PROLOGUE
Istanbul, Turkey
FIVE YEARS AGO
“Target neutralized?” I asked as the last of the aftershocks trembled through our temporary base. “Can you see the target?”
“The target, the building, and the entire damn block,” Bella answered. “Positive ID confirmed…at least on the top half of the target. Those seismic bombs hit like a truck.”
“I’d say that experiment worked. Did HALO get their data?”
“Data was transferred with confirmation of receipt,” Cans said. “These seismic charges are scary shit.”
“Earthquakers are designed to simulate a natural event,” Monk answered in his measured tone over the com. “In this instance, it triggered the real thing.”
“Leveling the entire block seems like overkill,” I answered. “If they ever figure out how to calibrate those things…”
“Then it can be used as a devastating weapon,” Monk answered. “Imagine a targeted earthquake.”
“I’d prefer not to, thanks. We did what was asked—live field test of this thing and target erased.”
“Two birds, one earthquake,” Bella said. “Can we go home now?”
Another explosion rocked the compound.
“What was that?” I asked. “Effect of the weapon?”
“Negative,” Bella said. “This was conventional. They’re getting agitated over there.”
“I’m getting chatter,” Cans said over the com. “Shit, we have incoming.”
I turned to Anvil, my second-in-command, who was monitoring the situation.
“Bring me up to speed.”
“We’ve been compromised,” Anvil answered, pointing to the approaching men on the cameras. “Someone gave them our location. We were clean.”
“Probably didn’t appreciate how we treated our hosts,” I said, looking around. “It’s getting hot. We did what we needed to do. HALO will be satisfied. We need to get scarce. Bella, sitrep?”
Anvil followed my gaze. She stared expressionless at the several corpses that surrounded us, her dark eyes assessing the situation. An ambush someone thought was a good idea. Turned out it wasn’t—for them.
“We are currently cruising at mildly fucked and approaching FUBAR velocity,” Bella added over the coms. “That bad.”
“Your assessment, while colorful,” I said, “isn’t helping.”
“That’s me,” Bella said. “I’m a regular rainbow of information.”
“Anvil?” I looked at her, tapping my wrist. “Can I have an actual sitrep?”
“Compromised, Shep. Either someone betrayed us, or we’ve outlived our usefulness. Either way the outcome is the same—we’re expendable.”
“Losses?”
“We have two on recon down,” she said. “Secondary site: we have Bella, Monk, TwoCans, and Intern in position. Everyone else is dark.”
“Shit,” I said, looking down at the map, and then up at the screens. “Where are they now?”
“They have our location and are rapidly moving to outflank us. If they reach here”—she pointed to a location on the map—“before we do, we will be out of options.”
“We always have options,” Monk said quietly. “As long as we have C4, there are options.”
“Non-explosive options,” Anvil corrected, pointing to another location. “That’s our egress.”
I looked down at the map again. We had been in tight spots before, but this one was close to strangulation.
“Who do we like for this?” I asked. “Like you said—we were clean.”
“This has all the signs of Black Wolf,” Anvil answered. “Down to the targeting of non-coms. Only he could move this fast, unless HALO betrayed us.”
“Or both,” Bella added. “HALO isn’t exactly a fan.”
“Adams knows I would eviscerate him if that was the case,” I said. “This feels like Victor.”
“Money is a great motivator,” Anvil said. “Let’s keep every option open…for now.”
“Fuck,” Bella said. “That bastard, Victor, is probably behind this.”
“That hasn’t been confirmed,” I answered. “For all we know—”
“Who else blows up women and children?” Bella asked. “He’s a sick fucker.”
“Bella, find some higher ground and setup a position.”
“Roger that. I can get their attention for a short time.”
“How long?” I asked. “We need them busy and distracted.”
“About thirty rounds long. Less, if I see rats.”
“Long enough,” I said. “Cans, any word on support?”
“Bad news is we’re being jammed—no coms,” TwoCans said. “Good news is…no coms for them either.”
“Got it. We’re on our own, but so are they. We can make that work.”
“I can add some signal jamming,” Cans said. “Make their life a little harder.”
“Make it as hard as possible.”
“That’s what she said,” Bella interrupted with a chuckle. “Sorry, boss.”
“Monk,” I said, ignoring Bella, “can you make this a one-way trip for them? Take out their main routes of approach?”
“Of course. Do we need a new way out too? That…would require finesse.”
“An alternate way out would be helpful,” I said. “Can you do it?”
“It will take some creative positioning, but I can cut us a path—tight, but serviceable.”
“Do it. Anvil and I will bring them in. Afterwards, we leave your route as misdirection and take the underground passages.”
“You round them up, I’ll knock them down,” Bella said. “Hell, yes.”
“We have one shot,” I said. “They get around us—it’s over.”
“Typical day at the office,” Bella replied. “That blast has them mobilized.”
“We regroup at Echo. You have a thirty minute window. After that exfil is on you.”
“Roger that,” they answered in unison.
“Coms on dark frequency,” I said, adjusting my earpiece with a touch. “What are you?”
“We are the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire.”
“We are instruments of destruction,” Bella finished. “Hell, yes.”
“Fifty-four sixteen.”
Another chorus of “Copy—fifty-four sixteen.” Then silence.
Dark frequency—an invention of Quemi—our lead tech, allowed our coms to work on modified ELF wavelengths, which made them almost impossible to detect by conventional methods.
“You can walk away,” I said, looking at Anvil. “This has all gone to shit.”
“And go where?” she asked. “On a rampage?”
I smiled and shook my head. Typical Anvil.
“I should’ve put a bullet in Victor when I had the opportunity.”
“Yes—you should have,” she answered with an edge. “I’m here to make sure you don’t miss the next opportunity.”
“I’m serious, Lily, you’re clean, probably the only one who isn’t burned. No one would know.”
“I would know,” she answered, narrowing her almond-shaped eyes at me in a glare. “It’s enough that I would know. My family’s lineage is samurai, Shepherd. Samurai do not run.”
There was no point in arguing. Once her mind was made up, it would be easier to shift the Earth out of its orbit than get her to change position.
“Can we reach the border?” I asked, reviewing the map again.
“Not without air support.”
“Underground it is. Orhan still willing to provide backup?”
“Far as I know, he’s solid.”
“Let’s get out of this hellhole and reintroduce some people to the concept of loyalty,” I said. “I don’t want to be in this position again.”
“Now that sounds like an op I can get behind.”
“This is going to take time. It’s going to be a long game.”
“I’m patient.”
