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37
Reed
The rain created a curtain of water that obscured our vision. Each step felt like wading through a battlefield.
On my command, Asher's desperate call to Neptune pierced the tempestuous atmosphere, the urgency in his voice resonating through the static-laden airwaves.
I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this. Somehow, it was as if all my missions were blurring into an obscure whole, and I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Neptune, this is Asher. We're stuck in the belly of the beast, requesting immediate extraction. Over," Asher's words crackled with an underlying sense of urgency.
Neptune's voice cut through the chaos, his tone steady and commanding. "Roger that, Asher. Hang tight. Reinforcements are en route. Stay alive."
Ten minutes became fifteen, then twenty. And then, relief flooded our souls as headlights sliced through the darkness, a lifeline emerging from the storm's abyss.
A blacked-out SUV screeched to a halt, and a figure emerged, rain cascading off his SEAL insignia.
A newly minted frogman stood before us, his eyes gleaming with determination.
"Gentlemen, I'm Cooper ‘Raptor' Willis, Point Man, Unit Two. Just back from a covert op," he announced, his voice carrying a hint of excitement. "Ready to lend a hand. Let's rock and roll."
As we braved the wrath of the hurricane, nature's fury battered us, threatening to tear us asunder. The radio crackled with Neptune's voice, delivering a cryptic message.
"Grizzly, new intel just came in. Omar's closing in on a church and he's not alone. I'm sending the coordinates. You must reach them before it's too late."
My heart raced, fear mingling with resolve. The coordinates—I knew this church. It was a few minutes away from my house.
Juniper's house.
A chill that had nothing to do with the torrential downpour snaked up my spine. "Guys, this church ..."
"Something's not adding up," Asher spoke on my behalf. "Omar being sent to finish someone. His being at this church today, of all days. Hunter luring us to an empty warehouse."
I just knew the safety of our girls hung in the balance. With the evacuation alert everywhere, all of us had the same thought. Being her resourceful self, Juniper would have considered the church a safe space.
"Hustle, Raptor," I urged the SEAL. "We need to get there as fast as we can."
"Roger that."
We quickened our pace.
Finally, the church loomed ahead, a hulking silhouette in the stormy night. The wind howled as we approached the church, rain whipping against our faces like stinging needles.
"Stay near the SUV," I said to Cooper. "I'll call for backup if it comes to that."
The church's heavy wooden doors stood defiantly, partially ajar, creaking and groaning in protest against the tempest.
Dim emergency lights barely penetrated the engulfing darkness, casting eerie shadows across the interior.
With weapons tightly gripped and hearts pounding, we cautiously pushed open the doors, the sound of their movement drowned by the deafening roar of the storm.
The interior was shrouded in a hazy gloom, punctuated only by occasional flashes of lightning that briefly illuminated the scene.
As our eyes adjusted to the dimness, a chilling sight unfolded before us. Once places of solace and worship, the pews now served as a prison for innocent hostages.
Among them were Juniper and Leia, their faces etched with fear and desperation.
"Girls," I roared, moving toward them.
