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We jogged along behind Lucas to the site, splitting up to our assigned doors.
“Unlock, now,” Lucas said over comms.
I checked mine. The handle turned freely, and the door creaked open an inch for me. “Cobra unlocked.” One by one, we all acknowledged access.
“Enter,” Lucas commanded.
I checked the layout on my phone again before lifting my M4. Wincing at the creak, I opened the door with foot pressure and started in. The musty corridor was straight and clear of people but littered with trash. A rat scurried away when I entered the first room.
“Is it all there?” a male voice came through the cracked open door of the third room ahead of me. “Okay. Nobody followed you, right?”
“Did you slit open each bundle, one at a time, and move the loose bills to our bag, checking for a tracker?… Good, and you left their bag behind?” The guy was careful. “Good. See ya soon.”
I stepped into the room next to that one and whispered into comms. “I hear a perp, third room in on the right-hand side, talking to an accomplice. No eyes on hostages yet.”
“Hold for backup,” Lucas ordered.
“Copy,” I replied.
Lucas barked orders as he always did. “Winston, egress and reenter on Cobra’s door. I’ll be right behind you. Terry, move forward to where your corridor intersects Cobra. Jordy, hold fast.”
“Now you and me can have a little fun,” the guy next door said, louder this time.
“He’s threatening one of the hostages,” I whispered, hoping to hell it wasn’t Serena.
“Hold fast,” Lucas repeated.
Screw that. It could be Serena he was threatening. “Going in.” I moved slowly into the hallway, dodging boxes and papers on the floor.
“Expediting,” Winston mumbled.
I heard the muffled scream before I reached the door. The hostage had obviously been gagged.
“Yeah, I’m gonna enjoy this,” the sick fuck said.
I peered through the crack in the door and saw my worst nightmare. Serena’s eyes shimmered with tears. Her gaze was locked on the knife in the guy’s hand, her attempt to scream muffled by the tape on her mouth. She was handcuffed, and he had her backed against the wall.
“Yeah, I’m gonna enjoy this.” He cut down the front of her top and tore it open the rest of the way.
Yanking this asshole limb from limb would be too kind to him, but I couldn’t jump him just yet. With the knife that closeto Serena, it was too dangerous. Moving as silently as I could, I opened the door wider.Shit.A lamp leaning against the wall next to the door started to fall, and I grabbed it with my other hand, letting my weapon fall to its sling.
Serena noticed me, and her eyes gave me away.
Johnson’s head whipped around, and he moved quicker than I thought possible, sliding behind Serena with his knife at her neck. “Lift that rifle, and I slit her throat.”
With my dominant right hand holding the lamp, my sidearm holstered, and my M4 hanging on its sling, I had no play here—not yet.
“Hands up and step into the room.”
“Okay,” I said loudly enough for Lucas and the others to hear over comms. “Put the knife down. Nobody is getting their neck slit today.”
“Almost to you,” Lucas said in my ear.
Serena shook her head violently as I stepped inside. With the movement, Johnson’s blade scratched her skin and drew blood. Not doing that had been his one chance at living through this.
Gritting my teeth, I held the lamp and stepped forward, all my focus on the bridge of his nose, dead center of his head.
After a step, I judged the distance at four meters. Every frogman had to qualify with a handgun, including a three-meter shot to the head drawn from a holster in less than a second a half—no misses allowed. My best was seven-tenths of a second at five meters. All I needed was the opening. I let the lamp fall.
