Chapter 27
Ellie charged after Phoenix along the rocky spit, stumbling over the stones, slipping and sliding in her haste to find cover.
What the hell was going on?
She screamed as a bullet pinged off a rock inches from her leg, spraying sharp granite shards.
The gunman in the chopper kept up a relentless barrage, stitching the speedboat with bullets until he found the fuel tank. The boat exploded in a massive fireball, lifted clear of the water by the force of the blast.
She stifled a sob. Now there was no way off the island.
"Don't stop, keep moving!" Phoenix barked, grabbing her hand. He pulled her toward the cover of the trees lining the beach in a desperate attempt to get away from the deadly rain of lead. By some miracle, they made it to the underbrush unscathed, the shooter forced to hold fire as the helicopter wheeled around for another pass.
"Are you hit? Let me see." Phoenix's eyes raked over her, checking for injuries.
"No, no. I'm okay." Her breathing was ragged, but she wasn’t hurt.
He examined her like she was the most valuable thing on the planet. Even in this danger, she warmed at his concern.
"Thank God. We need to get deeper in, under heavier canopy." Together, they moved further into the forest. The dense foliage quickly closed in, bushes and trees weaving together until the sky had vanished completely.
“Now they’ll be firing blind,” Phoenix said, glancing up at the leafy roof.
Ellie stared into the damp tangle of vegetation, trying not to imagine what creepy-crawlies also sheltered there. Then she decided she didn’t care. Whatever they were, the men with guns were infinitely more dangerous.
Phoenix zigzagged through the vegetation, changing direction every few yards. “It’ll make it tougher for them to track us.”
When he finally paused, Ellie sank gratefully to the leaf-littered ground, her muscles trembling with spent adrenaline.
The shooting had stopped. The chopper had gone ominously silent, too. But Ellie wasn’t foolish enough to believe this was over. The killers had simply landed to continue the hunt on foot. They wouldn't quit until the job was done.
Until she was dead.
A sob caught in her throat. Phoenix immediately turned to her.
“Are you okay?”
“Are we going to die out here?” She hated the way her voice trembled with fear.
He dropped to his knees and engulfed her in a mammoth hug. “No, Ellie. We are not going to die here. I promise you that.”
She sniffed. “You can’t promise that. You’re just one guy. They’ve got a helicopter full of mercenaries. Oh, God.”
Don’t panic. Breathe.
Panicking would only slow them down. She had to hold it together.
Phoenix was silent. That worried her even more than his optimistic promises.
“Have some water.” He shrugged off his pack and passed her a water bottle. She gulped gratefully, using it as a way to catch her breath.
"How much time do we have?" Her question quavered only slightly.
"Not much."
"I should never have taken this job," she said bitterly. "I was an easy mark, simple to manipulate and dispose of. Stupid, na?ve—" She pressed shaking hands over her face.
Phoenix squeezed her shoulder. "Shh. I think they're close."
Ellie swallowed her words.
Sure enough, the faint rustle of disturbed vegetation drifted to her ears, punctuated by the heavier crunch of combat boots.
"Stay down and don't move, no matter what. I'll come back for you." Phoenix guided her under the sheltering fronds of a massive fern.
"Don't go!" Her fingers locked around his wrist. She was suddenly terrified to be left alone. Please..."
"I have to. But I will come back, I promise." He covered her hand with his. "Ellie, look at me. You need to trust me now, okay?"
She did. God help her, she did. Throat tight, she managed a nod.
"That's my girl." His lips brushed hers in a fleeting kiss. Then he was gone, melting into the shadows without a sound, leaving her huddled and hardly daring to breathe.
Phoenix disappeared into the jungle, checking his weapon as he went. He had about twenty rounds in the rifle and another fully loaded magazine in his pocket, courtesy of the second merc at the cabin.
Should be enough to do what needed to be done.
Grimly, he set the AK-47 to semi-automatic mode. He wanted to conserve ammo and not expend the magazine unnecessarily.
