possibility. Somehow the situation had escalated in the past twenty-four hours. They’d gotten intelligence on the location in the mountains, a second video of Kim had been released to the world, and they’d all seen the body of the blonde American woman.
“All right,” Blake said as he jogged over. “I talked to the commander briefly. They moved her again earlier today, but we’ve got the new coordinates. We’ll fly to Bagram Airfield, briefly meet with the general there, and then move in.”
Troy blew out a sigh. “I feel like we’ve done this shitshow before.”
Blake narrowed his gaze. “We did when we were tracking Sayed, but this is different. Personal. That terror cell has been fractured. They have new leadership in place, but we have new intelligence.” He lowered his voice. “Aside from the sat imagery, we’ve got HUMINT.”
“Sources,” Ethan muttered. Human intelligence, or HUMINT, meant they had an informant on the ground. No doubt that was the only way they’d received solid intel on where Kimberly was held. It was difficult to track movement through the mountains. It wasn’t exactly the same as a caravan of cars crossing the desert that satellite imagery or drones could easily pick up.
“I’ll pull up the imagery when we’re in the air again. We would’ve seen the movement, but some of the insurgents moved out early this morning. They came down the mountain to waiting vehicles.”
“Shit. And we’re sure they didn’t take Kimberly with them?” Grayson asked as he walked over.
“Positive. The source says they’re planning to make another video. They won’t move her yet; they’re just moving from one location to the next in the mountains to avoid detection.”
“How far from Bagram?” Ethan asked.
No doubt after they landed, they’d climb into a convoy and head out if it were close enough. Otherwise, they’d helicopter to a drop point. They’d need to sneak in undetected so no further harm came to the hostage.
“An hour to the drop point. We’ll check in with the general, but I expect to move in at nightfall. The Pentagon doesn’t want to hold off on this mission.”
“No shit,” Grayson muttered. “Look what happened to the other woman.”
“And we have no updates on her condition?” Troy asked.
Logan and Jackson walked over to join their teammates, each looking as eager to head out as Ethan felt. All of them had been in Bagram at the time of the explosion two months ago. Had Kimberly been kidnapped right before their eyes? They’d rushed to the gate after the suicide bombing and then headed to the woman’s housing after the second explosion. Grayson had run in and saved Hailey, and the rest of the men had helped the injured women.
Kimberly had been taken at some point that evening.
Had she been wandering around, hurt, while they were literally outside? And who the hell was the person who’d taken her? A traitor? Someone who’d snuck in after the suicide bombing? There were plenty of loose ends, and Ethan didn’t like any of it.
“Negative,” Blake said. “The source says she’s in good health, but that’s subjective of course. She was talking on the video and not in any obvious pain, but she did appear somewhat pale. She’s likely weak from not enough food and exhausted.”
“Not to mention scared out of her mind,” Ethan muttered. “We have no idea what shape she’ll be in—mentally or physically—when we get there.”
Jackson cursed. “We’ll get her. Those bastards have held her for two months. There’s no way she’s spending another night in captivity.”
“Damn straight we’ll get her,” Blake agreed.
Jackson looked to their team leader. “And what about the body of the other woman? Are we to retrieve it?”
Blake clenched his jaw. “Yes, if we see her,” he said grimly. “Our priority is getting Kimberly Turner out alive though.”
“Understood.”
Blake glanced down at his watch. “We’re leaving in fifteen minutes. Hit the head or do whatever you need to. We’ve got work to do.”
“Let’s get those bastards,” Ethan said.
“Hoorah!” Logan whooped, and then the men got moving. Nothing would stop them from completing this mission. Nothing.
Chapter 4
Kimberly was dead on her feet by the time they’d finished walking. Although she’d grown used to the long treks and was thankful she had socks and combat boots, her body was exhausted. They’d only given her the flatbread earlier. She didn’t have nearly enough calories for the amount of exertion her body had been put through.
She practically cried with relief when they reached another group of men at nightfall. She didn’t enjoy being with a