We trek through untouched land in silence, keeping an ear out for anything that could be man or manmade like cars or motorbikes—anything Farouk’s patrol could be using to safeguard the area.
“What kind of animals should we be on the lookout for?” Zeus asks behind me.
“Vipers and cobras.”
“I shouldn’t have asked,” he mutters.
We reach our destination in good time but without exerting ourselves. We still need to wait for everyone to be in position and for the sun to set before we can make our move, so we set up temporary camp for now. It’ll be about forty minutes we’ll have to wait.
From our vantage point, we can see the white of the building through the trees but not much else without the help of technology.
Atlas gets out his trusty infrared for when the sun goes down, and I use long-range binoculars to scope out the grounds.
Trav was right, it seems. Security is lax.
There’s a guy on the roof, literally walking around in circles. I can’t tell if he’s supposed to be a lookout or what, but if we can’t see him with naked eyes, he’s not going to notice us in full camo in the forest. I also can’t tell if he’s presidential staff or Farouk’s man.
“Angel needs to take out the guy on the roof first,” I say.
“There’s no way to take him out quietly?” Atlas asks. “We may as well walk out there now and wave at the guy.”
“Let’s hope whatever Trav’s got planned to create a diversion works or this plan will be FUBAR from the beginning.”
Decaf pours himself another cup of coffee from his thermos while Zeus sits quietly by himself to get his head in the game. We all have our rituals to stay focused. Atlas is no doubt running every possible scenario through his head. As for me, I usually use this limited downtime to fill my head with white noise and not think too hard about what-ifs.
But right now, all I have is what if.
What if Farouk’s not even in there? What if our intelligence was wrong? What if I walk into that building and never walk out?
I’m not usually so worried about what happens to me because I’ve never had anyone to go home to. No one I’ve truly thought couldn’t live without me.
And while I know Saint would eventually move on, I don’t want to put him through any more hurt.
We might not have said it to each other yet, but I know deep down Saint and I belong together.
If things had been different ten years ago, maybe we would have been together then too.
Where Saint’s nerves about this mission had him recoiling, my need for him only fuels my desire to make it home safe.
I’m going to go in there and keep my head on straight. Our target is Farouk, and while we haven’t agreed on who will be the one to take him out, I’d love to be the one who puts a bullet through that fucker’s skull. Not only for the attacks on American troops, but for what he did to Saint. Counterterrorism agencies have been after him for years, and this is our chance. The world will be a better place without Sabri Farouk. Bin Laden was a puppy in comparison.
Trav gives us a five-minute warning to tell us everything’s about to go down, so we stand and gear up. We’re in full tactical fatigues, carrying all the weapons we can manage, and we all have gas masks clipped to our waistbands.
We’re ready to get this show on the road.
“In position,” Trav says in our comms.
Atlas presses his ear. “In position.”
“In position,” Angel copies.
“Ready to go,” Ghost says just to be different.
“Incoming,” Trav says. “Might want to cover your ears.”
“That sounds … ominous—” I’m cut off by the telltale sound of a spiraling explosive device. To our right, about a mile away, a plume of fire and smoke lights up the dusky horizon.
“Subtle, boss man,” I say. “Real subtle.”
“Hey, it did the job. Look.”
I turn my binoculars to night-vision mode and watch as targets flee the palace.
None of them will be Farouk. If they think their leader is in danger, they’re most likely moving him to one of the secure locations on the property. Ghost sent us the blueprints and a diagram for all the bunkers and hiding places we’ll need to look.
We’re not going to know how successful the diversion is until we get inside and see how many men stayed behind to guard Farouk.
“Get ready to move, boys,” Trav says. “Kevlar, Scout, and Alphabet are leading them on foot another direction while I head back to the Hawk. Carry out the mission and call for us when it’s done.”
The sound of another explosion rings through the night air, the yellow-and-orange blast lighting up the sky.