Dead Six

clearance for any more than that.”

“Shouldn’t this get the priority?” I asked. “I mean, we need to get this guy, right?”

“I’m going to level with you boys,” Gordon said, leaning in closer. “My superiors don’t consider Adar a priority target. Eliminating him is a way of garnering more support for Project Heartbreaker, especially from people in the Pentagon. I was able to get approval for this operation, but you two are the only ones I was able to commandeer, if you will, to do the job. People in my chain of command have security concerns. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but . . . well, let’s just say that this operation will be a little unorthodox.”

I wasn’t sure what to think. Gordon sounded sincere, but he always sounded sincere. Adar certainly was a worthy enough target; I’d heard of him too. I sure as hell didn’t like the sound of unorthodox though. “It’s not that killing Adar isn’t worthwhile, sir,” I said cautiously. “It’s just . . . look, we almost got killed on our first mission because we were outnumbered. If we’d had Hudson and Wheeler with us, the complications would’ve been avoided entirely. Because there were just the two of us, we had to improvise.”

“And you lost one of my trucks,” Hunter growled, speaking for the first time.

“Exactly,” I said. “With more eyes on the target, more shooters, we could’ve wiped out all of Al Falah’s bodyguards in a less than a minute. As it was . . . well, things went to shit.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Mr. Valentine,” Gordon said, looking me in the eye. “I don’t like having to take risks like this. But it needs to be done. This Adar has killed over a hundred American soldiers. Let’s get this guy. Can I count on you boys?”

Tailor and I looked at each other again. “We’ll get the job done, sir,” Tailor said.

“Great!” Gordon said, slapping me on the shoulder. I winced as pain shot through my arm; he managed to hit me right where the bandage was. “You boys go ahead and look over those mission packets. There’s a lot of information in there. I’ll be contacting you as soon as we have confirmation that our target is on the ground.” Gordon’s cell phone began to ring. “Excuse me,” he said, answering it. He left the room with his phone in his ear and Anders in tow.

We waited until we heard the outside door close. “Colonel, you didn’t buy any of that horseshit, did you?” Tailor asked. “Isn’t there some way we can get more guys for this?”

Hunter’s face was a mask. “I’m afraid not, son,” he said, turning to leave. “It’s not my decision. Wheeler and Hudson will be staying here. You boys relax now, but stay sharp. And don’t discuss this with anyone, not even your teammates. You won’t get much notice for this one. Don’t leave the compound.” With that, Hunter left the room, leaving Tailor and me alone.

Chapter 7:

Black Helicopters

VALENTINE

Fort Saradia National Historical Site

April 15

1700

Colonel Hunter and Sarah were waiting for us in the classroom. One of Hunter’s security men had come looking for us in the chow hall and ordered us to go in for a briefing.

“Gentlemen, I’m glad you made it,” Hunter said, sounding slightly agitated. “I know this is short notice, but you two are rolling out tonight. We believe our target has returned to his compound.” Sarah handed each of us a fat new mission packet, full of maps and photographs.

Tailor and I sat down in the classroom, opening our packets as we did so. “Has this Adar guy come back, then, Colonel?” I asked.

“We believe so,” Hunter said. He clicked his laptop and a video appeared on the big screen at the front of the room. It was footage from a thermal camera, taken from an aircraft. A pair of SUVs could be seen rolling into a compound. Eight people got out after they stopped.

“This is Adar’s place in the village of Umm Bab. It’s about fifty kilometers southwest of here. This video was taken fourteen hours ago.”

“Wait, what’s that?” Tailor said, pointing at the screen. Hunter replayed the segment of the video. It appeared that one of the people was being dragged into the house, struggling.

“We don’t know,” Hunter said bluntly. “Our boy has an ugly reputation. That individual could likely be his next victim. That’s not our problem.”

“Where did we get this video?” I asked. “Do we have a drone out there?”

“Yes,” Sarah said from the back of the room. “Our, um, support network was able to acquire several UAVs for us.”

“We’ve had UAVs watching Adar’s compound since Gordon came and talked to you boys,” Hunter said. “Nothing’s come up until today. No one has left the compound since this was filmed. You’ll be rolling out shortly. Gordon wanted to move sooner, but I told him I wasn’t going to try this in broad daylight. You’ll have the cover of darkness at least.”

“Wait, how do we know that Adar’s there, then?” I asked. “Did someone on the ground ID him? Are we just going by this footage?”

Hunter and Sarah exchanged a glance. Hunter then came around the table and leaned against it. He looked tired. “Yes,” he said flatly. “Look, boys, I’m not any happier about this than you are. Frankly, I think this whole mission is bullshit. I told Gordon I don’t want my men risking their lives on his pet projects when we’re running with a skeleton crew to begin with. I was overruled on this one.”

“Is there any way we can get more guys, Colonel?” Tailor asked.

“No, Mr. Tailor, there isn’t,” Hunter replied.

“So how are we going to get there?”

“A truck will be waiting for you by the gate,” Hunter said. “First you’ll need to go to supply. Get your gear and draw your weapons before you get on that truck.”

“Wait, we’re going to just drive there?” Tailor asked incredulously.

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Tailor,” Hunter said dismissively. “Your transportation needs will be taken care of. The organization that has oversight of our little mission has a few assets. Everything else you need to know is in your packets, including aerial photos of the target compound. You’ll need to plan your operation while en route.”

“What? Colonel,” I began.