Page 1 of Cold Ignition

Chapter One

The desert wind tasted like dust and burning fuel.

Keanu “Torch” Palani stood on the ridge above the warehouse compound, rifle braced against his shoulder, the heat from the ruined helicopter licking at his back like a warning. Below him, the desert floor glowed dull orange where the wreckage burned, twisted rotor blades sticking out of the sand like broken bones.

Their ride out.

Gone.

“Evac is cooked,” Luca muttered over comms. His voice held its usual dry edge, but Keanu heard the tension underneath. “That’s ... more than inconvenient.”

Keanu didn’t answer. He was watching the horizon through the scope.

Shapes were moving out there.

Too many of them.

They weren’t running or scrambling like cartel fighters usually did when things went sideways. These men moved in disciplined lines, spreading wide across the desert as they closed the distance.

Military.

Professional.

Prepared.

Someone had known exactly where Black Tide would land. His finger tightened slightly against the trigger as a head rose over the lip of a dune.

Crack.

The suppressed rifle kicked gently into his shoulder.

The man dropped without a sound.

“Contact confirmed,” Keanu said calmly. “East ridge. Forty meters and closing.”

“Copy that,” Kael replied instantly. No panic. No hesitation. Just command. “Manō, give Torch some cover.”

“Already on it,” Tane answered.

Gunfire erupted from the opposite ridge, sharp bursts echoing across the desert. Muzzle flashes strobed in the dark like lightning.

Keanu shifted position smoothly, tracking another target through the scope. A second man sprinted between rocks, weapon raised.

Crack.

The body spun and collapsed.

Two down.

It wouldn’t matter. There were dozens more behind them.

Keanu lowered the rifle long enough to glance down toward the wrecked helicopter. The firelight illuminated the rest of the team.

Kael stood near the edge of the burn radius, scanning the battlefield with that same predator stillness he always carried into a fight. Luca crouched behind a chunk of fuselage, rifle up and eyes sharp.

And Niko—

Keanu’s jaw tightened.