Lose Your Breath (Detectives Kane and Alton)

Wolfe’s heart rate increased as the truck slowly rounded the corner. “Copy. Engage truck in twenty seconds.” Eyes fixed on the screen, he went silent. Ninety-eight H would be counting down in his head. Heat flared on his sniper’s rifle, and the truck veered off the road. Two more flares and then Ninety-eight H came through his earpiece.

“Target down.”

In seconds, Ninety-eight H was moving, running across the rooftops. Jumping from building to building. He vanished from sight and his tracker popped up inside a sedan speeding out of a backstreet and weaving between roads across town. On the ground, people moved around the truck, dragging out the driver and passenger and tossing them in the back before it sped off toward the outskirts of town.

Wolfe scanned the screen, following the sedan through the backstreets. He spotted the second militant patrol truck ahead and Ninety-eight H would run straight into it. “Ninety-eight H, do you copy? Second truck dead ahead, change direction. Repeat change direction.”

“Copy. Direct to clock tower, town center.”

Unease slid over Wolfe. A foot patrol moved along a backstreet only yards from the clock tower. Ninety-eight H would be seen moving from his vehicle carrying such a distinctive weapon. He searched for an alternative route and engaged his com. “Ninety-eight H, do you copy?”

“Copy.”

Wolfe swallowed hard. One small mistake and militants would capture, torture, and behead his operative. He sucked in a breath. “Turn left at the next intersection. Suggest shelter in damaged building. Foot patrol moving in from one hundred yards, two men, automatic rifles. Wait until they pass then move through the alleyway and turn left. The clock tower is straight ahead and the way is clear.”

“Copy.”

Wolfe heaved a sigh of relief as Ninety-eight H ran from the sedan and slid into the building. “I’ll keep radio silence until you’re in position and then update you with the militia’s movements.”

“Copy.”

Wolfe pushed a hand through his hair to find it damp with sweat although it was cool in his office. He blew out a breath and rubbed his hands down his face. He could see where Ninety-eight H was, but where the hell was Annie?

Chapter Sixteen

Syria

After listening intently and scanning the immediate area, Dave ran across the road, avoiding the broken bricks and other debris spilling from the ruins of the buildings. With his mind running through possible scenarios, Dave’s head was in mission mode. Cool and calm, with every possible outcome considered, he eased inside the shell of the building, his night goggles slightly distorting his view. He left his rifle behind a pile of broken bricks and removed his goggles and placed them beside it, and then moved back to the front of the building. He wore his cammies, and the desert colors blended into the sandy-colored building, making him invisible in the dark and distorted shadows. He stood, arms loose and relaxed at his sides, ready to fight. Using a weapon would alert the neighborhood to his presence. He could take down two untrained men with one arm tied behind his back. The two heavily armed militiamen came into view, walking at a slow pace and occasionally checking the gutted buildings, as if performing a perfunctory task rather than clearing the area.

Dave moved to the other side of the building, to an empty space, and waited. As the men walked past, he tossed a small pebble into the street some ways ahead and another into the darkness surrounding him. As he’d suspected, the two men twisted and turned, unsure of which way to go. Untrained in maneuvers, they made the mistake of splitting up, one going ahead and the other walking straight past him before switching on a flashlight. Before the man swept the room with the beam, Dave attacked. In seconds, his hands wrapped around greasy unwashed hair in a headlock, and before the man uttered a sound, he lay dead at his feet. He stripped him of his weapons, dragged him into the shadows, and waited. In minutes the other man came strolling back toward him.

“Qasim.” The man slowed, waving his flashlight from side to side. “What’s taking so long? Are you catching a rat for dinner?” He walked past Dave and into the ruins.

No thoughts passed through Dave’s mind as he dispatched the second man. He didn’t know his name and didn’t care. It wasn’t as if he kept a tally. That would be too gross. He peered both ways down the street but had no idea if any more militia prowled the streets. He glanced at the two men. The people in town would be safer for his actions. After collecting the rifles, he slung them over one shoulder and went to collect his rifle and night goggles. Next, the second truck and whoever came after it. He touched his com. “Two targets down. Moving to the clock tower.”

“Copy that. You’re clear but I see people in the houses, close by. They look like women hiding huddled together.”

Dave snorted. “I’ve learned not to trust anyone out here. If anyone heads this way, tell me.”

He hustled across the courtyard and into the clock tower. He put down his rifle and looked around. Steps led into darkness. He’d need a position up top with a three-sixty-degree view. When something came hurtling out of a doorway, he spun around ready to fight. He glanced down to see the terrified eyes of a young boy. He took a few steps back. If the kid was rigged with a vest filled with explosives, he’d be a goner. “Open your coat.”

The boy complied, turning all around exposing bare flesh. Dave removed his night goggles so as not to frighten the kid. “Why are you here?”

“I’m to take a message to Farid to tell him when you need him to come.” His head nodded like a bobblehead. “I will be your lookout.”

Dave shook his head. “No, it’s not safe. What’s your name?”

“Saad.” The boy looked up at him and blinked. “I am brave and reliable like my father.”

Looking around for a safe place for the boy to hide, Dave indicated to a house across the way. “Is that your house?”

“Yes.” The boy looked behind him.

Dave patted him on the shoulder. “Take these weapons and remain inside. When it is over, I’ll come for you and you can take me to Farid. Right

now, it’s not safe for you here.” He slid a rifle over each of the boy’s shoulders. “Go now and protect your family.”

The boy moved slowly under the weight of the rifles. Dave tapped his com. “Any more surprises?”