MB AT O P S
didn’t give you orders to upset the balance.”
“Balance?”
“Yeah. You might think this doesn’t work, but topeople, it ain’t half bad.”smirked, slammed the door, and walked on towardgate. The mine-sweeping team was just coming in as, and I asked a lieutenant at the Hummer’s wheelthey’d made out.skinny redhead wiped a bead of sweat from hisand answered, “Looked clear to us.”
“Hey, can you do me a favor and sweep the original?”
“You mean where we were supposed to drill?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but I haven’t received orders or autho-to do that.”
“Yeah, but it wouldn’t take long, right? Thirty min-? I mean you’re all loaded up already.”grinned slyly. “You think those bastards are hid-something out there, don’t you?”
“I know they are.”
“I’m surprised Captain Harruck didn’t ask us toit.”
“That hottie Anderson is keeping him real busy,” I said.
“Oh, yeah, she’s hot.”
“Australian accent. What an ass on her, too.”was talking his talk. He wriggled his brows. “Tell you, we’ll give it a quick look. I’m sure the CO would
GH OS T RE CONus check it out eventually.” He threw his truck in, backed out, and started away from the gate., I thought. I didn’t think he’d go for it. Now Icommitted to the plan.watched them leave, then hurried back to our billet,inside, the guys were doing the usual: reading,computer games on their iPods, cleaning weap-, and/or creating battle profiles for our Cross-Coms,Nolan truly enjoyed. We always killed morethan enemy insurgents. So it was in the Army. Hurryand wait.and Warris were seated at the small confer-table near the door, and Ramirez gave me a souras I entered. “What’s up?”
“Sir, just had a nice, long talk with Captain Warris.he’s in charge now.”
“Say again?”
“That’s not exactly true,” said Warris.quickly said, “Gordon told me you’re our new—”
“Liaison officer?” Warris finished. “Yeah, well, thatthe initial thought. They say they won’t relieve youcommand, Mitchell, but I’ve been told that anythingeverything you do must be screened through me, and at that point I’ll bring it up with Harruck. I’m. I know how this is. But they were emphatic.”
“Outside,” I snapped.
“Excuse me?”
“I said, out... side... do you read me?”
“Whoa. You’d better check the registry.”
“Not now, son.”
MB AT O P S
opened the door and waited for the punk I had, the punk who thought he was replacing me, tooutside, where we could talk away from my boys.I’d just learned that my father was in a coma, thatchances of capturing my target were next to nil, andsome kid with barely two combat tours under hiswas going to “oversee” my operation. I guess I’mto rationalize or justify what I did next., my hand itched with the desire to reach for myand put it to Warris’s head—just to teach thebastard a lesson. And my other hand shook withdesire to strangle him until he was blue and his eyesback in his head.’t it just yesterday that I was standing there withas his evaluator during the training exercise we’dcompleted?’d been playing the role of a tribal chief and he’dmy character and how I might behave in theof battle. Sure, I threw him a few surprises, but hehave been ready for them, and he was not., he’d screwed up big-time and I’d chewedout, but he’d been humble and had never ques-my authority. I hadn’t known his true feelingsthat experience and the aftermath... until now.
“Mitchell, don’t think you can throw your weightlike you did back at the school. Those days are,” he began. “You were the wise old man back there,over here, it’s a whole different ball of wax. Olddoesn’t work anymore. We might be Ghosts, butstill have to learn, adapt, and overcome.”
GH OS T RE CONsmiled. “So you’re an asshole, too?”eyes widened. “I could write you up for that.”grin darkened. “Listen, kid, if you think I’mto ask your permission for anything I do here—”explosion came from the other side of the wall,I knew in the next breath who was involved: thesweeping team. Had they found a mine? Were theyattack?imagination raced through fragmented images offilled sand fountaining into the air and humantumbling end over end...pointed a finger at Warris, about to say something,just sprinted away toward the rear wall, where awould take me up to the machine gun nest. FromI’d have a clear view of the field.report of automatic weapons echoed the firstimmediately, and it sounded like an all-out gunby the time I mounted the ladder.the time I neared the gunner’s nest, the two guyswere already firing, one on the fifty, the other onrifle. Two trucks had driven out to the field to joinminesweepers’ Hummer, and about twenty Talibanhad jumped out and were firing from behind their.more guys were firing from the foothills, at leastmore strung out along a broad reef of stone, muzzles.were only five guys out there, huddled aroundHummer and being surrounded by four times asTaliban.
