Risky Extraction

Prologue

Nineteen years ago…

His pulse pounded in his ears and muted the guard’s conversation as Brent Adams crouched near the stone building. Not that he’d understand them anyway; he didn’t speak the language. Camouflaged by the shadows, it would be difficult for anyone to see him, but unease made his body rigid.

In the four years since he enlisted, this was his first deployment. He’d expected it at some point in his military career when he’d decided at eighteen this was what he wanted. Brent was proud to serve Canada, and at twenty-two, he was the youngest on Ghost Team. He was well-trained and confident in his abilities, but things could go to hell with one wrong move.

When Lieutenant-ColonelTitus Gibson called the team’s seven members, Brent was surprised. He never expected to join a specialized group sent to the Middle East, especially such a classified mission where he wasn’t permitted to divulge information outside the team and Gibson. Everything about the mission, including their location and travel details, was confidential.

The critical extraction was the team’s first mission together. The seven-member group consisted of Captain Otto Fudge, Brent, Dale Eubanks, Virgil Boone, Wyatt Christopher, the spotter, Perry Brown, and the team sniper, Axel Wright.

Brent grew up with Axel and Wyatt in Newfoundland. Both men were older by a year, but the three of them joined the military together. That’s why it surprised everyone when Titus put them on the same team. Titus insisted it was because they knew each other so well that they would be compatible.

Brent got the call less than seventy-two hours earlier and arrived in Syria six hours ago. Damascus was one of the most dangerous parts of the country; one wrong move could mean being captured or worse. He didn’t want to be another body sent home in a box.

Titus sent Ghost team to rescue a woman and her daughter, abducted by a cruel, abusive man. The situation could turn unstable in the blink of an eye because they were in a country that was a virtual war zone.

With his back pressed against the mud bricks, he remained motionless until the team leader gave the word. His body didn’t like the uncomfortable position, but he was a statue until a quiet voice crackled in his ear.

“Ghost one, to ghost three, do you have visual,” Otto asked.

Otto was a highly decorated and the most focused soldier Brent ever met. He was the oldest on the team, and if anyone could get them in and out safely, it would be Otto.

“Ghost three, to ghost one, no visual yet, but another tango just stepped inside,” Perry informed Otto.

Perry and Axel set up to remove anyone considered a threat to the team or the mission. They had intelligence on individuals associated with Nasir Hasan, so there were no surprises, and they could get in and out quickly.

“Ghost one to ghost seven, do you have a visual on Tango?” Otto asked Brent.

Brent and Wyatt were the closest to the building’s entrance, ready to move the second Otto gave the word, but the plan would change if someone unknown were in the building. He leaned forward to peer through the small window and spotted a man beside the door. Brent backed away and held up an arm to Wyatt.

“Ghost seven to ghost one, two inside with an unknown.” Brent locked eyes with Wyatt when Otto let out a string of curses.

They had one chance to get the woman before Nasir moved her and the child. According to Titus’s information, Nasir didn’t want her to return to Canada and kept her against her will.

Dale and Virgil were on the other side of the building, trying to get a visual of the woman and little girl. Nasir probably kept them close for fear she would escape. He’d moved them several times over the last few weeks, so Brent and his team needed to get in fast. Ghost team was Halima’s last chance to get away from the man.

“Ghost one to Ghost four, do you have eyes on target?” Otto sounded frustrated.

There was about a minute of silence, but it seemed longer as they waited for confirmation. If they couldn’t confirm the woman and child were inside the building, they’d need to abort the mission until Titus had an exact location.

“Ghost four to Ghost one, have visual. Rear south corner. Both targets in the same location.” Dale informed them.

“Restrained?” Otto asked.

“Negative,” Dale replied.

Brent relaxed a little. Restraints would make it harder to extract them, but there was no way Nasir didn’t have them locked down. Getting through the small windows would be impossible, so there was no chance Dale and Virgil could retrieve them that way.

The muffled voices caused Brent and Wyatt to back up further into the shadows. Virgil was the only one who understood the language because his wife was Syrian, so he would remain close to the woman and her daughter.

“Tango leaving,” Perry’s voice crackled in his ear.

“Alone?” Otto asked.

“No, Hasan is leaving too.” Perry sounded excited.

Titus had told Otto that if they had a chance to neutralize Nasir, they should take the opportunity. This meant that if the man was out in the open, that would be the end for him.

“Take him out,” Otto snapped.

They didn’t have time to think before all hell broke loose. Brent and Wyatt moved quickly around the building to join Virgil and Dale as they breached the structure. Bullets flew all around them, but none came from their team. They kept to the task of making it to the room and rescuing Halima and Aya.

A woman’s scream and a little girl’s shrieks mixed in with explosions, and the popping sound of automatic weapons made it almost impossible for Brent to hear the voices of his team through the earpiece.

“What is she screaming about?” Otto asked.

“She said she’s safe,” Virgil responded and said something in Syrian to the woman.

She shook her head as she kept pointing and looking over her shoulder. Before she could say another word, Virgil picked her up and ran from the chaos behind them. Brent didn’t know why the woman was so distraught because she could see her daughter in Brent’s arms. He hoped she needed rescue.

“Get out now,” Perry ordered.

They headed quickly to the rendezvous point. The little girl looked barely three years old and clung to Brent as if he would disappear. Halima looked ready to jump out of her skin, and Virgil tried to reassure her, but she shook her head and tapped the flag on the shoulder of his uniform. Virgil nodded, but there was fear in her eyes.

Brent could see the finish line as they loaded the mother and daughter into the helicopter. Wyatt grabbed Brent’s forearm and pulled him through the hangar door, but before he was inside, something hit Brent on the back of the head. He turned to look behind him only to see a ball of fire, and then everything went black.