“What are you doing here?” Goose demanded.
Icarus glanced at the wounded Ranger at Goose’s feet. “At the moment, I’m attempting a rescue. A medevac chopper won’t get here in time to save these men. You can’t drag your wounded after you and expect to hold a defensive line.” His eyes held the sergeant’s. “Then I want to talk to you. It’s time.” Icarus shook his head and looked doubtful. “It may already be too late.”
“You’ve got one thing right. I’ve got to hold this line.” Goose listened to the sounds of battle drawing closer.
“Then we talk. After this.”
Goose wanted to shake his head. Icarus was demonstrating an unfounded optimism regarding the current situation. As far as Goose could see, there were no guarantees that “after” was going to happen for him. Icarus was living on borrowed time, too.
“The CIA is still looking for you,” Goose pointed out. “I’ve seen Cody.”
“I know. And your captain’s men are looking for me.” Icarus dropped his hands to his sides. “Do what you will then. It’s up to you. Help me save your men, Sergeant, or shoot me.” He started forward.
Goose aimed at the center of the young agent’s chest for a long, measured beat. Trapped in the war-torn city with enemies just outside the gates, Goose didn’t know whom to trust. But under the open uniform jacket Icarus wore, it didn’t look like he had on a Kevlar vest.
Unless the agent was superhuman, a bullet through his heart would kill him.
Fear showed in the young man’s eyes, but so did his determination. Goose lowered the assault rifle and called over his shoulder. “Tango One.”
“I got your back,” Wake said calmly.
“Stand down,” Goose said. “He’s here to help with the wounded.” He bent and took hold of the Ranger he’d dragged to safety. With Icarus’s help, they muscled the wounded young soldier into the back of the pickup.
Wake’s Tango squad gave up four more men. One was already dead, and another didn’t look like he would survive the trip to the hospital. But Goose refused to abandon any of the men. That retreat from the border when they’d left so many dead behind still hurt his warrior’s spirit.
Icarus clambered back into the pickup. “Want a ride, Sergeant?”
A 120mm round impacted against a building on the other side of the street. The structure swayed for a moment, then crashed down in a loose tumble of rock. A few of the stones slammed against the pickup and narrowly missed Goose and the surviving Rangers.
“No,” Goose said. “I’ve got to finish this up.”
Icarus nodded. “I’ll get these men to the hospital.” He put the pickup in gear. “Come check on them. I’ll wait for you there. But only for a short time.”
“Understood.” Goose slapped the pickup’s top. “Get moving.”
Hesitation flickered across Icarus’s features. “Sergeant … ”
“I’ll be there,” Goose said.
“Do that,” Icarus said. “We have to talk. There’s a lot you need to know. The enemy isn’t just the Syrians.”
“I’m beginning to suspect that. But right now—” .50-cal machinegun fire ripped across the front of the alley—“they’re my biggest problem.” Goose and the Rangers dove for cover. Turning his head toward the pickup, Goose shouted, “Move!”
Tires shrieked as Icarus threw the vehicle into reverse, laying rubber on the road as he raced back along the alley. Garbage cans scattered in his wake. He swung wide at the other end and spun out. Then he jammed the transmission into a forward gear and sped from sight.
Lying on his stomach, Goose switched his headset back on and peered out into the street. The lead Syrian tank rumbled by, bumping into the other tank Goose had disabled, then rolling past without concern.
“Control,” Goose called over the thunder of the passing heavy cav.
“Go, Leader. You have Control.” Remington sounded more on edge. “I lost you there for a moment.”
“Momentary glitch,” Goose replied and hoped that was all the decision turned out to be. Icarus might have fled if Goose had reported his presence there, and the wounded Rangers wouldn’t now be en route to the hospital.
“Have that headset checked out when this settles,” Remington ordered.
“Affirmative.” Goose knew his friend and commanding officer despised ops that went beyond his control. “You’ve got Cobras still in the air.”
“That’s affirmative, Leader. For all the good they’re doing us. With this amount of smoke and debris in the air, they can’t pick our guys out from the Syrians.”
“Yes, sir.” Goose gazed at a flare hanging in the air overhead. “But I think I have a way of beating that.” He prayed that his desperate plan would work and that he would have the opportunity to meet with Icarus at the base hospital later. Too many mysteries remained in Sanliurfa for him to feel safe, and Goose didn’t know if the greater danger lay outside the city or within its walls.
United States of America
Fort Benning, Georgia
Local Time 2129 Hours
Before the sound of the shot faded, Megan shoved herself forward, leaving the relative safety of the military police jeep as she headed for the Hollister house. Images of Leslie Hollister, dead at her own hand, filled Megan’s mind and urged her to greater speed.
“Mrs. Gander.” Corporal Kerby caught Megan’s arm and brought her to a sharp stop.
Megan turned on the young man.
“You need to stop,” Kerby said, maintaining his hold and stepping around to shield her from any possible gunfire that might come from the home. Light blazed through all the windows, but there was no movement inside.
“I’ve got to go in there,” Megan said in as reasonable a voice as she could manage under the circumstances. God, help me keep it together. “Leslie needs help.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Gander,” Kerby stated evenly. “I can’t let you do that.”
Megan tested the young corporal’s grip on her arm. She couldn’t match his strength. Wordlessly, two other MPs created a human shield between her and
