Page 64 of Ravaged Hearts

I fastened my combat helmet. “Copy that.”

A moment later, the truck slowed to a walking pace, and my brother and I jumped out the rear. With night-vision goggles on, we made our way to a shadowy section of the orphanage’s wall that we’d identified as a security–camera blind spot. The truck carried on to a vacant lot nearby, which would later be our rendezvous point with the team.

“One, this is TOC,” Sage said over the radio. “You’re clear of Tangos for roughly two mikes.”

“Copy,” I replied.

I gave Owen a boost up the wall, and he made fast work ofclipping the razor wire before giving me a hand up. We dropped into the orphanage and took cover behind a small outbuilding—the security booth. Peering through the window, I found one guy inside monitoring a half dozen live camera feeds from locations around the compound. He was our first target.

“One Tango approaching the security booth in ten seconds. Hold your position,” said Sage.

The patrolling guard spoke briefly to the one in the booth, mentioning something about an upcoming soccer game before laughing and departing.

“All clear,” Sage confirmed.

I pulled out my suppressed pistol and entered the booth. The attendant’s eyes widened when he saw me, but that was all he had time for before I put a bullet in his head.

First problem solved. But we needed to move swiftly before someone noticed the body.

With the help of Sage and the drone’s thermal-imaging camera, we planned to step our way to the mansion undetected.

“One, you’re good to proceed to your next cover location.”

At Sage’s instruction, we moved toward the first column of a pavilion with a swift but steady pace, our rifles at the ready.

“Lone Tango lurking in an alcove twenty meters north of your location.”

I peeked around the column and spotted a partially obscured man facing away from us. He had a rifle over his shoulder and a lit cigarette between his fingers.

I glanced through the nearest window. The long room was dark, but a small night-light revealed row after row of sleeping children in bunk beds.

There was a risk suppressed gunfire would wake a light sleeper. And if it didn’t, there was a good chance the hefty guard’s body hitting the ground would.

Using hand signals, I told Owen to stay put.

A cheer went up somewhere in the distance. Probably the cockfight.

I took out my lucky knife and moved toward the guard on soft feet. I’d reached halfway when his radio crackled and a voice asked for a check-in. I used the distraction to creep closer. Still with his back to me, the guard responded that he had nothing to report, before taking another drag on his cigarette.

I lunged for him. My hand covered his mouth while my blade plunged into his neck.

The guard bucked and twitched. It didn’t take long for the fight to leave his body. I dragged the corpse farther into the alcove before signaling Owen to join me.

“Tango down hard,” I whispered into the mouthpiece of my radio.

“That looked brutal,” Sage said, which was rich coming from a woman who’d once stabbed a foot-long dagger through an enemy’s neck. “You’re clear of Tangos until you get to the inner-compound wall. And it looks like they’re pulling fresh birds from cages.”

I stuck to the shadows, Owen close behind, and continued toward the wall that separated the orphanage from the compound.

“Stop,” Sage ordered quickly. Footsteps scurried across the courtyard. I spun to aim my rifle at the new threat. “Don’t shoot,” she added. “It’s a kid.”

A boy, no older than six, ran from one dorm room to another, carrying a stuffed rabbit.

“Do you think he spotted us?” Owen asked.

It didn’t matter. We had no choice but to continue, but since the kid hadn’t looked our way, I replied, “Nah. We’re good.”

We didn’t have time to waste, so Owen and I moved to the final obstacle before we were inside the compound. With Sage’s assurance that there were no guards nearby, we scaled theinternal ring wall the same way we had the outer and dropped into the mansion’s gardens with a light thud.