’s carry. The medic shouldered Drake and the men slipped from the compound as Joseph rained down the fury of hell on the insurgents. Fury. God that man’s code name was apt. He was one twisted mother.
*
Jacob huddled next to the low tangle of bushes covering the men. Jared watched their six but as far as they could tell no one had followed. The transport was due. Without coms they were at the mercy of a timetable they had established before the op went to hell in a hand-basket.
“Your guys extricated our Skipper here from a fucking metal cage.” The man motioned toward Jason. “They tried to break him in front of us. He’s strong. But what they did to him?” The man’s eyes filled with tears. Jacob looked away giving the medic time to compose himself. “Alpha? You got to know. The bastard’s had a wire around his neck that was rigged to garrote him if anyone opened that fucking cage. We couldn’t get him out without killing him. These two took one look at the device and unarmed it.” The medic spoke as he worked on the injured twins.
Jacob looked down at his men. Jason’s injuries almost defied description. Grotesque wounds gapped open, putrefied. There was no way to judge the damage. Unconscious, his massive frame and weight became a struggle to manage, even for Jacob. Dixon shot—twice. The neck wound could’ve killed him, but the medic was good. His man sucked air and that was all he could hope for.
Drake’s burns seared deep into his shoulder and back. The medic shot him up with morphine from Doc’s kit. Fuck, none of the injured men looked good, but they were strong and that fact was what Jacob hung his hopes on. At least the men had a medic and soon the transport would place them in friendly hands. He couldn’t say that about the rest of Alpha team.
Jacob glanced at Jared. “Doc might still be alive. The extremists wouldn’t take the time to load a dead body.”
“Chief is alive. We’re going back. Right?”
“Damn straight we’re going back. Motherfucker’s are not keeping my guys.” Leave no man behind. His jaw locked at the thought Doc and Chief in those bastard’s hands.
He nodded towards the fast approaching C17 and helped the men into position. “As soon as that bird lands—we get these guys loaded. No more than four minutes on the ground.”
“Alpha? We got them. Keep those fucking towel-heads off us.” The surviving members of Bravo Team didn’t look like they could stand on their own let alone carry the wounded but Jacob deferred. He and Jared stood guard as the survivors sucked it up and loaded the injured. The strength a human exhibited in a crisis sometimes couldn’t be explained, and all of the men stepped it up. In less than three minutes the C17 taxied and turned readying to launch into the air again. Jacob heard several rifle shots after of noise from the turbine engines dissipated. The bird climbed and banked radically before it deployed chaff and flare countermeasures. The flares drew a heat seeking missile that exploded in mid-air. The plane once again climbed and banked racing to get out of range of ground weapons. Jacob held his breath, but the plane continued on. Thank you, God.
Leaning out of sight against a rock wall utterly exhausted, he watched the transport plane disappear into the sky. When it could no longer be seen, he and Jared shouldered their packs and headed for shelter to plan their next move.
“This wind could freeze the balls off every demon in hell.” Jacob cast a glance around the rugged, unforgiving terrain. Small, squat trees barren of any foliage groaned as the wind pummeled the valley floor with relentless fury. If the cold tonight was any indication, a winter freeze of biblical proportions headed their way. The cutting edge of the cold tore through their uniforms with the precision of a scalpel. The uniform material afforded little protection.
“Our best bet for shelter is probably the hills to the west. The east is still controlled by religious zealots. ISIS will take them to the west or northwest. At least we will be heading in the right direction.”
Jared’s face hardened and he turned towards the west. His brother’s eyes still held the specter of the horror at the afternoon’s events. Jacob knew the chances of retrieving his team. One in a fucking million. Yeah, he wasn’t Han Solo. He knew the odds and he didn’t fucking care. The enemy had home field advantage, time, and distance. What they didn’t have was a clue of the wrath that would rain down on them when Jacob caught up with them. No way was he going to lose his men; his friends. Hefting his pack, he clapped Jared on the shoulder and started out.
“We will get them back. They’re coming home with us.” His eyes watered against the icy blast of wind. The torrent of frozen air ripped away his words. Whether or not Jared heard him, he didn’t know. Indeed, the verbal reassurance wasn’t just for Jared. Jacob knew the task at hand could kill them all. Jared tapped Jacob on the shoulder when they finally reached what looked like a plausible resting point, the entrance to a cave. “Here. If it’s deep enough, we can build a fire.
After four hours tramping around in this cold, I need a hot drink and some food. I’ve been stuck in the fucking Arctic Circle for a week and haven’t been this cold.”
Jacob snorted. “Copy that. Short stop. Then we get our guys. We can’t risk anything longer.” They entered the winding opening of the cave. It meandered back forever, but they stopped about fifteen feet into the cavity of the mountain. Jacob built a small fire after putting up a shield to reflect the warmth back into the cave and to prevent any light from escaping. A quick effort produced weak-ass-bitter-tasting-piss-poor hot coffee. Jacob chuckled grimly as Jared held up his cup and announced, “Fucking ambrosia.”
Jacob fished in his rucksack and tossed a map on a rock near the fire and began assessing the options as they refueled their depleted bodies. This hot coffee would be the only luxury they would get for the foreseeable future. No rest could be taken past this one respite. Tonight would be brutal. “Chief and Doc will be executed immediately or they will be beaten and broken and killed. Either way, we need to get to them fast,” Jacob murmured.
Jared nodded and examined the map gulping the last of the hot liquid greedily. “According to Fury, he placed weapons and a re-supply cache two clicks to the east…here.” Jared pointed to the map and tapped the rugged terrain.
“The village most likely to hold the leadership of this cell is four clicks to the west of our current location.” Jacob’s finger traveled to the village indicated on the map.