MB AT O P S
RPG whooshed from behind one of the Talibanand struck the Hummer, exploding inside the cabsending the fireball skyward.
“Get off that gun,” I screamed to the kid manning the. I shoved him out of the way and began directing fire, first on one Taliban truck, then on the other. Mydrove the Taliban away toward a ditch behind their, tracers gleaming, big rounds thumping hard into, glass, plastic, and sending sparks and then gasolineonto the sand.another two heartbeats, both trucks caught fire,the Taliban now ran toward the foothills. Between methe guy on his rifle, we cut down five guys makingbreak.was shouting my name, and when I glanced, I saw Ramirez in a Hummer with the rest of the, including Warris, whose expression seemed neu-. I came back down the ladder and hopped in the. Ramirez floored it, and we rushed past the opengate and hightailed it toward the field, along withother Hummers carrying a pair of rifle squads.took sporadic small-arms fire from the hills for a, but the rifle squads returned fire and suppressedguys. We parked behind the burning trucks for, then charged out and raced toward the mine-team.guys were there, every one of them on the ground.rushed over to the lieutenant I’d spoken to at the gate.’d been shot in the neck and the arm and was bleed-badly. “Nolan!” I screamed.
GH OS T RE CONmedic rushed over while guys from the riflewent to assist the other fallen sweepers.
“It’s right next to our truck.” The lieutenant gasped.
“Right there.”
“GET BACK! GET BACK!” Ramirez screamed.turned my head.it all unfolded in a weird slow motion that peo-describe during traumatic events. Sometimes theythey felt “outside themselves,” as though swimmingan ether while watching the event from far, far away.pointed to the ground, where an insurgentjust rolled over. He’d been shot up badly but wasa vest of explosives with a detonator clutched inright hand.’d been waiting for us to get close.’ve always wondered what would’ve happened ifhad been within the blast radius. How might theof the story have played out?Warris was back near our truck, calling it all in,talking to Harruck, when I turned and lunged, toward him, along with the rest of our group.hit the ground near the Hummer’s right front tire,once on my elbows, and the deafening burstbehind me, followed a half second later bysand and shrapnel pinging all over the truck.ringing, pulse racing, drool spilling out of my, I rolled, then pushed up on my hands and kneesthe fire and smoke mushroomed above us.were screaming, but no noise came from their. I took a few seconds to search out each of my
MB AT O P S
, and I found them all except for Beasley, who wasnear one of the other Hummers. I rose and stag-over to him.was missing a leg, an arm... the side of his face.turned away and gagged.few of the others gathered around me, and NolanBrown dropped to their knees.more pickup trucks were racing across the desert, heading toward us from the village. I shielded myfrom the glare and saw Kundi in the passenger seatone vehicle and the water man, Burki, at the wheel.arms and legs were stinging because I’d takenminor hits, but I was still too shocked to even lookthe wounds. With the fires raging all around us, Iaround the trucks to where I spotted a shovelin the sand. The lieutenant had found somethingright, and one of his guys had begun digging.knew that once Kundi arrived—and no doubt Har-would, too—it’d all be over, so whatever the villag-or the Taliban had buried out there needed to be—immediately.’d just lost a guy, and I’d be damned if it was for. I seized the shovel and began digging like a, sand arcing through the air, while Ramirezover to me, wanted to know what I was doing.
“Grab the other shovel! Dig now! Dig!”
“Matt’s gone! He’s dead!”
“I know. Dig!” I cursed at him, kept digging, goinganother two feet when my shovel hit something. Ito my hands and knees, dug around with my
GH OS T RE CON, found wood. Maybe a hatch. “Got something!me out!”gaze was torn between clearing away more dirtthe approaching vehicles.now came the heavily armed and armored Hum-carrying Harruck himself, streaking across the sand.found the edge of the hatch, a rope pull, and tuggedit. Nothing. Just a creak. Still too much sand holdingdown.leaned over and began clearing sand withhands, and within thirty seconds we began to pullthe wood. It finally gave and we came up with it: apiece of plywood about three feet by four.dirt poured down into the hole, sunlight revealedwooden ladder and a chamber at least two meters deep.stole one more look at the pickup trucks and Harruck’s, then descended the ladder. I turned around and inshadows saw that the chamber extended another twothree meters to my left and was filled with cardboardand crates., it wasn’t some Afghan wine cellar, that was for, and what I’d uncovered was both significant and. A creak from the ladder drew my gaze, andreached the bottom, turned, and let his gazepast me.man I didn’t recognize reached the bottomthe ladder. He was middle-aged, had a thick mus-, and wore a green uniform with red insignia onshoulders: AFGHAN NATIONAL POLICE.
