“Don’t know yet, Captain,” Isaac responded, breathing hard.
His boots hit the bottom of the hill with a hard jarring, and a slight pain shot through his knee. He wobbled and then righted himself to race after the fleeing figure. The guy ducked beneath several branches, slapping away large green ferns and then disappeared.
Zane charged beneath the trees and mud and rocks fell away beneath his feet. His ass hit the ground and his momentum swept him downhill.
For a fleeting second, he saw the suspect, but then the man was gone. The drop off came up quickly and he scrambled to grab ahold of anything, but every branch and shrub gave way beneath his grip. A piece of wood gouged his spine. Thin branches sliced at his palms and he hissed.
“Zane!” Isaac shouted.
“Stay back!” he yelled, not sure if Isaac would hear him or not. He hoped like hell he heard him. He did not want Isaac following him down this slope.
Approaching the end, a drop off emerged along with the roar of rushing water.
He clenched his teeth and made one last ditched effort to stop himself from plunging over and down the waterfall.
Isaac
Slipping and sliding after Zane, branches came up and smacked him in the face. He twisted sideways to stop his fall.
“No, no, no, no, no,” he choked the word out over and over when Zane was lost from view. His chest burned and his breathing came in huge gasps while blood rushed in his ears.
“Isaac!” Holden shouted and he realized the soldier had been on his ass since they’d left the house. So focused on Zane, Holden took him by surprise.
“Stay back,” he choked out.
It was a stupid idea to follow after Zane, he didn’t need Holden getting killed. A tree caught him beneath his armpit and stopped his downward tumble, but a stone cracked him in the temple.
The woods went dark.
“Isaac, wake up.”
Far away voices called his name and pain pierced his head. He shoved poking hands away, trying to roll over to get to his feet.
The world tilted on its axis.
“Easy,” Ethan said, pushing his shoulders down to the blanket. Blanket? When the hell had Ethan arrived? He squinted at the wavering figures hovering nearby and realized that several of his unit were staring at him.
“I have to find Zane,” he gritted between his teeth.
“Sam has eyes on his locator,” Pia said from over Ethan’s shoulder.
“I’ve got to find my partner,” he mumbled thickly, his tongue like lead. He fought the hands holding him down. The fucking wetness in his eyes raced down his temples and he closed his eyes against the piercing light. Hammers pounded in his head and he moaned. Zane, fuck. Zane.
“Easy, Isaac,” Oliver whispered.
“Did he go over the cliff?” he rasped, popping open his eyes.
“It looks like he went down the falls.” Lieutenant River Seeger approached and crouched by his side. “We think Zane hit the river below. Maddox took the rest of Alpha, Fury, and Echo teams to find his locator.”
“Colin’s got the drone?” he asked through his teeth, fighting the pain. Zane’s odds increased with the drone.
“Yeah, Echo team has the drone,” River assured him.
Echo consisted of Archer, Greene, and Colin. With all the experience in those three soldiers plus adding in Alpha and Fury? Eddie Chambers would be fucking dust, they’d make sure of it.
He closed his eyes, but the sight of Zane toppling over the edge of the cliff sent them snapping open and a shudder ripped through him. He gripped the thermal survival blanket in his fists.
Slowly this time, he eased upward and Ethan helped him to sit fully up. Oliver crouched behind him keeping him braced upright and he was glad for the extra support.
“Thanks,” he winced, his head swimming.
Ethan touched his chin, tilting his face up and briefly shone a light in his eyes. The brightness didn’t help the pain and after a few seconds, he pushed Ethan’s arm away.
“I’m okay.”
“How is he?” River asked Ethan, eyeing him.
“Slightly concussed.”
“How long was I out?” He glanced in the direction of the rushing water. The falls that had taken Zane stood not too far from them.
“A couple of minutes, just enough time for Holden to pull you up and carry you here.”
“Thank you.” He slanted a grateful look at Holden.
The gruff soldier gave him a slight smile.
“What now?” he said, holding a hand over his shoulder to Oliver. The man stood and pulled him up and then held tight while he got his bearings.
“That’s up to you,” River said with a frown. “I’d advise you to take it easy, but I doubt you’ll listen.”
“When have I ever taken it easy?” He squinted and bent slowly to pick up his weapon.
“That’s what I thought,” River smirked.
Pia and Blade came over. “You all good?”
“My head is harder than it looks.”
“I won’t touch that,” Blade cackled.
He grinned and almost laughed. “Ouch.”
“Serves you right,” Pia said, giving him a gentle hug.
“Looks like we’re hiking down the falls,” Holden said with a jerk of his head.
“I moved the rental with our gear closer. Let’s stock up first,” Ethan suggested.
They converged back the way they’d come to the rental vehicle and Isaac slipped on his pack filled with essentials and food, along with his bedroll.
River took a half an hour to fill in the local PD and FBI securing the scene around the house.
“Let’s move out. We only have a small amount of daylight,” River said after locking up the truck.
“Alpha team, you copy?” their Lieutenant said through the mic.
“Copy, River,” Maddox replied.
“We are heading your way.”
“Isaac, you good?” Maddox’s voice sounded worried.
“Yeah, I’m good.” He leveled his gaze and squinted at River, daring him to say otherwise. River rolled his eyes.
“We’re over an hour ahead of you,” Maddox said.
“We’ll get there as fast as we can,” River responded.
“What was in the house?” Isaac jerked his thumb toward the falling down structure.
“A family of drug dealers recently rented the place last week.
