Page 141 of Alpha Awakened
Ortiz left it at that. She gave the pilot the go ahead to take off as Ice took the seat next to her.
“Glad you made it, Captain,” Jax said. “We’ll need you out there.”
Ice nodded in acknowledgement. A second later, his gaze flicked to Hazard.
Hazard’s heart thumped when their eyes met, but outwardly he didn’t show any emotion. Neither of them spoke. This wasn’t the time or the place to be concerned about their personal relationship. Besides, just because Ice was here now didn’t mean he was staying. The captain wanted to stop Cortez the same as they all did. He would do one final mission with their squad and then he would be gone.
Hazard closed his eyes and tipped his head back against the head rest. Blocking out thoughts of Ice, he got his focus on the mission. The councilors were counting on them.
Chapter 52
December 6, 1982
10:20
Wilmington, Delaware
The plane landed in Wilmington two hours and twenty-five minutes after takeoff. The pilot had pushed hard to get them here as fast as possible. After landing, the 448 jumped into a waiting helicopter. They were joined by a seven-man support team brought in from the Legion base in New York.
Now, sitting in the open doorway of the helo, Ice watched the city below as they flew directly to the hotel. They weren’t concerned with stealth on this op. Getting to the hostages as fast as possible was more important. They had approximately twenty minutes to get the councilors out of the building before it imploded.
Technically, he wasn’t supposed to be on this mission. Although he hadn’t given Colonel Trent his officialyay, he’d spoken with Ortiz yesterday and let her know he was leaving the 448. This morning he’d been up before dawn, in his office filling out transfer paperwork and reading over the packet for his new position. In fact, he’d been on his way to Trent’s office to submit the forms when a junior aide had come up to him in the hall and told him about the situation with Cortez. He’d hesitated for less than a second before he turned away from Trent’s office and rushed off to the armory to gear up.
He wanted to save the councilors from the diabolical trap Cortez had ensnared them in. And he’d felt a sense that he should be with his team. He was a part of them and he couldn’t let them fly off while he remained behind. And even stronger than that was his need to be at Hazard’s side. The thought of Hazard in the field without him there to watch his six made his chest clench into a tight knot of apprehension.
With a ticking clock and a plane about to depart, he hadn’t had time to ponder what that meant — right now or for the future. Moving on autopilot, he’d strapped on his tactical kit and hauled ass to the plane, making it in the nick of time.
The hotel, a tall, narrow building, came into view. This was it. The helo hovered over the hotel’s parking lot and dropped down the fast ropes.
“Let’s go!” Ortiz yelled over the noise of the helicopter blades.
She disappeared down the rope first. Ice went after her. He didn’t bother putting his fast rope gloves away when he hit the ground. He tossed them aside so he could get his weapon in hand as fast as possible.
“Move in,” Ortiz ordered once everyone had landed.
They cautiously approached the hotel, in case Vengeful Claw had gunmen hidden on site and making sure they didn’t trip any explosives. The entrance door had been removed. The gaping hole beckoned them forward with a slightly menacing vibe.
The team made it inside the hotel lobby without incident. Weapon at the ready, Ice scanned the room. It was eerily quiet. A fraught sense of anticipation seemed to hang in the space. All of the furniture and accents had been removed. The front desk remained — standing bare and unmanned. Light flooded in from the curtainless windows, dust motes floating in the sun beams.
The councilors were nowhere to be seen. Of course Cortiz wouldn’t make the rescue easy by having them waiting out in the open.
Ice sniffed the air. “I smell nitroglycerin. Lots of it.”
The smell of the explosive was thick in the air, rising up from the basement where the bombs were no doubt attached to the hotel’s support beams.
“Looks like Cortez wasn’t making an empty threat,” Jax said tightly. “This place really is rigged to blow.”
Ortiz called for their attention. They all gathered to face her.
“Okay, we’ve got fourteen floors to search. And there’s twenty-five rooms on each level.”
Hazard spoke up. “Major, there’s fourteen councilors. I’d bet my left paw he’s got one stashed on each floor.”
“Asshole likes to play games,” Jax said. “Spreading them out all over the fucking building sounds like something he would do.”
“We’ll roll with that. This is a big building and we don’t have much time so we’re going to split up.” Ortiz looked at Jax, Ice, and Hazard. “448, you’re doing double duty. Jax take floors one and eleven. I’ll take two and twelve, Ice you’ve got three and fourteen since they skipped floor thirteen and Hazard you take four and fifteen.”
Ice nodded while Jax and Hazard verbally confirmed the plan.