Instinct: A Chess Team Adventure - By Jeremy Robinson Page 0,54
it’s Plan B. I want to be ready the moment we catch wind of Brugada spreading. Worldwide genocide is not something I am willing to risk, even if it makes me unpopular. I want our forces in the region on high alert and ready to go at a moment’s notice, just in case.”
“I’ll see to it,” Keasling said before closing the connection.
Duncan turned to Boucher. “Dom, you’re a spook. Find out who our White House snitch is and fire them, Trump style.”
Boucher nodded. “Gladly. But . . .” He raised his eyebrows, further wrinkling his age-etched forehead. “Tom, just curious, what is Plan A?”
Duncan grinned. “If you need something done right . . .”
TWENTY-FOUR
Annamite Mountains—Vietnam
THOUGH ALL OF his instincts told him to rush in, guns blazing, King held back. Jumping into a fight half cocked always got someone killed. With odds stacked to alpine heights against them, success would come only with a solid plan. Communicating through their throat microphones, Queen and King split up and encircled the VPLA camp they’d found.
Twenty large, olive green tents arranged in a squared formation revealed a sizable force, yet few were present in the camp. The VPLA had cleared the area of brush and scrub but had left the tall trees unscathed. Far from being environmentalists, they were well aware that the trees’ thick canopy provided cover from prying eyes in orbit. They were invisible to the world here in the jungle, free to do whatever they pleased, without consequence.
Not today, King thought as he crouched behind the exposed roots of a moss-covered tree, watching the men in the camp and assessing the situation. The two Death Volunteers carrying Sara set her down in the center of the camp and were greeted by three others. None seemed to carry any kind of authority or rank, which was strange, but he could not hear or see another living thing inside the camp. Unguarded and lax, the site would make easy picking. Even the men who’d taken Sara seemed at ease—like they knew he and Queen had been killed in the tunnel.
“Queen,” King whispered into his throat mic. “What’s your take?”
Queen looked down from the canopy. She’d shimmied up a tree far from camp and then made her way through the twisting branches of the canopy. It was like another world in the canopy, like a second layer of jungle through which movement was almost as easy as it was on the ground. Concealed by overlapping layers of large leaves, Queen watched without fear of being spotted.
“I count five,” Queen said. “Nobody else is home. Might be our best chance.”
King knew she was right, but couldn’t shake the feeling that something looked off. The men were too relaxed, too sure of themselves. The VPLA might be special forces, but they weren’t Delta, and you’d never find a Delta operator looking so relaxed when enemies were on their doorstep.
King looked at the outbreak meter on his wrist. He’d all but forgotten the thing. It demanded his attention now. Three of five bars were full. The third was orange. Something in the world had changed. Something bad.
Time was running out.
The five VPLA men laughed, snapping King’s attention back to them. Though he couldn’t understand a word, he could tell the men were telling jokes. All the while, Sara’s unconscious form lay still at their feet. One of the men rolled her onto her back with his boot. She lay propped up on her backpack looking as though she’d fallen asleep tanning by the pool. The man who pushed her over knelt down next to her. His hand gestures and laughs told King all he needed to know about what would take place next.
“I’m moving now, Queen,” King said. “Cover my ass, but only fire if you need to.”
King moved toward the camp, crouching low behind the brush that clung to the outer fringe of the site. He came in low behind one of the long green tents. The men standing had their backs to him, blocking the view of the man kneeling down next to Sara. As the man undid Sara’s backpack straps and protective vest, all eyes were on her.
As King came within twenty feet of the men, Queen’s voice filled his ear. “King, I don’t like this. It’s too damn fishy. Shred them, grab her, and get the hell out.”
King agreed, but wanted to get as close to his targets as possible. He didn’t want to