“It’s all American,” I said, my voice cracking. “Probably
MB AT O P S
hundred rifles or more. Thousands of rounds of ammo., gas masks... all stuff that was meant for thearmy and the police.”
“I agree,” said the man in uniform. He looked at me.
“I am Shafiq, the new police chief here in Senjaray.”spun around, his eyes now glassy, his cheeksred. “Mitchell, get your people back to the base.’ll take over from here. I’ll work this out with Cap-Warris.”
“Yes, sir.”blinked hard, coughed, then looked at me, asto say, No argument?then, as I ascended the ladder, he threw a verbalthat I could not ignore: “I’ll find out why thewere here, Mitchell.”
“Look around. Kundi’s been letting the Taliban store. They figured we wouldn’t look here, right outthe open—unless of course we wanted to drill a well.that’s why the old man got so bent out of shape. Heprotecting his little cache here.”
“He is right,” said Shafiq.gave Harruck a final look and climbed out, where Ifor my men to rally back on our Hummer.had already removed a body bag from the truck,he and Ramirez had just finished zipping up Beas-. They carried his body to the flatbed and eased it.fires were still whipping in the breeze behind us,scene now like an anthill that had been disturbed.was out near the hole, throwing his hands in the
GH OS T RE CON, along with Burki, as Warris, Harruck, and the newchief faced them.turned away from the group and looked at me,for just a moment, I thought he longed to be in my, not having to deal with any of the crap.then, suddenly, he waved me over.looked over my shoulder, then back to him. Me?nodded.turned around and cried, “Mitchell? Weyou over here right now!”liked how he called me Mitchell around everyone.
“You wanna just take off?” Ramirez asked me. “Screwall. Screw all these assholes.”
“No. You guys take Beasley back. Then get to theand get everybody else checked out. If thesewant to talk to me, then they’d better strap in andready for the ride...”took a deep breath, winced over a shooting pain inleg, and marched toward them.
wanted to beat down at least three of the four men inof me. I already saw them lying unconscious and.have to give me some credit for my honesty.new police chief hadn’t earned my hatred yet.and Burki were shouting at Harruck, pointingthe ground, and then gesturing back up to the foot-.was there and came over to me. “The gunsto Kundi. He says he bought them from the Tal-.”
“Do you believe that?”
“It doesn’t matter what I believe. What matters isyou can’t take them away, but I know you will.”
GH OS T RE CONraised my chin to Harruck. “Well, he’ll have to con-them, and no one’s going to be happy about that.”
“He speaks English?” Harruck called out to me.
“Yes, he does. His name’s Shilmani. He works for.”
“Then come over here and help me translate,” said. “They’re talking way too fast for me.”
“Do you really need me here?” I asked Harruck.
“Yeah, I do,” he said.us, the rifle squads had finished up with their, and the pickup trucks and Hummer weresmoldering. I’d grown far too used to the stench ofrubber.Harruck went back over to Kundi and the water, with a tense Shilmani forced to go along, I pulledaside. “Now, where were we? Oh, yeah, I was tell-you that if you think I’m going to filter my plansyou, you’re dreaming. Okay?”
“Looks like you’ve got some good plans here, too.off the locals. Got a whole sweeper team killed,of your own guys killed.” He gasped. “All right,was too far. Sorry...”
“Wow, when did you grow a pair?”puffed air. “The situation has changed. Theyme in here to clean up an old man’s mess. I’mit. I resent you for putting me in this situation.every time I set eyes on you it’s an instant replay ofass-chewing you gave me back at Robin Sage. I stillabout it to this day.”balled my hand into a fist and drew it back.
MB AT O P S
sensed it coming. “Do it. Do us both a favor.”
“Mitchell?” cried Harruck.kept calling me by name in front of everyone, butwas I to argue at that point? They were going toit all on me anyway. I staggered over there like aand didn’t realize I was favoring one leg untilpain needled up the hip and into my spine.
“Why were the minesweepers out here?”played dumb. “Uh, you told me you were going toout.”
“They had specific orders to sweep the other part offield.”
“Wish I could help you.”
“No, you don’t.”stood there, my gaze traveling a thousand miles.
“Scott?”finally looked at him. “What?”
“I want an answer.”
“I don’t know why the sweepers were here. And Iyou can’t ask them. Maybe they got lost. Or maybewanted to check out this side of the field, too. Who...”
