behind the desk," warned Charlie.
"Another one disappeared through that door," added Jax.
“They’re going for help!” announced Cooper.
In answer, the surviving guard raised his gun and fired jihadi -style over the desk.
"Draw his attention—I’ll flank him," offered Sparky.
"Firing!" said Charlie as he peppered the left side of the desk. Cooper trained his own weapon on the desktop, waiting for the guard to appear.
To the right, Sparky ran a few steps and slid, slamming his body against the wall. He aimed and fired a single three-round burst, sending papers into the air like frightened birds. He crouched and disappeared behind the desk. After a moment, he stood, relaxed.
"Clear."
As one, the SEALs rose and took defensive positions around the large steel double doors.
“These may be too thick for the det-cord I have left,” muttered Jax as he ran a hand over the thick, steel door. "Maughan has he rest."
Cooper examined the exposed hinges. “Sparky, break out the give glue.”
C OOPER LOOKED DOWN THE long, dimly lit hallway at the wreckage in front of him. His hopes of finding Reginald evaporated. He decided the mission was a complete failure.
"Damn, what a mess,” said Jax.
Cooper sighed and lowered his rifle. "Command, you seein’ this?" Cooper called out.
Static interfered with the transmission, but the message was still clear enough to understand: “Looks like a collapsed tunnel—any signs of life?"
"Negative, Command,” Cooper said as he walked down the tunnel, boots crunching on crumbled rock and plaster. Once-upon-a-time,the walls had been perfectly smooth. The arched ceiling easily reached up to nine feet high.
Cooper turned and looked back at Jax. The tunnel was wide enough for three men to walk abreast. Regularly spaced fluorescent lights had been embedded in the ceiling. Cooper reached out and traced his hand along the wall. The tunnel sloped down at a slight angle, leading deeper into the mountain.
"There's no sign of the medical lab,” observed Jax.
“Then where does—did—this go?” Cooper asked, staring into the murky, clouded distance. As far as his night vision could penetrate, all he saw was rubble and debris.
Cooper approached the cave-in that blocked off the hallway. He knelt and picked up a few of the chunks of rock and concrete, intermingled with broken wire and twisted rebar. Cursing under his breath, he pulled out a small camera and took several pictures of the damage for the debriefing.
“She said this is the only entrance. There should've been at least 25 people working down here,” Charlie observed from the tunnel entrance.
Cooper looked around. "Well, I have to say if anybody's still in there, they aren’t getting out anytime soon…"
“Action’s gettin’ a little stiff topside, Actual," called out Juice from the chalet's roof.
Cooper turned and made his way back from the rubble pile. "Command, Striker 2-1 Actual. Be advised, Team 2 is engaging enemy reinforcements that came up the mountain."
“Copy that, Actual, can you gain access to the lab? The images we’re getting from your helmet-cam look grim.”
Cooper turned and glanced at the pile of rock that blocked the end of the corridor. "Negative, Command—not without some heavy equipment and a lot more men."
"Copy that, Actual, standby one."
Cooper tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling, hands on his hips. Typical . Switchplate's fighting reinforcements topside, the whole reason for the mission is blocked by a pile of rocks, and Command wants me to sit on my thumb.
As Cooper struggled to contain his frustration, he noticed one crack in the ceiling looked wider than the others. He took a closer look. Not only was it wider—it was glowing. He zoomed in and noticed light escape through the crack.
"What the hell is this?” It was too high for Cooper to reach with his hands, so he drew his
"Another one disappeared through that door," added Jax.
“They’re going for help!” announced Cooper.
In answer, the surviving guard raised his gun and fired jihadi -style over the desk.
"Draw his attention—I’ll flank him," offered Sparky.
"Firing!" said Charlie as he peppered the left side of the desk. Cooper trained his own weapon on the desktop, waiting for the guard to appear.
To the right, Sparky ran a few steps and slid, slamming his body against the wall. He aimed and fired a single three-round burst, sending papers into the air like frightened birds. He crouched and disappeared behind the desk. After a moment, he stood, relaxed.
"Clear."
As one, the SEALs rose and took defensive positions around the large steel double doors.
“These may be too thick for the det-cord I have left,” muttered Jax as he ran a hand over the thick, steel door. "Maughan has he rest."
Cooper examined the exposed hinges. “Sparky, break out the give glue.”
C OOPER LOOKED DOWN THE long, dimly lit hallway at the wreckage in front of him. His hopes of finding Reginald evaporated. He decided the mission was a complete failure.
"Damn, what a mess,” said Jax.
Cooper sighed and lowered his rifle. "Command, you seein’ this?" Cooper called out.
Static interfered with the transmission, but the message was still clear enough to understand: “Looks like a collapsed tunnel—any signs of life?"
"Negative, Command,” Cooper said as he walked down the tunnel, boots crunching on crumbled rock and plaster. Once-upon-a-time,the walls had been perfectly smooth. The arched ceiling easily reached up to nine feet high.
Cooper turned and looked back at Jax. The tunnel was wide enough for three men to walk abreast. Regularly spaced fluorescent lights had been embedded in the ceiling. Cooper reached out and traced his hand along the wall. The tunnel sloped down at a slight angle, leading deeper into the mountain.
"There's no sign of the medical lab,” observed Jax.
“Then where does—did—this go?” Cooper asked, staring into the murky, clouded distance. As far as his night vision could penetrate, all he saw was rubble and debris.
Cooper approached the cave-in that blocked off the hallway. He knelt and picked up a few of the chunks of rock and concrete, intermingled with broken wire and twisted rebar. Cursing under his breath, he pulled out a small camera and took several pictures of the damage for the debriefing.
“She said this is the only entrance. There should've been at least 25 people working down here,” Charlie observed from the tunnel entrance.
Cooper looked around. "Well, I have to say if anybody's still in there, they aren’t getting out anytime soon…"
“Action’s gettin’ a little stiff topside, Actual," called out Juice from the chalet's roof.
Cooper turned and made his way back from the rubble pile. "Command, Striker 2-1 Actual. Be advised, Team 2 is engaging enemy reinforcements that came up the mountain."
“Copy that, Actual, can you gain access to the lab? The images we’re getting from your helmet-cam look grim.”
Cooper turned and glanced at the pile of rock that blocked the end of the corridor. "Negative, Command—not without some heavy equipment and a lot more men."
"Copy that, Actual, standby one."
Cooper tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling, hands on his hips. Typical . Switchplate's fighting reinforcements topside, the whole reason for the mission is blocked by a pile of rocks, and Command wants me to sit on my thumb.
As Cooper struggled to contain his frustration, he noticed one crack in the ceiling looked wider than the others. He took a closer look. Not only was it wider—it was glowing. He zoomed in and noticed light escape through the crack.
"What the hell is this?” It was too high for Cooper to reach with his hands, so he drew his
Similar Books
