Mercy and Mayhem Men of Mercy(17)

About fifty feet up in an enormous evergreen tree, Ethan hung upside down, twisted in the ropes of his parachute. "Just hanging out, Sir."

Mack grunted out an acknowledgment and then Marley came crashing into the clearing. Everyone's gaze turned to her.

Tension whipped through the group faster than a bullet from an M50 rifle. Marley stumbled to a stop and pulled up short, taking a deep gulp of air.

He knew what they were thinking: despite having saved them, Marley might work for their enemy. Mack didn't actually think she had any involvement, but he fully intended to question her as soon as possible. His priority was to get Ethan down from that tree so he could tag their location. "Riser, clean up her arm."

Marley said, "But-"

Mack strode over to her, snatched the puny medical kit still clutched in her hand and threw it into the woods. "Don't push me. Sit down and let him clean up your arm."



       
         
       
        

Mack enunciated each word, making sure his point got across. Marley's eyes widened but she kept her mouth shut and did as he said. He waited until Riser had pulled out his own medical kit and started tending to her before turning his attention back to Ethan. "Do you see any way down?"

"Well, I could cut the rope, but Kate warned me-if I come back with so much as a scratch, she'll kick my ass." Kate Richards had been one of Jack Mankel's victims, kidnapped along with Celine Latimer and the senator's daughter, Caroline Cotter, from the wedding they'd all been attending. Task Force Scorpion had managed to rescue Kate and Celine, but Mankel had escaped with Caroline. Hence their present situation.

"The last thing I want is a woman like her busting my ass for letting you get hurt." Ethan's fiancée was an ex-CIA operative turned private securities investigator. To put it lightly, the woman knew her way around a gun.

"I'm open for suggestions." Ethan said. .

Unfortunately, Ethan had landed in a different type of tree than Marley. There was no abundance of limbs or vines or anything of the like for him to grab as a handhold or foothold. Even the bark was smooth. Mack approached it, sliding his fingers down its cool trunk. It had a faint sheen of moisture on it. Not conducive to climbing in the least.

From the way Ethan was tangled up, he wouldn't even be able to swing a leg over the closest branch, and Mack didn't have superhuman powers to fly up to him.

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."