The Tide (Tide Series Book 1) by Anthony J Melchiorri Page A

woods. She could wait for the right moment and sprint to the cars nearest her, which might shield her from their vision. Then she could sneak past them by crawling low and slow through the curling weeds and dense foliage.
    Her stolen earpiece crackled to life. “Positions, report.”
    Each agent’s voice sounded off in sequence until there was a brief pause.
    “Echo Five, come in.”
    Silence for a moment.
    “Echo Five, come in.”
    Meredith pictured the man she’d left unconscious in the stairwell, his body slumped against the cinderblock walls.
    “All agents, be alert. Echo Five is not reporting. Target may be on the move. Echo Six, Echo Seven, close gap on the north stairwell.”
    The two agents near the edge of the woods stood. They started in a prowl and headed her direction.
    So much for taking it slow.
    Would Dom act on the short message she’d barely had time to send? If she failed now and was caught, the fate of whatever that oil platform-turned bioweapons facility harbored lay completely in his hands.
    ***
    T ucked in the belly of the Huntress , the cavernous loading bay buzzed with the sounds of zippers and tearing duct tape as the Hunters donned their blue positive-pressure biosafety suits. Despite a history of delving into facilities filled with a host of biological agents and hazardous chemicals, this was the first time Dom had ordered the full contingency of suits for a mission. The Hunters prepared themselves, bantering as usual, almost as if to distract themselves from what lay ahead.
    Brett Fielding, a former Ranger and one of the youngest Hunters on Dom’s team, pulled out a small photograph he brought with him on each mission. He kissed it before putting it in his front pocket and pulling up his biohazard suit. Dom had seen the photo plenty of times before—an airbrushed headshot of a blonde with undeniable Scandinavian roots and sharp cheekbones.
    “Bro, tell me about that girl of yours again,” Miguel said to Brett.
    “She was this tall.” Brett held his hand an inch above his own head. “Gorgeous, smarter than me even.”
    “That ain’t exactly hard to do.” Scott grinned as a couple other Hunters laughed.
    “Come on, guys.” Jenna patted Brett on his back. “Let the kid have his fantasy.”
    Brett scowled. “She was—I mean, is—real, I’m telling you.”
    “Christ,” ex-Army Ranger Scott Ashworth said, rolling his eyes. “And she was a Victoria’s Secret model, too, huh?”
    Ivan Price, a Marine, elbowed Brett playfully. “Is her secret that she isn’t real?” He looked around the group, but the others gave him sour looks.
    “Lame, man,” Terrence Connor, another Ranger, said. “Brett’s imaginary girlfriend could come up with a better one than that.”
    “So about that Victoria’s Secret thing,” Jenna started. “Can she get me a discount?”
    “Well, I...”
    “It’s okay, I’m not into that lacy crap anyway,” Jenna continued, “but was she really one of the Angels walking the runway?”
    “She was, honest!” Then Brett turned away as he adjusted his suit’s glove. “But that was after she dumped me.”
    “Cold, bro,” Miguel said. “Ice cold.”
    Dom stood tall as Lauren zipped up the back of his suit. She laid a strip of tape over the seams where his outermost glove met his suit.
    “Good to go.” Lauren patted his back as she finished with the tape. “I’ll have the decontamination chambers set up right here as soon as you’re on your way.”
    Dom nodded and scrutinized his squad members, who were busy slipping into their blue suits. They’d all seen the video and had agreed to take part in the mission to gather firsthand intelligence on the facility. He didn’t want to blindly lead the people who trusted him into whatever nightmare lived on the oil platform, but something about Meredith’s warning and the brutality of the video didn’t sit right with him. He counted down the line of Hunters with their rifles strapped across their