Eric was a commander of the doveish sort, unlike the hawks who pushed for the most radical option at every turn. That temperament of his shaped everything about his command style.
His first instinct was clear, it told him to order Bravo Team to pull back. Not to smash head-on into General Lionheart’s forces.
So what if they failed to seize Samir this time? The man had been a ghost for over two decades. Missing him for a few more days hardly mattered.
But if Bravo Team suffered casualties, if even one of his men fell here, there would be no “next time.”
Eric hesitated. A clean retreat would save lives, but it would also etch a scar into Bravo Team’s record. They had never once failed a mission. To abandon one now meant surrendering that honor.
For soldiers, honor was not a trinket. It was something most of them valued even more than their own lives.
And Eric knew Jason. If he forced a retreat order on the man, their tight working relationship would shatter. A crack would form between commander and operator, one that could never be healed.
Ten long seconds of silence passed in the command center. Then Eric made his decision.
He would respect Bravo Team’s decision.
That was the SEAL way, grant the operators space, let initiative flourish at the bottom level. It was what they were best known for.
“Helo 2, this is Command. You are cleared to RTB immediately.”
“Helo 1, you’ll extract the package. You have three minutes to evacuate.”
The two pilots responded in turn.
“Helo 2 copies, beginning return flight.”
“Helo 1 copies, moving to the extraction point.”
Then, Eric switched over to Bravo Team’s channel.
“Bravo 1, this is Command. Listen carefully. Helo 2 has suffered a mechanical failure and is returning to base. Helo 2 will not be there for you, and Helo 1 cannot carry your full team.
“Lionheart’s forces are already moving, estimated time of arrival at your building is three minutes.
“My recommendation is to abandon the pursuit of Samir. Leave the building, exfil on foot, and do your best to avoid engagement with General Lionheart’s troops.
“But if you choose to continue… I’ll back your decision.”
Deep inside the underground tunnel, Cerberus froze at a junction. The Belgian Malinois sat on the floor, muscles coiled, eyes locked on to the darkness ahead.
That posture meant one thing, it had spotted its target.
Jason’s heartrate quickened. Samir was there, so close he could almost feel the man’s breath. One turn, a few more steps, and the man that had evaded them for over 20 years would be his.
But Eric’s voice crackled in his earpiece at that very moment.
Jason’s brow furrowed as he heard what he said. One helicopter gone, forced back to base. Extraction compromised.
When the update came that Lionheart’s troops were already on the move, just three minutes out, Jason’s sense of triumph froze in his chest. The cold reality doused him like a bucket of ice water.
He knew the math. Capturing Samir and making a clean exit in three minutes was impossible.
But Samir was right there. To walk away now, when one more step would bring him face-to-face with the man, was unthinkable.
Bravo Team was Red Squadron’s ace. They had never tasted defeat. For Jason, surrendering at this moment would mean living with a stain he could never wash away.
Even if command promised that there would be no punishment, even if retreating would not stain his resume, Jason could not accept it.
He hadn’t clawed his way to this position by being timid.
“Bravo 1 copies,” he finally answered, voice sharp. “We have located Samir and are moving in to capture the target. We’ll retreat to the southeast, requesting reinforcement to meet us on the way.”
Then he chopped his hand forward, signaling the team forward. The men surged behind him toward Cerberus’s corner.
Sonny and Trent had not heard command’s words, but Jason’s mention of a ground withdrawal told them plenty. Years of counter-terrorism combat experience filled in the rest.
Pulling out on foot through a garrison town built like a fortress? The risk was sky-high, their faces hardened as the weight of it sank in.
The tunnel air thickened, charged with the pressure of what was coming.
Jason’s choice was clear. For the honor of Bravo Team, he would gamble everything. The plan was clear now, capture Samir, then fight their way out.
On the rooftop above, Long Zhan and Brock still knew nothing of the storm that was brewing below them.
They saw only the approaching helicopter and moved to complete their assigned task, getting Ms. Marshall onto the helicopter.
The roof’s space was too tight to land. The helo hovered above them, dropping a swaying rope ladder down into the wind.
Marshall tried to go first, but the journalist had been imprisoned for too long, her strength zapped away. The surge of emotion at her rescue left her trembling, exhausted. The ladder swung wildly, almost like it was a living thing, only adding to the difficulty for Ms. Marshall.
In the end, after a few attempts, she failed to climb up.
There was no other choice.
Long Zhan crouched and slid her onto his back. Her legs locked around his waist, arms tight around his neck, she almost looked like a koala.
He successfully carried Ms. Marshall up the ladder and placed her down in the helicopter cabin.
An operator from Alpha Team braced at the hatch, hauling Marshall inside. He leaned out, shouting down to Brock over the sound of the blades, “come on, man! Time’s almost up!”
The words froze Long Zhan in place.
He had already noticed one helicopter peel away earlier, a detail that gnawed at him, and now this.
He slapped the operator’s shoulder, bellowing above the noise, “what do you mean time’s almost up? Our people are still down there!”The noise of the helicopter propellers was too loud. Even with noise-canceling headsets, it was impossible to hear each other without shouting.
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