“You got this, Dutch?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Look at me.”
Doc tracked his eye movement. “I’ll lead. You follow. Understood.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s move,” Doc said through the mic and then turned to Dutch. “We’re closest.”
Dutch nodded, following Doc as he made his way through the caves, keeping his body up against the stone walls.
He froze momentarily when he heard
a man’s voice telling Malin to move. Doc made eye contact, and Dutch nodded, quickly moving to the other side of the corridor, but still out of the room’s view.
When Doc signaled, they turned into the room simultaneously.
“Freeze and lower your weapon,” Doc shouted at the second man Dutch had witnessed holding a gun to Malin’s head.
Like with Orlov, Dutch studied the look on her face. Then, he’d seen fear, but it wasn’t of Orlov. It was of K19 destroying her mission. Now he knew the difference.
This time Malin was afraid of the man holding her hostage. Dutch lowered his chin, just slightly, and at the same moment he saw Malin mimic his movement, he fired, and Flatley fell to the ground.
He and Malin ran toward each other as the K19 team filed into the room. Time stopped for Dutch as they clung to each other amid the chaos in the room.
“Sofia—” Malin cried.
“Onyx has her,” said Doc. “They’ll transport her to the hospital via helicopter.”
“Will she be okay?”
Doc nodded. “It looks like what he did was more for show than to inflict any real injury.”
Dutch held Malin tight in his arms. The noise in the background fell away as he listened to her breathe. He put his hand on her heart and closed his eyes, concentrating on its rhythmic beat.
She did the same with him, one hand on his heart while the other cupped his cheek as their foreheads rested against one another. “You’re hurt,” she said, touching the dried blood in his hair.
He smiled. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I seem to get hit over the head a lot. Better than being shot.”
Doc walked over to them and put a hand on each of their shoulders. “We’re clear,” he said. “Gunner and Razor have Montgomery secured.”
“He was here?” asked Dutch, tearing his eyes away from Malin’s beautiful face. “I thought he was the decoy?”
Doc nodded. “He was, along with Flatley’s transport.”
“Is he dead?” asked Malin.
Dutch spoke before Doc could. “Let’s get you out of here.”
As they rounded the corner, he saw the CIA director’s body on a stretcher, covered with a blanket.
Malin gasped.
“I’m sorry,” said Dutch, leading her past him and out the main entrance of the cave.
Once outside, she stopped. “Dutch, wait.”