Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“I knew this was gonna happen eventually.” The man sighed tiredly as a couple silent tears fell down his cheeks. “Can you at least give me time to get my affairs in order?”
“Your affairs, or your soul?” Meridian flung open the DDA’s door. “Let's hope you choose wisely.”
His entire team was riveted to what the oldest King brother was getting ready to say. Whatever it was, God had a feeling it wasn't going to be what he wanted to hear. Ford King leaned back in the executive conference chair and clasped his hands together in front of him. He was staring straight ahead but his eyes didn’t appear to be focused on anything.
“My brother had been missing in Afghanistan for ten months when I finally got some intel on a possible location. I put together a team to go in and get him. Meaning, I went against orders. No one knew me and my guys were there. No one.”
Ford’s brother Brian was sitting rigidly beside him as if he wanted to be anywhere but there reliving probably one of the most traumatic moments in his life. So much so that he never spoke again.
“When we got to the point, we immediately saw that we were largely outnumbered. It was six of us, against at least twenty men... and that was just on the perimeter.” Ford narrowed his eyes. “We were trying to come up with a contingency plan when I looked up and saw him.”
Day leaned forward in his seat. “Looked up?”
Ford nodded solemnly. “Yeah. He dropped down out of the fucking sky in the middle of the night.”
“How? A stealth glider?” God asked.
“I’m not sure from what, but we didn’t hear a chopper. He wasn’t in uniform, but the way he dropped down feet from us without anyone detecting him was something I’d never seen before.” Ford put his hand up when God opened his mouth, and answered the question he was about to ask, “I asked who he was. But when he didn’t answer, I knew immediately he was CIA.”
“What?” God choked.
“There’s no vertical envelopments anymore, lieutenant. Apaches and Cobra combat choppers replaced those long ago. He wasn’t a damn paratrooper, because he was alone... at first. We all had our M16s pointed at him, but he just unclipped his black chute and walked right up to us and asked why we were there. He was American and young, but I also knew he was someone important. I told him there were naval officers hostage inside and that we were there on a rescue op.” Ford smirked. “He didn’t question me; he just took the fuck over. He told us to stay back until he gave us the signal, and not to fire our loud ass guns. I didn’t even get a chance to ask what signal before he took off towards the compound.
“I thought we would need to rush in and assist but he moved in a crazy pattern as he knocked off the four men guarding the door before the other insurgents could even aim their rifles. I was about to move in, thinking he was gonna get ambushed until shots rained down from the sky behind us. The men on the roof were quickly taken out, followed by the six left on the ground. That’s when we saw the other one coming in at a breakneck speed, but he tucked and rolled the moment he hit the ground, skidding to a stop directly in front of his partner. They never spoke. Ex took off around the back of the compound and Meridian gave us the command to follow him. He knew our SEAL hand signals and communicated for us to stay low and silent.
“After seeing the shit they just did, we didn’t question him. I knew those two were my best damn chance of getting out of there alive. We didn’t hear any more shots but as soon as we got to the door, we found more bodies inside. The men’s throats cut clean through. We hauled ass through the structure where we’d confirmed Brian and Lieutenant Jenkins were being held.”
Brian flinched and Ford paused to look at his brother. He signed something quickly that made Brian nod, then Ford turned back to them and continued talking.
“We got to the end of the corridor and that’s when I saw Ex in a room gathering all the papers and tucking them in his flight suit. But, the one he called Meridian had one of the insurgent’s generals up against the wall interrogating him in fluent Arabic. The man had gashes on his forehead and cheek while he spilled whatever secrets Meridian was asking for.”
Ford looked to Brian and received one final nod.
“Then he pulled a long, thin dagger—had to be almost two feet long—and drove it into the man’s side... slowly. He never looked away from the general’s eyes as he pierced him through god knows what bodily organs. Whatever he did to him... however he stabbed him.” Ford’s dark eyes hazed over as if he was haunted by the memory, “It paralyzed him. Meridian walked away and left the rebel standing there with his eyes blown wide and his body inoperable.”