Chapter 21 #2
“Ambra One, this is TOC, solid copy.” Max’s voice came clearly through Zenko’s comms. He signaled to Shaun, and they moved toward the small building that housed the water pump, weapons at ready as they crossed the exposed ground between the shoreline and their target.
Somewhere beneath that building was the pipeline they were going to crawl into and follow straight into the bastard’s compound.
“TOC, Ambra One, we’re moving,” Zenko informed Max as they closed the distance to the pump house.
He knew his body camera was feeding directly to Max’s screens, but that didn’t replace the verbal update.
Too much could go wrong between what TOC could see and what was actually happening on the ground for him to rely on a camera feed alone.
He watched Shaun attach the charge to the lock before they moved around opposite corners of the building, clearing the small blast zone and giving themselves separate angles on the surrounding area.
He brought his weapon into the ready position and kept his attention on the approaches to the pump house.
Intel had six guards patrolling this area, and even the small amount of noise from the charge could be enough to bring one of the fuckers looking.
When nothing moved, he peered around the corner and suppressed a smile when Shaun’s head appeared from the other side at almost the same moment.
“Ready?” he mouthed.
Zenko counted down with his fingers before they entered the small building together, weapons up as they cleared the confined space.
Once he was satisfied they were alone, his attention went to the metal box that gave them access to the pipeline running toward the compound just over a kilometer away.
Thank fuck Shaun knew his way around explosives, because Zenko was still fascinated by the metal charge wire Shaun had assured them would cut through the hatch without the kind of boom that would announce their presence to every guard in the area.
He looked from the wire to Shaun. “You sure this will work, babe?”
“Yup.” Shaun’s attention remained on his hands as he wrapped the wire just beneath the rim of the metal hatch.
Cocky bastard.
Zenko smiled as he watched him work. There wasn’t a trace of hesitation in Shaun’s movements, and the single-word answer had carried enough confidence that Zenko was beginning to think he might be the idiot for doubting the damn wire in the first place.
“Take cover.” Shaun finished securing the wire and moved clear of the hatch, giving Zenko the warning as he headed for cover.
Zenko stepped to the side of the pump, sheltering his face as Shaun joined him behind cover.
“Ambra One, pump will be deactivated in fifteen seconds.” Max’s voice in his ear was louder than the fizzle of sparks racing along the wire, and Zenko risked a glance toward the hatch.
Holy shit, the stuff really was magic wire.
He could have used something that fucking quiet more times than he cared to count while breaching compounds over the years.
Maybe Noble could beg some off of Rock, although he had a feeling the other commander might take some convincing before he handed over one of the Ghosts’ toys.
Assuming they made it out of here alive.
Fuck, stop that shit.
He shut that thought down immediately. They were getting into that compound, completing the mission, and getting their asses back out again. Anything else was tempting fate, and Zenko knew better than to tempt that bitch.
The wire finished burning through the metal, and Zenko moved back to the hatch as Shaun gripped the opposite side of the lid.
The smug bastard looked across at him with a smirk that said he knew exactly what Zenko had been thinking about his magic fucking wire.
“Don’t even think about it,” Shaun warned quietly as they got their hands into position. “Our tech guy designed this shit for the Ghosts, and he’ll hunt my ass down if I start handing it over to Uncle Sam.”
Before he could point out that Shaun was currently using it on Uncle Sam’s mission, Max’s voice came through his comms.
“Ambra One, ten seconds to shut off.”
Zenko answered Max, “Copy, TOC.”
He and Shaun lifted the metal lid free and maneuvered it toward the wall. Shaun shifted his grip, taking more of the weight as they propped it securely out of their way, then immediately turned his attention to the open hatch and the water churning beneath them.
“Automatic pump timer is set to pause in five, four, three…” Max continued feeding them information through comms as Zenko pulled his diving mask back into place.
Beside him, Shaun did the same, and they watched the water churning inside the open hatch begin to slow.
By the time Max finished the countdown, the roiling water had stilled and the mechanical thrum from beneath their feet died away. “Pump deactivated.”
“Careful of the edges, Ambra One, they’re razor sharp.
” Shaun used the stock of his rifle to hammer down one of the jagged spikes of metal left by the cut, folding it safely out of their way.
