Page 126 of Silver Fire
“So how do I look?” she asked after she got all suited up. Black cargos, combat boots, long-sleeved black t-shirt and a slim-fitting Kevlar vest; she was smoking.
“Sexy as hell,” Derek muttered.
* * *
After a coupleof hours cooling their heels in the back room by cleaning their weapons, playing cards and just ribbing each other, Marissa got the signal for them to leave. Showtime.
Sophie gathered her hair in a low ponytail and put on a protective helmet.
Derek affectionately adjusted her headgear and gave her a light tap on the nose. “Stay with me, Angel. Tight as a tick. We do not get separated. You get me?”
Two troop trucks, outfitted in dark canvas cover, were waiting in the back alley of the bar. Derek and Sophie got in the second truck. With them were Lt. Chen—the bomb expert, Leo Cortez—the lock expert, Marissa Cole and four other commandos. Lt. Quint and seven other commandos were in the first truck. The driver took the back streets, which were surprisingly quiet despite the festival that was happening a few blocks over. Of course it was also 1:00 a.m. in the morning and everyone was probably already drunk or passed out somewhere. Sophie noticed they never got on the main highway and traveled mostly with the headlights off—she guessed, so as not to draw attention.
Even though she felt wired, she realized that she had fallen asleep on Derek’s shoulder. She knew this because someone was shaking her and the drowsing effect of the truck movement had ceased. “Sophie, we’re here,” Derek murmured into her ears.
The trucks had parked on a secluded dirt road. Quint took out a GPS device. They would have to cut through a wooded area to get to the targeted wall of the SASTac compound.
“Tight as a tick,” Derek reminded her. Everyone, except Cortez and Sophie, shouldered their assault rifles. Sophie made sure she could pull out her 9mm quickly when she needed it. Maia had repeatedly taught her how to draw from a holster effectively.
They trudged through some heavy woodland, the loamy scent of the earth a vast contrast to the sterile smell of her lab. They kept to a meandering dirt path and avoided the crunch of dead leaves under the cover of huge trees. Everyone was wearing their night vision goggles and several, including Derek, were already familiar with the lay of the land from their recon the day before. Sensing pairs of eyes watching her, Sophie looked around nervously and spied several luminous orbs belonging to creatures of the night following their group. She hastened closer to Derek.
At the edge of the clearing, Quint cocked his right arm, hand in a fist, instructing everyone to stop. The first team gathered at the front of the line, Sophie spied the steel back door that was their portal of entry. Edmunds took over and gave the signal for the initial strike team to proceed. The first man shot two high-tension cables with titanium prongs into the wall. One was used to climb, the other was used to rappel down. In no time at all, the men scaled the walls like spiders.
Tense minutes later, the steel entrance opened; screaming on its hinges, it would be a wonder if the whole compound wasn’t roused. Quint led the second team through the gate—Derek was in front of Sophie, Manning to her rear. A racket of gunfire exchange exploded just as Sophie cleared the gate.
Derek immediately pulled her down in a crouch and shielded her. They’d resumed comms after the first team had gone through, and she could hear an eruption of chatter.
“Brace! We’ve got incoming hostiles,” Edmunds shouted.
“How many hostiles down?”
“Three.”
“Everyone OK?”
“Are we clear to proceed?” Quint asked.
“Affirmative. The hostiles are out front, we’re holding them off for now.”
The second team immediately sprung from their position and hauled ass toward the main warehouse.
Suddenly, bright lights illuminated the courtyard, blinding their night vision goggles.
A collective burst of cursing blistered Sophie’s ears. She flicked her goggles up, stumbling slightly as she tried to readjust her vision. She was seeing stars, literally. She felt someone grip her arm. “Steady, Sophie.”
“I can’t see well, Derek.”
“You’ll be fine in a—”
Bullets kicked up divots of dirt around them. Someone grunted and hit the deck. One of the commandos was hit!
Sophie’s heart was pounding so hard in her chest and she would have just stupidly stood there if Derek had not yanked her to his right side and hauled her forward. With his left arm, he braced his assault rifle to his side, returning rounds in the direction of their attackers.
Rapid chatter erupted again on their communication network. Sophie couldn’t tell who was talking.
“Move it, Quint. You guys are sitting ducks!”
“Can’t hold them back for much longer—”