He gave their pursuers a wide berth, circling around them out of sight. He wanted to see what he was up against before making any moves. He kept low and crept stealthily through the bush like he'd been trained, his movements absorbed by the spongy undergrowth of the jungle floor—unlike his attackers, who were making more noise than a troop of monkeys. They obviously figured with more boots on the ground and superior firepower, they had the upper hand. Well, Phoenix didn't know how many times he'd disproved that theory over the course of his career.
Gotcha.
He crouched low, invisible amongst the darkly leaved bushes, and watched. Three men, all dressed in jungle fatigues and armed with bullet-proof vests stuffed with ammo. They'd come prepared. There'd be a fourth man, the chopper pilot, who'd be waiting on the beach, ready for the exfil.
The man in front—tall, rugged, and graying at the temples—looked to be in charge. He issued a sharp command, then the three men split up.
Phoenix exhaled under his breath. Perfect. They'd be much easier to neutralize one by one if they weren't hunting as a pack.
He stalked the third man as he walked through the overgrown jungle, his bald head moving from left to right like a radar, listening for any sign of movement. He was about to make a move, when he felt a hand on his arm.
Shit.
He swung around, ready to strike, but found himself looking into Boomer’s grazed face.
“Holy shit,” he cursed, under his breath. “I nearly took you out.”
Boomer gave a soft snort. “You didn’t even hear me coming.”
It was true. He hadn’t. He’d been so intent on his target, he’d neglected to cover his six. He squeezed Boomer’s arm, silently acknowledging how goddamned happy he was that his friend was still alive. “Great to see you, buddy. I could use some backup.” There was a large scab on the left side of his face, and several deep cuts on the right, but he was alive. That’s all that mattered. Explanations as to how the hell he’d survived the bomb blast could wait. Right now, they had a mission to complete.
Phoenix signaled the direction of the remaining hostiles. Boomer nodded, slinking away into the shadows.
Time to focus on the hostile up ahead. The mercenary was built like a bull terrier, short and stocky with a barrel chest, but Phoenix had the height advantage.
With a burst of speed, he closed the distance, utilizing his height advantage to grab the merc from behind. In a fluid motion, he pulled the man's head back and sliced his throat. The merc gurgled, clutching at his neck before collapsing.
He never even saw his attacker.
Phoenix removed the man’s blood-soaked Kevlar vest and slipped it on. It was filled with extra ammo, including a hand-held grenade that might be useful later. Then he turned and went to find Boomer.
It didn’t take long.
He found his buddy standing over the body of another mercenary. Like the bald guy, this one also had his throat cut and was bleeding out on the forest floor.
"Good hit," Phoenix commended. "Two down, one to—" A scream turned his blood cold. "Ellie!"
They charged back to her position, diving for cover as bullets tore through the foliage. Each thud of a bullet against the trees felt like a hammer on Phoenix's chest.
"Hold fire!" Phoenix shouted, raising his rifle. His voice was steady, but he couldn’t still the frantic beating of his heart. "I'm coming out."
Boomer melted into the underbrush like a shadow, while Phoenix slowly stood, gut wrenching at the sight of Ellie kneeling before the gray-haired merc, a pistol to her head. Her eyes were wide with terror, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Lose the weapon."
Phoenix complied, tossing his rifle aside, feeling a pang of helplessness as it clattered to the ground. Even though Ellie was whimpering, he kept his eyes glued to the merc’s. One sign that he was going to pull the trigger, and he’d attack—to hell with the consequences.
“Let her go,” he rasped, his voice barely concealing the fury bubbling beneath the surface.
“Sorry, can’t do that.” Phoenix knew that already, but it had been worth a shot.
“Who hired you? Was it Xonex?”
He sneered, “What do you care? You’ll be dead in a minute.”
“Then why not tell me? Satisfy my curiosity.”
A snort. “A group called Gilded Futures. I don’t know who they are, only that they pay well.”
Gilded Futures, he’d never heard of it, but Ellie obviously had. She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock and recognition.
“I see you know them, sweetheart.” The merc traced Ellie's face with his gun. She flinched, squeezing her eyes shut, but somehow managed to keep it together.
