Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Coach joined me briefly and handed me an energy bar and a bottle of water before he went to give the others the same things.
I sent River a pointed look to eat.
We knew our next step; we weren’t going to sit still while we waited for Crew and Mercier. We had to continue mapping out Blanco’s first line of defense, which was the goddamn jungle. We’d established the perimeter, and we’d located eleven watchtowers—simple, wooden constructions—one pipeline, too much trip wire, and four narrow paths patrolled by four-wheelers. Watchtowers and roads were good. They indicated permanent lookout positions, which beat stumbling upon random guards in the middle of nowhere. Those guards still existed, but it helped to mark the fixed locations too.
While the others talked among themselves and continued setting up our campsite, Greer, Elliott, and I kept studying the map.
Our three sectors included number two, west of the entrance, number one, the entrance itself, and number three, east of it. Greer and Cullen had searched fruitlessly for hidden roads and tunnels, and I reckoned they’d continue their search in the third sector when we headed out again.
I chewed on a mouthful of the meal bar and drew a line between the outer watchtowers, six of them, always occupied by two guards. Based on the distance between the towers, the area we covered would have dozens of them.
“The pipeline’s bound to be guarded heavier,” Greer murmured. “Who discovered it in the first place?”
“Elliott and Joel,” I replied.
Elliott nodded and uncapped his water bottle. “That’s where we saw the four-wheelers too. I wouldn’t enter through there.”
He leaned closer over the hood and pointed to the X I’d drawn between one and two, a safe distance from the pipeline.
“Unless you saw any extra traffic in this area before, this is our way in. It’s a safe distance from the entrance, past the first outer watchtower in sector two.”
“I agree,” I said.
Greer nodded with a dip of his chin. “You still want us to do recon in the third?”
“For tunnels, at least,” I answered.
“Heads up—” Danny suddenly threw something over the Jeep—ah, the tarp. He, Emerson, and Joel were stringing up a big tarp over our camp, ’cause God knew it wouldn’t fucking stop raining in this place. According to the weather forecast, it was gonna be shitty weather for another few days. Hot and rainy.
“Where’s the C-4?” I heard Cullen ask.
“Yeah, we better stock up,” Greer said, straightening.
Elliott lifted his brows at me. “No need to ask where Crew’s DNA is from.”
I grinned.
It felt good. Really good. Most of us were together, and we’d have strength in numbers—especially when those numbers were experienced like we were.
It was faith too. Faith was a tricky bitch that came and went. Right now, I felt it. Shay was here somewhere. We were close. Within twenty-four hours, Riv and I would hopefully have him in our arms. So…faith and logic, I should say, ’cause it was logic that made me see clearly. They wouldn’t bring our boy all the way down here to… I flinched—fuck, not going there. Either way, we had some time. I had to believe the Blancos would keep him alive for a while.
Greer clapped Elliott on the back. “You call the infantry, you get the infantry.”
“Hey, I got no complaints,” Elliott chuckled quietly. “After the standstill this week, I won’t say no to explosives.”
Amen.
I had to say it was fun seeing this side of Greer, though. He’d mellowed out a lot the past several years, but once upon a time, he’d been just as gung ho as Crew. Crew, Cullen, and Greer were the holy trinity of Marines, infantry, and Finlay.
About half an hour later, we had everything set up. The Jeeps formed an L around our site, with the canopy above us catching the pitter-patter of the drizzling rain. Mathis and Coach had a fire going while they multitasked to check our security on two laptops.
My brother had eaten and was currently taking a power nap in our tent.
Joel, Greer, and Danny were going through our arsenal of guns, hand grenades, carbines…the lot of it.
I took a deep breath and exchanged a glance with Elliott.
I nodded to him. When this operation was over, we’d head to Europe. It meant more than I could express that he and Joel had joined us.
After checking the time, I reckoned we could take it easy for another half hour or so. Crew and Mercier were having dinner right now.
By the look of things, Emerson had dinner plans for our camp too.
He paused when he saw me watching him. “What? I’m not coming to Colombia without making arepas.”
I shook my head in amusement.
He dumped a crate of food next to our fire. He could be so fussy at times, a contrast from the man he was in the field. And yet…I couldn’t relate more. I was exactly the same way with Shay and River.