Gun in hand, they moved forward, using the foliage for cover as they swept for any sight of their targets.
A shot rang out. Someone in the camp shouted orders. There was the sound of running.
“Anyone get that?” Ryan wished like hell he’d learned to speak Spanish after their last mission in Peru.
“He’s telling them to scatter,” Harvard said, his voice flat and even. “To find the captives and bring them back.” He paused as more shouted orders rang out. “He’s telling them to search the jungle for Beast and Belinda. And he’s got some inventive threats going on if they fail.”
Ryan felt his stomach settle. “Did everyone get that? The targets are not in the camp. I repeat—the targets are not in the camp.”
“Roger that,” Lake said. “We’ve secured the drivers of the two bikes.”
“Another one heading your way,” Dimitri said as an engine was gunned.
“I’m on it,” Callum rumbled. “Keep as many alive as you can. I have questions for them.” Callum did love a good interrogation. It was stress relief for him.
Slowly, Ryan inched forward, ignoring the flies and mosquitoes that buzzed around him, until he had a clear view of the small camp. A small gecko ran over the toe of his boot, but Ryan didn’t move. His eyes were on the camp. Men were disappearing in all directions into the jungle. One man stood at the edge of the treeline opposite Ryan. Fury radiated from him. There was another man beside him, crouching, studying the ground. As Ryan watched, the man stood and pointed to the ground then into the forest.
“Guess they think Belinda and Beast went that away,” Ryan muttered.
“You heard Callum—round them up,” Lake said. “We need inform
ation.”
“Roger,” Ryan said, and signalled to his team that they were going in, confident that Dimitri was dealing with the explosives.
Two steps into the clearing, a kidnapper ran out from behind a hut—straight into Harvard. The kidnapper screeched to a halt, lifted his gun and fired. Harvard dived for him, disabling him in a second, but not before the gun went off. The man on the other side of the clearing, the one Ryan would have bet was the leader, turned back from the edge of the forest. It took a second for him to realise what was happening, and then he held up his phone. He didn’t take his eyes off the Benson Security team while he dialled, and Ryan’s heartbeat shot through the roof.
A slow, thin smile spread across the kidnapper’s face. A smug smirk. And Ryan knew absolutely, with every instinct he possessed, that the guy wasn’t making a call.
“He’s triggering the explosives,” Ryan snapped as he turned to run. “Get out of the camp. Repeat—get the hell out.”
His team turned and ran. A blast hit them from behind, making them stumble. They kept on running. Several more blasts followed before the hut closest to Ryan exploded. The blast took him off his feet and propelled him into the jungle. He crashed, shoulder first, into a tree. The crunching noise told him he’d broken something, long before the pain hit.
“Count off,” Lake ordered them.
One by one, the team stated their designations, letting their leader know they were alive. Ryan pulled himself up to sitting and leaned back against the tree. Black spots appeared in front of his eyes and he couldn’t move his right arm.
“Team leader three?” Lake barked.
It took a second for Ryan to remember that was him. “I’m here.” He forced the words through clenched teeth as the pain hit him hard and fast. “I’m gonna need a medic.”
“Status?” Lake’s calm voice was a lifeline.
The bushes shook beside Ryan as Violet and Harvard crashed through them. They screeched to a halt in front of him.
“I can tell you the status,” Violet said. “Looks like his shoulder bone lives outside of his body now.”
“Oh crap,” Ryan said.
And with those words, the world went black for Ryan.
Chapter 11
Beast and Belinda were making their way around a mammoth kapok tree when the world abruptly exploded. He grabbed Belinda and pulled her into the shelter of the tree as the ground shook. Around them, insects stilled. Above them, birds took to the air in droves, squawking their fear as they did so. Monkeys went crazy and ran through the branches above them, making a shower of leaves fall like snow.
“What was that?” Belinda whispered as she clung to him.
“Explosions.” Five, if he wasn’t mistaken. The same as the number of buildings in the clearing the kidnappers had made.