Two shots shattered the tension. The merc crumpled forward, his grip on the pistol slackening. Ellie scrambled away, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
Phoenix surged toward her, gathering her into his arms. "I've got you. It's over." She clung to him, her body trembling with great sobs. She’d been through so much. He held her tightly, feeling the warmth of her tears soaking through his shirt, as Boomer emerged from the shadows, his face a mask of grim determination.
“Thank you.” Phoenix’s gaze locked on Boomer’s. He’d saved Ellie’s life, and probably his too.
His friend nodded. “You’d do the same for me.”
He would have. That much was true.
Ellie gasped and spun around. “Boomer! You’re alive. Oh, my God. You’re really alive?”
He chuckled, the sound almost foreign in the tension. “Yeah, although at one point I didn’t think I was going to make it.”
“How did you?” Phoenix asked. “I saw that bomb go off. I thought it was game over.”
“It was a directional charge, rigged to blast upwards to target the structure. That's how I managed to escape the worst of it,” he said. “Not to get too technical, but when the charge blew, I threw myself behind a bulkhead. The force was massive—enough to knock me out cold, but the bulkhead shielded me from shrapnel and the worst of the shockwave."
“You’re lucky you didn’t drown,” Ellie breathed, her voice a mix of awe and concern.
“The cold water hit me like a wall, jerking me back to consciousness. I floated, disoriented, until I grabbed onto some debris.”
“How the hell did you get here?” Phoenix asked, still holding Ellie close as if she might disappear if he let go.
“The other lifeboat was still intact,” he said. “Or mostly intact. I plugged a few holes and rowed here. I knew the island was only a couple of miles out, I’d seen it from the chopper on the flight over.”
“Amazing,” Ellie breathed. It was good to see her smiling again, even if it was small and fleeting.
Phoenix squeezed her hand. “What do you say we get the hell off this island?”
“There’s a fourth merc on the beach,” Boomer warned. “Guarding the chopper.”
Ellie’s face fell, the brief glimmer of hope fading.
“Don’t worry,” Phoenix told her, lifting her chin so she met his eyes. “We’ve got this.” He and Boomer exchanged a look, a plan already forming between them. The resolve in their eyes said it all: they were getting off this island, no matter what.
Phoenix held Ellie’s hand as they crept through the dense jungle behind Boomer, his senses on high alert. Peering through the final line of trees, he spotted the helicopter on the beach under the watchful eye of the last mercenary.
"We need to neutralize him quickly and quietly," Phoenix whispered. "I don't want to risk him alerting anyone else."
Boomer nodded, his jaw set in grim determination. "I'll circle around and approach from the left. You take the right. We'll catch him in a pincer move."
Phoenix turned to Ellie. “Wait here. I’ll be back to get you, I promise.”
She squeezed his hand, then released him with a whisper. “Be careful.”
With a silent nod, the two ex-SEALs split up, melting into the shadows of the jungle. Phoenix moved like a ghost, his footsteps making no sound on the soft earth. As he approached the edge of the tree line, he slowed, scanning the beach through the foliage.
There.
The mercenary stood beside the helicopter, his rifle held loosely across his chest. He looked bored, unaware of the danger closing in on him from two sides.
Phoenix waited, his muscles coiled and ready. Down the beach, he knew Boomer was doing the same.
A bird call pierced the air—Boomer's signal. Phoenix burst from the trees, sprinting low and fast across the sand. The mercenary spun, trying to bring his rifle to bear, but Boomer was already on him, a silent shadow attacking from behind.
The mercenary crumpled under Boomer's chokehold, his rifle falling uselessly to the sand. Phoenix kicked it away, then helped Boomer lower the unconscious man to the ground.
Boomer checked the mercenary's pulse. "He's out cold, but he'll live."
Phoenix allowed himself a grim smile. "Let's tie him up and get out of here before he comes to."
Together, they bound the mercenary's hands and feet with zip ties from his own vest, then gagged him for good measure. Phoenix did a quick sweep of the helicopter, ensuring there were no tracking devices or booby traps.
"All clear," he reported. "I’ll fetch Ellie and we can get the hell off this island."
Boomer grinned. "Roger that."