Page 9 of No Regrets
“We can narrow that down further,” Ryan said. He drew a much smaller circle on the map. “It seems all our good deeds in Daram paid off. An elder in this village here”—he pointed on the map— “reported unusual activity in this area. Armed patrols, weaponized vehicles. Reborn soldiers have been in his village the past few nights. The timing fits.”
“Donnie, can we get eyes over this area?” Dex asked.
“You bet, boss man.”
A few minutes later, the screen came alive, showing the barren land and mountains just east of Daram. The team studied it in silence.
“There. Can you zoom in?” Dex’s eyes never left the monitor, adrenaline building.
The image enlarged to show what looked like a compound. Multiple vehicles, some weaponized. Armed men also seemed to be patrolling. Dex looked up at Ryan.
“What do you think?”
“I think it looks like somewhere a high-value hostage might be held.”
They were interrupted by the co-pilot. “Lieutenant Commander Dawson, there’s a call for you from Commander Joe Johnson. I’m patching him through.”
Dex activated his coms, stepping away from the rest of the team.
“Sir?”
“Dawson, why are you looking at satellite image of Daram?”
Fuck, it must have got flagged. Not surprising. It was a military satellite.
“Sir, we had some time to kill, just seeing what we could do to help.”
“The situation is under control, Dawson.”
Dex paused. He had to tell him what they’d discovered, it was the right thing to do.
“Sir, we uncovered some pertinent intel.”
“Jesus, you couldn’t leave it alone. What intel?”
Dex gave him the coordinates of the compound. “I believe that’s where Kelly could be being held.”
“How reliable is this intel?”
“Allies on the ground. I can’t be a hundred percent certain, but the information aligns with what NSA found from the video and with the timing.”
“You saw the video?! How the fuck....no, don’t even answer that.”
“Sir, we are in the air. Three hours from Daram.” Dex walked back toward where the team were gathered and caught Mackie’s eye. Mackie looked at him quizzically.
“No. A team is only five hours out. I will pass along your intel to be verified. You get your ass home, understood?”
“Sir, say again? I’m losing connection.” Dex glared at Mackie who finally understood. A few strokes on the keyboard and static filled the line.
“Sir, say again. Are we cleared to go?”
The static continued before the line went dead, courtesy of Mackie.
“I take it that means we’re going to Daram to get our girl back,” Ryan said.
“Damn straight, we are. Go give Charlie the new coordinates. We have three hours to plan our infill and exfil.”
AFTER A HALO INFILL and a three-hour hike, Alpha team reached the compound just before midnight.