Zenko checked the rest of the opening before lowering himself into the hatch, then ran through his dive equipment one last time as Shaun did the same above him.
The masks Max had provided had built-in comms, which meant TOC would stay in their ears once they were inside the pipeline.
Zenko adjusted his mask, took one last look up at Shaun, and dropped into the pipe, trusting him to follow.
“Ambra One, first junction is three hundred yards ahead,” Max directed through comms as Zenko started forward through the pipe, Shaun moving behind him. “At the junction, turn north. From there, it’s a straight run for almost a klick to target.”
“Copy.” He kept moving, the confined pipe leaving little room for anything beyond the steady pull of his arms and kick of his fins.
“Twenty minutes to swim there and twenty back,” Max continued through comms. “Tracking is on, and comms are good.”
“Roger. Confirmed, TOC.” Zenko kept his pace steady as they moved deeper into the pipeline. So far, everything was going to plan.
“What happens if they don’t make it back before the pump turns back on?” Roman’s voice came through Zenko’s comms from somewhere behind Max at TOC.
Zenko almost smiled at the question. Trust Roman to wait until they were already inside the pipe before asking what happened if they didn’t get back out in time. He kept moving, listening as Max answered him.
“Well, the current would carry them through to this junction here.” From the way Max’s voice shifted away from his comms, Zenko could picture him pointing at the route on one of his screens for Roman.
“If they hit that junction while they’re being carried by the current, they’ll get sucked into the intake pump and chewed to pieces, which solves the whole ‘will they, won’t they get their fucking acts together and sort their shit out’ problem they’ve got going on. ”
“You know we can hear you, dickhead.” Zenko kept swimming, shaking his head inside his mask as Max’s laughter came faintly through comms. He could feel Shaun close behind him in the confined pipe, and he’d bet his left nut the bastard was smiling at Max’s bullshit instead of defending him.
“Yup.” Max sounded almost fucking gleeful about tormenting him, and the fact that they had all slipped away from call signs and proper comms protocol told Zenko that Noble wasn’t having the operation live-streamed to JSOC or NATO.
Thank fuck for small mercies.
The last thing he needed was some asshole sitting behind a desk listening while Max discussed the possibility of him and Shaun getting chewed to pieces by an intake pump.
“Damn.” Zenko stopped as the junction came into view and stared at the fucking problem waiting for them.
Behind him, Shaun immediately slowed, only to clang his helmet against the top of the pipe when he tried to look past Zenko’s shoulder.
The sound carried through the confined space, and Zenko glanced back long enough to make sure Shaun was okay before returning his attention to the junction ahead.
“TOC, Ambra One, intel on this mission is now officially FUBAR,” He grunted as he reached over his shoulder and pulled the bolt cutters from his pack. He shifted as much as the confined pipe allowed, bringing the unexpected obstruction fully into view. “There is a grid blocking our way north.”
“Ambra One, this is TOC, can you cut through it?” Max asked through comms as he opened the bolt cutters and positioned the jaws against the grid.
He could hear the clicking of keyboard keys behind Max’s voice, telling him TOC was already looking for another route in case he couldn’t cut through the grid.
Shaun could probably have blown the fucking thing in seconds, but this close to the compound, the blast would reverberate through the pipeline and announce their presence to every tango waiting at the other end.
Zenko tightened his grip on the bolt cutters and fitted the jaws around the first section of the grid.
For now, quiet was still their best option.
A low beeping cut through comms, sharp enough to pull his attention away from the grid.
What the fuck was that?
He twisted around as far as the confined pipe allowed and found Shaun already checking the gauges on his dive rig. Something about the speed of Shaun’s movements sent a cold shot of alarm through him.
“Ambra Two?” He kept his voice controlled even as his grip tightened around the bolt cutters. “What have you got?”
“TOC, this is Ambra Two, do you copy?”
Shaun’s voice came through Zenko’s comms, controlled enough that anyone sitting in TOC might have missed the tension beneath it.
He didn’t. He knew what Shaun sounded like when he was keeping a tight rein on fear, and hearing it now, inside a water pipe with another kilometer between them and the compound, had every protective instinct he possessed screaming at him to turn around and get Shaun the fuck out of there.