Tehran wasn’t half bad. It sure as shit wasn’t what I had expected it to be like when I’d first deployed. Imagine the surprise of that bright-eyed, bushy-tailed kid straight out of BUD/S training when we landed, not in some war-torn shithole but in a thriving modern city.
As a country, Iran was actually surprisingly easy on the eyes. Snow-capped mountain peaks rose above the city in the distance. The house in front of me had to be some kind of architectural wonder, and giant old trees lined the streets outside.
The people were pretty cool, too. I even had a suit guy here now. I’d been coming here on missions for seven years. Obviously, I had a suit guy. I also had a tea guy. I couldn’t get enough of his stuff.
Fuckers like the one inside the modern marvel of a house, however, were the ones giving this place a bad rap. Eden and I were camped out on his street, miles away from the next nearest neighbor.
The man lived up in the hills in a nice part of town. Due to years of conflict and hardship, many Iranian citizens would never even see this part of their own city.
Dawn had broken about an hour ago, and the air still had that quiet quality to it. It was that part of the day before traffic really started up and people piled into the street.
Too bad the quiet in the neighborhood was about to get broken in the worst way possible.
Because despite the serene swaying of the treetops in the breeze and the peaceful atmosphere, the man who lived in the house was a terrorist. A real, live terrorist who was currently holding seven American hostages.
Eden lifted a pair of sleek black binoculars to his eyes. “The target is on the move. I repeat, the target is on the move.”
Our lieutenant’s voice rang out into the speaker lodged in my ear. “Wait for my command. Don’t move forward until I say so.”
“Yes, sir,” Eden murmured. “I’ve still got a clear view of the hostages. All appear to be unharmed.”
“Let’s keep it that way,” the lieutenant commanded. “Wait for my order, boys. Don’t move in yet.”
My hands clenched around the magazine of my gun in frustration. Those poor people had been with that lunatic for six days now. We might not have been able to see any physical injuries from our distance away, but getting them out felt more urgent than ever.
Eden’s jaw tightened, but he gave a sharp nod at the order we’d received. “Got it, sir. We’re holding our position.”
His finger dropped away from his ear, and he let out a soft sigh. “How long do you think they’re going to make us wait?”
“It doesn’t matter. We know the plan.” I shrugged, darting a glance at him before returning my attention to the house. “As soon as there’s an opening, we’re making our move. Fuck waiting for orders. We can see what’s going on. They can’t.”
“The lieutenant isn’t going to be happy about that,” Eden mused, but he didn’t disagree. We’d met in basic training and had stuck together since.
I knew he would follow me if I went in. Orders or not.
My friend didn’t always agree with the so-called reckless side of my personality, but he trusted me. Just because I had a slight problem with authority didn’t mean I made wrong calls on the battlefield.
Eden scraped his palm over the white-blond stubble on his jaw. He squinted into his binoculars before his spine shot ramrod straight. “Were you serious? The target just left the room where the hostages are. This could be our window.”
I tapped the earpiece. “Lieutenant? The eagle has left the nest. The eggs have been left unprotected.”
Our sour stickler-for-the-rules leader hated my colorful ways of reporting back, but he’d understand the message.
“Copy that,” he barked, the expected hint of irritation in his voice. Other than that, the radio remained silent. No order to go ahead followed.
“Keep your eyes on the target,” I instructed Eden. “Where’s he going?”
Moving his head slightly as he tracked our guy, he suddenly grinned. “It looks like he’s headed to the back garden. He’s on the phone.”
I mentally ran through the floor plans we’d committed to memory on the way here. “Any other baddies in there?”
“Not in our path,” he replied, not needing me to verbalize where my mind had gone. “There’s one patrolling. He might intersect with us.”
“Might is a hell of a lot better than will.” I flicked the safety off