Chapter 39
Link felt the heat from the fire, and his fear response kicked in. Anger swirled in his guts. The bastard hadn’t needed to set a fire. Shit like this just pissed him off. If he got his hands on the jerk, he would probably go too far.
They were snaking their way through the huge house, searching for the ambassador, as he thought that no one needed this much space. No luck so far, but they were only about halfway through the house.
He felt the doorknob in front of him, finding it cool. The fire hadn't spread to this area yet. He kicked the door in, and Bean was right behind him, rifle up, ready to kill the man who’d taken the ambassador hostage if needed.
It wasn’t needed because the room sat empty. But there was another door, thankfully away from the fire. But that damn fire would spread, and they couldn’t wait too long for their escape.
This time, Bean kicked the door, and Link rushed in, ready to take down the bastard. The smoke hadn't gotten here, so he had a clear shot.
He didn’t hesitate. The bastard who’d caused all of this needed to go down now.
One shot, that was all he needed. The ambassador dropped to the ground, tears rolling down his face.
Taking the idiot alive would have been better, but he had a gun to the ambassador's head, and Link didn't want to risk it. The man had killed two staff members already, and the guard at the gate. Their team went in on the assumption that the jerk would kill the ambassador.
Attacking the US Ambassador to Germany wasn’t smart. There were too many US military members stationed close by. There was no way the guy could have succeeded.
Chase came in and pulled the ambassador up, telling him the fire was coming. Scott helped Chase get the ambassador to the rear stairs.
This house was too big. Two sets of stairs, multiple bedrooms with twisting passageways, living rooms up and down, and the bathrooms. It was a shame the place would go up in flames, but they’d saved the ambassador.
Link raced down the stairs and was at the landing on the switchback when an explosion rocked the house, the force slamming him to his knees.
“Fuck!” Link grabbed for the railing, the wall dropping away as he took hold.
“It’s unstable. Get out,” Keel said over coms.
Link reached back and grabbed Stanley, who’d fallen over behind him. Smoke filled the air, making it hard to see. He feared another explosion would bring the house down around them. They had to escape or risk being burned with this house.
Once Stanley was on his feet, he was able to make it on his own. Link counted men, making sure they were all there. Lights blinded him as he escaped through the back door.
Mick had his hands on his knees, coughing. They couldn’t stop here because there could be more explosions.
Link grabbed Mick under his arm and started dragging him. “Move. We have to move away.”
He heard people yelling as lights bounced, casting sharp shadows that danced on the surrounding buildings. The scene was a horror show. Too many people, too much excitement.
Link still had hold of Mick when another explosion rocked the area, the heat of the flames smacking him in the back as the horror show expanded.