Merciless (Option Zero 1)

Chapter One

Colombia

Things were quiet. Maybe too quiet. Standing on the front porch of the safe house, Asher Drake shrugged off the unease. Paranoia, nothing more. Typical reaction from a Marine who’d seen more than his share of bloodshed and bullets. But this wasn’t war, and he was no longer an active-duty Marine. Time to get his head back into what peace looked like.

As he perused the neighborhood, he couldn’t imagine a more serene setting. Maybe not a Norman Rockwell painting, but the backdrop was as close as he’d seen in this part of the country. Nestled in an upper-middle-class neighborhood, with sidewalks, freshly mowed lawns, and the occasional basketball hoop in the driveway, the entire area reeked of safety. The house belonged to a local businessman who was apparently happy to rent his home out for a generous amount of money while he vacationed in another part of the world.

The assignment was boring, but that was okay. He was more than ready for a low-key, fluff job. He’d been preparing to go back to the States and continue his life with Meg, when Yeager Bates, an old friend from high school, had texted him with the offer. Bates was former Army and ran a private security firm in the States. The firm was looking for a couple extra military types to protect some bigwigs for a business meeting with locals. A couple of days, tops. Good money. Was he interested?

The answer had been an easy “hell yeah.” With the extra cash, he’d be able to put more down on the house Meg had found for them.

Making babies with Meg, having a house in a nice neighborhood, and living a fulfilling, peaceful life were his goals. With interviews set up next week for several promising job opportunities, life was looking pretty damn sweet.

He and Meg had been working toward this since they’d graduated from high school. They’d gotten married right before his first deployment, but they’d decided to put everything else on hold till he was home for good. At last, everything was falling into place.

They had agreed to wait until he was finished with his service before trying to get pregnant. Meg was eager to get started. And Ash was more than eager to help her get there.

A scuffing noise had him whirling around to see Yeager coming toward him with the big, easy grin he’d had since Ash had known him. “Still twitchy?” Yeager asked.

“Hell, does it ever go away?”

Yeager gave a dry huff of a laugh. “I’ll let you know.”

He hadn’t seen Yeager in years, but between a late-night card game and an early-morning run, they’d been able to catch up. “I’ve got no activity on this side,” Ash said. “You?”

“Quiet as a church during confession.”

“Mayhugh ready to go?” Ash asked.

“Just about. Last time I saw him, he was chowing down on some kind of pastry and reading his email.”

The man they were protecting, Frank Mayhugh, was the president of a manufacturing company in the Midwest. Why he’d come to this small town in Colombia for a business meeting was anyone’s guess. He and Yeager were to make sure he stayed safe while he was here. So far, it’d been a piece-of-cake assignment.

“You know what this meeting is about?”

“Not really. I was told the basics. A meeting with locals about some kind of business venture. My business has been slow lately. The money was way too good to pass up.”

“I hear that.”

A voice came through his earbud. “Mr. Mayhugh is ready to leave.”

“Copy that,” Yeager said. He met Ash’s eyes. “Let’s move.”

With one more glance around the quiet, peaceful surroundings, Ash followed his friend.

The meeting was in full swing. Ash had watched from his

post as a dozen well-dressed men and women walked into a large conference room. Their expressions ranged from excitement to harried to frowns of worry. What they were discussing behind closed doors was still a mystery.

Again, he couldn’t help but wonder about this location. They were about twenty miles from Bogota in an area that no one in their right mind would call an appropriate setting for a business meeting. He’d asked around, and so far no one seemed to know exactly what the meeting was about or why they’d chosen this place to have it. And why were the buildings here in the first place? They were surrounded by wilderness on all sides. Who puts a large office complex in the middle of a freaking jungle?

His gut told him he needed to find out what was going on. When details were this sketchy, there was usually a reason. And it was rarely good.

“Drake, you copy?”

At the urgency in Yeager’s voice, Ash went stiff. “Yeah. What’s up?”

“You close to the entrance?”

“Yes.”

“There’s a convoy coming this way. Not sure they’re headed for us, but stay alert just in case.”

Yeager was on the roof as a lookout. They were taking turns between each other and two of Yeager’s security men, Jeff Mason and Cort Dunley, who were guarding a couple of other people at the meeting.

Already on his way, Ash responded quietly, “Will do.”

Arriving at the entrance within seconds, he noted both Dunley and Mason were standing across from each other outside on the small portico. Ash pushed the door open and stuck his head out. “You hear that?”

“Did he say convoy?” Mason asked.

“Yeah. And since we’re the only building, no way it’s not coming here.”

Dunley turned toward the door. “We need to—”

“They stopped,” Bates said in Ash’s ear.

“Okay. Let’s alert everyone just in case we—” Ash broke off at his friend’s soft curse. “What’s wrong?”