“You sent them here, didn’t you?”
“Guys, let’s get this under control,” said Warris.looked at him, cursed, then told him to shuthell up.recoiled, stunned.
“I need to be with my men,” I said, my tone growingmore sarcastic.
GH OS T RE CON
“And I need an answer,” snapped Harruck.
“All right, let’s cut to the chase, then,” I said. “I gotfour-star behind me and my mission. And I was per-within my mission’s envelope when I ordered thesearched. I was defending my perimeter and pro-my men. The problem here is mission conflict.three of us are doing exactly what we should be—which is why we’ve got a problem.”
“Why didn’t you notify me of what you did?” Har-asked.
“I would have... eventually.”gave a slight snort. “Well, I got the entire UnitedArmy supporting my mission, Scott. And it willprecedence.”drifted over to me and raised his finger. “Youwith Bronco. You talked to my father. You knowright thing to do now. These weapons belong to us.’t let anyone take them.”
“What’s he talking about?” Harruck asked.
“I don’t know. They smoke a lot of opium here. Theythings.”
“This isn’t over, Scott. It’s just begun.”winced in pain. The leg again. “I hear you.”
“I’ll get with you later,” said Harruck.
“So will I,” Warris added.made a face. “I’ll be at the hospital if you need me.”took a detour before getting treated. I went back to thecenter and called Gordon. I updated him and asked
MB AT O P S
anything he could dig up about Bronco and any con-the spook might have to Zahed and the technol-industry. “I think he has something to do with theknocking out our Cross-Coms—if it’s EMP at all.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, and oh, yeah, Warris tells me he’s in com-.”’s expression turned guilty. “Not exactly.”
“Good, then I’m exactlyin command. Does thatsense to you, sir? Two officers, one in command,other not exactly in command?”
“Mitchell, we knew how difficult this job could. That’s why we picked you for it. And you’re theguy on earth I thought would be bothered by the. Everyone’s a bad guy there.”
“Even me?”nearly smiled. “Even you.”
“And you still believe that Zahed is the target and Ito capture or kill him?”
“Absolutely. Without any doubt.”
“And what will that change?”
“Say again?”’d heard me. He couldn’t believe I was asking. Imy tone. “Sir, I asked what will capturing orZahed change?”
“Yours is not to question why but to do or die, sol-.”
“Well, if we get him, then that’s one less terrorist, right? Oh, I forgot, we don’t have confirmationhe’s actually a terrorist.”
GH OS T RE CON
“He’s scum. You said so yourself.”
“I did. But frankly, sir, there are too many peopleto undermine my mission. I’m losing confiin my ability to complete it and I’m concernedour contribution to the overall effort here.”
“What the hell is that?” he cried. “The Ghosts fear no! Don’t throw that crap at me. You will complete your—but if you’re telling me right now you want, I’ll relieve you on the spot and give it to Warris.”
“He’s a yes man for Harruck, so you won’t get jack ifgive it to him. He’s not playing for us anymore, sir.got to him.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack, sir. And now I’m supposed to gohim before making a move. I’m letting youright now that I can’t do that.”
“I understand. Unless your OPORDER changes, youon target, all right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Any more news about your dad?”told him about my conversation with my sister. Wewaiting to hear more.of my guys picked up minor wounds, as I did, anddoctor was able to remove the pieces of shrapnelmy legs and stitch me up. He’d asked about theon my chest, as I suspected he would.I said was that I’d been serving in the Philippinesbeen stabbed with a very interesting sword shaped
MB AT O P S
a Chinese character. The weapon was now restingin a glass case at an old friend’s house.all these years, the scar still itched. And I couldsee Fang Zhi’s eyes as he’d thrust the blade into me.was just a kid back then. And the missions seemedclear. Ironically, Fang Zhi had questioned hiscommanders’ orders and become torn over his dutythe lives of the men in his charge. Though I don’tkilling him, I better understood his position aftertime in Afghanistan.in our billet, most of the guys were sitting on their, staring blankly or rubbing the corners of theirand trying not to lose it. We’d been a closely knitfor the past two years. We’d lost a family member.
