The SRT leader rushes over to me. “Agent Lobos, we can’t move in until that machine gunner is taken out of the picture!” He yells over the gunfire.
Agent Goodwin turns to the leader. “You get your boys to provide covering fire, and I’ll flip his off switch.”
He nods and heads back to his unit. His entire team opens up with their rifles drawing the fire of the machine gunner. She zeroes in her scope and inches her finger over the trigger. The rifle bucks against her shoulder and a loud crack around the valley. A red mist explodes from the gunner’s head, silencing the MG. “Target is down, Staff Sergeant. Do your thing.”
We advance using the boulders as cover. We fire and advance, closing distance with the insurgents. We fortify ourselves behind a rock formation I lean around the rock and crack off a few shots killing one of them. Goodwin lines up another shot and sends another to hell. Connor ranges his M203 and launches a grenade. The round lands on their left flank, killing two of them hidden behind a boulder. I lean out, popping off a few rounds, hitting nothing but air. A sharp crack sounds off, and an SRT member drops dead with a gaping hole in his face.
“Sniper!” Goodwin alerts. She leans out to zero in on the sniper. A round rips through her knee cap. She falls backward and clutches her knee. “Fucking goddamn it!” she cries in agony.
I drag her back behind cover. “Medic! She’s hit!”
The medic rushes over and begins going to work on her knee. I pull off my pack and place it under her head. She grabs my hand. “Ain’t this a bitch? She winces in pain as the medic cleans her wound. “Don’t you let that motherfucker escape because if I end up on a cane, I’m beating your ass with my shiny new cane if you do.”
“Well, I hate to disappoint you, but you’re not going to get the opportunity.” I rush over to the SRT leader. “Alright, guys. We can’t stay here trading shots. We need to come up with a plan before the Delacroix slips away among the chaos,” I say.
“Agent Lobos, I don’t know what the hell you want me to do. We’re pinned here. Fuck it, I’m calling in CAS.”
“Negative! My orders are to bring Delcroix in alive. So you will not call in an airstrike.” A mortar round explodes nearby, showering us with sand and body parts of the two soldiers on the left flank.
Shit, the asshole is shelling us.
“Sergeant, you stay here, and you and your men are dead. Give me Alpha team, and I will flank around with them while you guys keep ’em busy.”
RPG! Take cover!” One of the soldiers screams. The round lands right into the middle of three soldiers, blowing them into chunks.
He grits his teeth. “Motherfuckers! Men, it’s time we got our asses off the ropes and back into the fight. Pop some smoke; Alpha will go with Lobos and flank around the ridge and hit them in the rear Bravo will stay behind and keep them busy.”
The grenadier picks up his M32 and fires off six smoke rounds. Bravo and I flank around the ridge using the smokescreen as cover. Reaching the back of the hill, we keep low. I give them a hand gesture to lob some bangs into their position the six soldiers ready their flashbangs. “On my count,” I whisper. “One, two, three. Now.” We toss the grenades. The bangs explode, putting the soldiers on their knees, screaming and clutching their ears. Bravo and I rush in, slamming them to the ground slapping the Berets in zip ties. I lift one of them up and yank his ski mask off. “Special Agent Lobos. The woman who took a career in crucifying her fellow soldiers. With the skills you displayed here, you could’ve been a damn fine operative. Such a waste.”
“You’re not soldiers, Delacroix. You’re criminals, and this time the charges are gonna stick.”
He smiles and chuckles. “Yeah, like they did last time? How many times must you embarrass yourself?”
I squat down in front of him, biting my lower lip smiling. “Oh, I think they will this time. We caught you red-handed this time.” I pull out photographs with him making drugs and arms deals with the Russian Mafia along with pictures of him loading bodies with opium and meth.
His jaw tightens eyes burn with rage. “Where the hell did you get those photos?”
“Let’s just say war journalists have their uses.”
Connor storms up and slugs him in the nose. He falls over and glares at him with a goop of blood pouring from his nose. “That’s for all my comrades you killed. I hope they give you the death penalty you piece of shit!”
“Line these pricks up and call for extract.”
Chapter 23
“Lobos, Lobos! I snap back to reality and realize I’m sitting in a dirty alley like some drunk hobo. I stand up and head toward Frank. “You alright, Lobos? You didn’t get hit, did you?”
“I’m fine; it’s not my blood.”
“But seriously, are you okay?”
“Yeah, just taking a breather letting the adrenaline wear off.”
“So, what did you get out of Drake?”
“This is going to sound crazy as hell. Drake gave me a recording of Conroy confessing to giving him Scopolamine before going on missions to take out his targets.”
He cocks his head to the side. “Well, we need Drake to confirm its Conroy’s voice on the tape for the DA, and then the Judge has to allow the tape into evidence. Secondly: what the hell is Scopolamine?”
“When I was in the DEA, we ran across this drug on occasion in Latin America, specifically Colombia. This drug is not for pleasure; it’s strictly used for criminal activity. Like for example, let’s say you wanted to rob or rape someone, but you didn’t want
