Heard a hell of a lot about him though.”
“He’s badass,” Jacob said with a chuckle. “One scary mother fucker.”
Ryker’s headset crackled, and then a deep voice spoke. “This is Raptor. We’re en route, approaching base right now. ETA is one minute.”
“Roger that,” Hunter said over the headsets. “The Delta team is ready and waiting. We’ll quickly convene for a SITREP, and then it’s go time.”
“Roger. Over and out,” Raptor said.
Ryker grabbed his weapon and stood with the other men, watching as two helicopters landed and the Coronado team jumped out. They jogged over to the small command center. A tall SEAL with dark stubble across his jaw lead the way in, his dark gaze sweeping around the room as he instantly took everything in.
“Welcome fellas,” Hunter said. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Hunter ‘Hook’ Murdock. These are my guys on the Delta team based out of Little Creek,” he said, briefly introducing the men.
Raptor nodded. “I’m Blake Reynolds,” he said, nodding at them, “but you can call me Raptor. Jacob and I already know one another. This is my team,” he said, calling out each of the guys standing behind him.
Ryker’s gaze slid over the other men. Troy “T-Rex” Harrison looked vaguely familiar, and he wondered if they’d gone through BUD/S around the same time. This was no time to journey down fucking memory lane though. They had an op to run. A woman to save.
“The woman being held is a special agent with State,” Raptor said.
“Affirmative,” Hunter replied. “She’s highly trained and could probably hold her own in other circumstances. We don’t know her condition though or if she’s even capable of walking out on her own.”
“Understood,” Raptor said. “We’ll move in for rescue and retrieval.”
“It’s unknown how many insurgents are at the compound. We’ve got a rough count of people, but some are believed to be women and children.”
“Fucking hell,” Troy said, his green eyes blazing. He had light stubble across his jaw, but Ryker couldn’t see his hair beneath the helmet. He was probably blond, not to mention tan, like a typical California boy. Typical save for the murderous look on his face and thick muscles to rival any of the men on the SEAL team.
The Alpha SEALs from Coronado may be used to life on the west coast, but they were just as deadly and highly trained as the men based in Little Creek.
“We don’t know if the women are being held against their will,” Hunter continued. “Some are the wives of the leader—they might not take well to us breaching the compound. We have to treat everyone like a potential threat.”
“It’s not like they have a goddamn choice in the matter,” Raptor said, his eyes blazing.
“Everybody understand where you’ll go once we land?” Hunter asked.
There were several grunts of affirmation and “Hoorahs” from the men.
Hunter nodded. “Comm channels are open. We’ll keep each other apprised of all updates as we search the compound for the missing American. Let’s move out!”
Ryker and his team jogged to one of the waiting helos, jumping on board. He and the other men crouched down, readying for liftoff. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and he clenched his jaw, ready and alert. Nothing like the beginning of an op to make a man feel like he could take on the entire world.
The chopper began to lift off the ground, and then they were flying toward the compound under the cover of night.
He looked out at the terrain below using his night vision goggles before glancing around at the other men. They were fully decked out in their gear, ready to charge in, weapons blazing. Hopefully they didn’t scare the hell out of the hostage when they burst into the compound, but she had to be used to military if she’d been at the U.S. base in Afghanistan.
Hunter’s voice came over his headset. “ETA is five minutes. SITREP?”
Noah responded. “Aerial surveillance still shows minimal movement. One lone guard was patrolling the interior perimeter of the compound.”
“Let’s hope everyone is all tucked in for the night,” Hunter quipped.
There was no movement at the compound as they approached, and then they were jumping out of the helicopters and moving forward. Ryker and Noah headed to their respective vantage points to watch the compound through the scopes of their weapons. The other men on both teams ran off in different directions.
A voice came over his headset. “All quiet on the south side,” Raptor said. “My team is moving into position.”
“Roger that,”