Chapter 13
Cy moved into position in the dark of the moonless night. The mining facility wasn’t well situated for an invasion. The area had been cleared of trees and bushes, because of course it had, so cover was at a premium.
The fence around the facility was situated about thirty yards from the tree line and had razor wire twisted over the top. There were two high lookout perches on opposite corners of the fenced-in area. In other words, it looked like a fortress with razor wire.
At the moment, there were no lookouts positioned, but there were active surveillance cameras up top. It would be a bitch getting into the place, and once they got in their positions, that’s when the real fun would start.
This wouldn’t be a simple in and out with no shots fired. He just hoped the only people ending up with bullet holes in their bodies were the terrorists.
The brass had sent in two teams for this operation. His team was taking the south and west side of the building, while Trip’s team was attacking from the north and east side.
The guys on Trip’s team were great. They’d worked together before. He really liked working with Kevlar’s team, but they’d been preparing for their own mission.
Hop, Zip, and Rider were on a volleyball team with him, so he knew them better than the other guys.
He was good friends with Bud, Q, and Trip, but they didn’t spend as much time together.
He knew their families, knew their kids, and he wanted to make sure they all got home safe, just like the guys on his team.
Zip gave the signal that meant the operation was a go. Cy kept his movements smooth and steady as he raced toward the compound. They had one chance to get this right. If they didn’t, it was game over for the people being held by the terrorist group.
Whoever was supposed to be watching the camera feed must have been asleep, because they all made it through the fence without any resistance. Bang had run to hide behind the truck next to the equipment Cy was positioned behind.
He glanced over, and Bang gave a sharp nod. They were set to go. He waited for the signal from Trip and then was off, running toward the door he and Bang would breach.
Breaching meant you might end up with a gun shoved in your face, or they might start shooting before the second slam against the door. It was an adrenaline-fueled action, filled with faith in survival.
Just as Bang moved to position the ram, he heard gunfire.
It wasn’t close to them, maybe on the other side of the building.
He didn’t have time to worry about his buddies over on that side of the building.
They would take care of themselves. He and Bang had to get into the building and neutralize this side.
“Taking heavy fire. Can’t breach door one,” Rider said.
“We’re in,” Foster said.
Bang hit the door, and it crumbled before him. Cy moved into position, seeing movement to his left. He fired one shot, taking the man down.
“We’re in on door five,” Cy said as he entered the building.
Other than the one guy he took out, no one else was there to greet them. He cleared the room, and then Bang took the next room, clearing it as Cy moved to the door.
“Moving into the corridor,” Cy said as he pushed open the door.
“We’re in the corridor,” Zip said over coms.
Cy saw movement at the other end of the hall, recognizing Zip and Bud in an instant. Now came the fun part, clearing every area of this huge complex with multiple buildings, some connected by long hallways, others totally on their own.
So far, they were golden. They needed to clear more areas and get the building secure. “Let’s head east and clear out this side.”
“Sure thing.” Zip took a step that positioned him closer to a hall, then darted back. “Three hostiles coming right at us.”
Zip barely had the words out when bullets started ripping past. Cy had to get into position so he could take out the guys coming toward them.
“They’re getting closer,” Zip said.
Cy kept his eyes on the hall, waiting for the terrorists to come into view. “Ready.”
After a second, he adjusted so he could see better. He only had to wait a few seconds before one of the men came into view. He took the shot, dropping the guy.
One of the other men raced forward, and Zip took the shot, dropping him to the floor. Cy waited five seconds, but the other guy wasn’t moving closer. Instead, it sounded like he was running away.
“I’m going after him,” Cy said.
“Backing you up.”
They made their way down the hall, clearing each room as they went. Though the rooms were empty, they couldn’t take the chance. At any point, one of the terrorists could pop out and blast them.
His senses were on alert as he made his way through the maze of hallways and add-ons that made up the building. The rest of the guys were clearing the other buildings. Their spotter, Hop, confirmed everything was still clear outside.
Cy heard Foster shouting, but he was engaged with clearing the large building that had way too many small rooms. After a moment, Foster gave the all clear for his area.
In less than thirty minutes, they had captured or taken down all the terrorists they knew about. Wave and Rider were figuring out if there were more terrorists hiding in the mine, but none of the terrorists were talking.
Cy didn’t want to have to go through the mine to figure out if someone was hiding down there.
He hated caves and caving, and a mine was just a big cave.
Someone would have to clear the mine. A team of Colombian military personnel was waiting to come in and clean up the place after they gave the all clear, but maybe they would help with clearing the mine.
“What do you think?” Foster asked.
Cy shrugged. “Don’t know. We had intel about the number of people in this cult, and we can account for all of them, but who knows? Maybe they have more people hiding from us down there.”
Zip shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Wave snorted. “Why do you think there aren’t more people?”
“Because these people are selfish. They are in it for the money. They wouldn’t share with others.”
Wave nodded. “Okay, that makes sense.”
Rider glanced up. “Fine. Let’s call in the Colombians and let them search. We’ll go into the caves for a bit, but we’ll let them do most of the heavy lifting.”
Cy checked the restraints on the four men they’d captured. They were all secure and weren’t going anywhere.
“Jump, you and Bud stay here and watch.”
Cy held in the groan. He was headed into the mine. He should have volunteered to stay and watch their prisoners. Rider gave the all clear, agreeing to meet the Colombians at the mine entrance.
The thought of having tons of earth on top of him was chilling. He would deal with it, just like he’d dealt with other things that freaked him out, but he didn’t like it.