“We need to get out there tonight and get some,”Ramirez, just after I entered. “They need to pay forMatt.”response was natural, rudimentary, entirely, and I felt the same—despite its sounding like ajerk reaction of less experienced soldiers., Nolan, and Brown began nodding. Treehornthem. Jenkins, the biggest, most intimidatingon the team, started crying. Smith, who was near, offered a few words of encouragement.Sergeant Matt Beasley had hailed from, had tooled around the ’hood in a Harley Sport-, and was a latchkey kid who’d made a name for him-in the Army. I don’t expect my words to do him
GH OS T RE CON, and you’ll never know him the way we did, butneed to understand how important he was to us.recent months Ramirez had become more of myhand man, but Beasley had been the first guy toout, had treated me with respect and had welcomedinto his fold. NCOs could make or break you, andof my success was due to his experience and guid-. We always had Alpha and Bravo teams, with Charliebeing our “one-man” sniper operation, and Beasleyled Bravo for me. I never once doubted his abilitiesknew that if I was ever injured or incapacitated, mywere in his more-than-capable hands.could tell myself that if I hadn’t sent the mine-out there, then Matt would still be alive. But I’t have made that decision. I would have sentno matter the risk. Of course, I’d seen a lot of guysin combat—and a lot of guys die just getting blownwhile they were on their way to the latrine. Some-I took the blame and just buried it. But I’d beenwith Matt for a long time, and though I’t help but feel the guilt, I could already hear himme not to worry about it. Sorry, Matt, that’s eas-said than done.guys, no doubt, wanted payback. So did I. Andjust against the Taliban.I could speak, a big Chinook rumbled over-, shaking the hut with its twin rotors.
“That was fast,” said Ramirez, his gaze shooting upthe ceiling.
“Well, that might not be our bird,” I said. He was
MB AT O P S
to our having Beasley’s body shipped back to.nodded. “So, are we game on for tonight?”raised a palm. “Take it easy. I’ve got no actionable.”
“They’ve been poking around, trying to feel out ourdefenses in the defile,” said Treehorn. “There arefoothills in the back with a couple of tunnel—or at least they looked like entrances fromI was at.”door swung open, and in walked Captain Warris.one spoke.
“Guys, I’m deeply sorry about the death of MasterBeasley. I just wanted you to know that. Iyou to know that I’m a Ghost, too. I’m on this. Not anyone else’s...”raised his hand. “Sir, can we talk off the?”showed his palm. “Let me stop you there. Iknow where this is going.”glanced sidelong at him. “So do I.” There was nothe threat in my tone.
“What’s going on here, people, is a philosophical dif-between commanders that’s playing out in the, and we got stuck with the raw deal. I need to bethe loop on everything because I’m supposed tothings over between us and the CO. I don’tyour captain for being upset over what’s trans-here, but for now, we just make the best of it untilgets its head out of its ass.”
GH OS T RE CON, he was a clever bastard, all right, I thought. He’dme have it, then had softened his tone to try to winthe hearts and minds of my guys. He had no ideahe was dealing with...
“That’s right, everyone,” I said, widening my gaze on. “And as I just told you, we have no actionableat this time, so we’ll continue in our holding. Meanwhile, I’ll be in close touch with the colo-to see if they can get us something.”
“Very well,” said Warris.all stood there. You could cut the awkwardnessa bowie knife.
“Uh, yeah, one other thing,” I said. “I always bunkmy team, and this billet is full. I’m sure Harruckroom with the other officers.”snorted. “Right. I’ll work that out. And one more. Captain Harruck has decided to turn over thatcache to the local police chief. Kundi has. They’ll use those weapons to begin arming apolice force.”
“Interesting,” I said. “And where are they recruitingnew police force?”
“From the local villages,” Warris answered.
“Which includes Sangsar,” I pointed out. “Zahed’s.”
“I think it’s a good compromise, rather than simplythe weapons.”
“Before these COIN ops, this wouldn’t have hap-,” I said. “The weapons would be gone. No chancethem falling back into the enemy’s hands.”
MB AT O P S
sighed. “It is what it is.” And with that, he hur-out, the door slamming after him.three seconds after he was gone, Treehorn lookedme and said, “All right, Captain. Let’s plan this out.to rock ’n’ roll. And that fool there? He ain’tto this party.”
night after dinner I agonized over an e-mail toBeasley’s parents. I would send the message onceArmy notified them of his death. He’d never marriedwas an only child, but he stayed in close contacthis mom and dad, who still lived in Detroit. I’dletters like that before, but this one was particu-hard because of the admiration and respect I’d hadthe man and because of the growing futility—and—I felt about the mission.died for something.I must’ve told myself that a mil-times. He died while protecting his comrades. I washim for a Silver Star for distinguished gallantry inagainst an enemy. That had to be enough. But it’t. My bitterness only made me feel more guilty.
