Chapter 3
Three
Place Unknown
Five days ago
The moment Kane had completed his mission, all hell broke loose.
On foot and completely alone behind enemy lines, he made his way across the rough sandy terrain to the extraction point.
Craters from bombs cut up the landscape as explosions blasted around him, filling his eyes with dust. There was no chance a chopper could get close enough to take him to safety.
He considered his options and sighed. Without air support, he had little chance of getting out of there alive.
He rolled into the shadows of a rock formation and held his position.
Time ticked by as he waited for instructions.
He saw it before he heard it. High above, a US Navy fighter jet buzzed his position and veered away, trying to draw attention away from him.
He grimaced, one plane on a suicide mission to save his sorry ass.
The creed of never leaving a man behind was in his blood, but he’d never expect anyone to die for him.
He cursed as the attack drones’ next wave of certain death suddenly changed direction, leaving his path clear, and he stared in horror as they spewed their deadly load toward the jet.
He said a silent prayer as the jet maneuvered, spinning away from the threat.
Missiles surrounded it—and a red ball of flame exploded on target.
Kane broke his radio silence and tapped his com as a missile took out the jet’s tail. “Terabyte, do you copy?”
“Copy.”
“Navy bird is hit. Going down.”
“Hold your position.”
As the plane exploded and plummeted in a death spiral to the ground, only one of the pilots had time to eject, the second went down into the massive explosion.
The ground shook and billows of black smoke filled the air.
Another explosion way too close threw boulders and dirt all over him.
He stared into the sky as the remaining pilot landed hard some ways from him.
The man hadn’t attempted to land or roll, and his parachute spewed out behind across the sand like an exclamation point.
Kane tapped his com. “Terabyte, do you copy?”
“Go ahead.” Wolfe’s voice sounded like home.
Kane pulled his shemagh scarf up over his nose to protect him from the smoke and lowered his goggles. “I have eyes on the fallen pilot. I’m on the move. The other one didn’t make it.”
“Copy. We can’t see anything but smoke.”
Fumes billowed from the wreck, and Kane used the black smoke as cover and ran toward the fallen pilot.
Above, US jets roared, taking out targets all around him, brave men offering their lives to protect him—a dead man.
Keeping to the shadows, he finally made it to the pilot.
He checked for a pulse. Under his fingers, a faint but steady beat pressed against his flesh.
Scorch marks covered the pilot’s clothes and he had bruising to one side of his face, but he looked okay.
Using his Ka-Bar knife, Kane cut through the ejection seat harness to get him free, bundled it up with the parachute, and pushed it down behind a rock and then went back and tried to revive the man.
He could hear enemy drones moving toward his position and the scream of jet engines as a team covered him.
He needed to get to cover fast and, with a grunt, hoisted the pilot onto his shoulder and ran back to his hiding place.
He dropped him gently to the ground and checked him again for injuries.
He removed his helmet and gently tapped his cheek.
The man’s eyes moved under his eyelids, but he failed to regain consciousness.
Kane sighed. He looked so young. He swallowed hard, scanning the tangled metal smoldering a long way away.
The other pilot had died trying to protect him and he’d die willingly to get this one back to his family. “Terabyte, do you copy?”
“Affirmative.”
Kane took a sip from his water flask and leaned against a boulder. The smoke made his eyes water. “Casualty is out cold, pulse faint. Taking fire. I’m black on options here. Need secondary LZ—now.”
“Copy. We’re working on it. Multiple hostiles are moving toward you from the north, but we have you covered. Use the smoke and head south, along the mountain range.” He gave coordinates. “Listen for me. I’ll be hiding in the smoke.”
Kane stared into the thick black swirling fumes. “You? Haven’t they got a Blackhawk to haul us out of here?”
“National security. Get moving. You haven’t got much time. The moment you’re clear we’re sending in a cleanup crew.”
Staring north as a gust of wind disturbed the smoke, he made out a dust cloud in the distance. Armed hostiles were coming in force and he had minutes to escape. Jets screamed above him and bombs exploded. The ground trembled as he hoisted the pilot onto his back and ran for his life.