MB AT O P S
wanted to get drunk. I knew Harruck had some, but I wouldn’t go to him now. I even entertainedidea of paying Bronco a visit to see if he had any-stashed.boys were going over our gear with a fine-toothed. We were heading out for the big show. Guns would. Grenades would burst apart. Blood would spill.first chopper that’d come in had brought medi-supplies and was not scheduled to pick up Beasley’s. A second Chinook finally landed at sundown, andtransfer went off with a very brief prayer service.was there. He never met my gaze., while we prepared to saddle up, Brown cameas I was packing magazines. “Maybe this isn’t suchgood idea, sir.”
“Second thoughts?”
“Not about the mission or being short one man. It’s... we were talking while you were on the com-. No one wants to see you take any more heat.”
“Don’t worry about it. That’s part of my job descrip-. They create officers so they know who to hangthe mission goes down the toilet. I live in the fire.all do. If Zahed’s got some tunnels he’s using totroops forward so they can attack our defenses,it’s our job to find them and destroy them. It’s a no-. We’re not just out here to get payback for Matt.”
“I know. And I don’t want to piss you off, but yousaying this could all be pretty straightforward, andkeep telling us it ain’t that simple.”hardened my gaze. “Maybe we just have to open
GH OS T RE CONeyes a little more and stop convincing ourselves thatis so complex. What if it’s not? What if these peoplejust playing us all for fools? Turning us against each, so they can get what they want? Maybe... it’s asas that.”shrugged., I was trying to convince myself more than him.didn’t buy it, and really, neither did I. But we neededtrick ourselves into thinking it was good guys versusguys, especially in the hours before we committed.we started thinking about the millions of dominoesmight kick over with every move, we’d become para-.slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks for havingback. You always do.”gave a slight nod. “What’s the plan to get off the?”beamed at him. “We’re Ghosts. I think we can comewith something.”
“Yeah, we’ll figure it out.”about two A.M. we piled into a Hummer and drovefor the main gate. I had no clever plan. I justthe sentries we were relieving a security detail at thesite. I showed him the fake credentials thatus as regular Army personnel. We weren’t onguy’s list. I argued. At the sound of my first four-word, we got ushered through. It wasn’t as glam-as sneaking off the base, but it did work.
MB AT O P S
at least I’d thought it had.we left, the son-of-a-bitch guard called the XO,in turn woke up Harruck.left the truck and driver at the edge of the con-site and talked to the rifle squad posted there.told them we were on a classified operation but if theygunfire and explosions, they were welcome to join. The sergeant in charge grinned and said, “Is it bringown beer?”
“Hell, no. We supply everything.”smiled. “I like the way you guys roll.”hustled off into the desert, the sand billowing intoeyes, the sky a deep blue-black sweeping out over anight.foothills lay directly ahead, cast in deep silhou-, and I strained to see the tunnel entrances thatso fervently believed were there.the base of the first hill, with our boots digginginto the soft, dry earth, Ramirez called for a sud-halt, and then we dropped to our bellies, tucking inalong a meandering depression. Someone was.two figures.whispered into my boom mike to activate my Cross-. The hills lit up a phosphorescent green as theappeared and the unit made contact with our sat-. Within the next two seconds my entire team wasby green diamonds and blood types via theirForce Tracker chips., too, were the two men approaching, and I gave a
GH OS T RE CONsigh as I read the names. Warris had come alonga private, probably his driver.
“Ghost Team, this is Ghost Lead. Friendlies approach-. Hold fire.”
“Roger that,” said Ramirez. “But are you sure about?”grimaced over the remark, but yeah, I understoodhe felt., unbeknownst to me, was wearing a Cross-and had linked to our channel. He’d been cleverto research the access codes. He’d heard Ramirez’sand suddenly said, “Ghost Team, this is Captain. I’m coming up. And if I were you, I’d be sureholding fire.”shifted over to me, covered his boom mike,issued a curse.saw his curse and raised him two., crouched over, slipped up to the depressiondropped down beside us, with his private doing.
“Ghost Team, this is Ghost Lead. Turn off your Cross-and huddle up.”immediately complied. I didn’t want anythingat this point.
“How you doing, Scott?” my former trainee began, ashe were about to offer me a beer. I sensed, though,he was speaking through clenched teeth.
Дата добавления: 2015-09-29; просмотров: 22 | Нарушение авторских прав
| <== предыдущая лекция | | | следующая лекция ==> |