As soon as everyone was over the wall, the squad swept the west side of the compound, going by the numbers. Alpha and Bravo teams leapfrogged one another, going room by room through the enormous near-castle that was the home to the cartel's second in command and head of shipping operations.
Linda knew that from this compound, fifty or more tons of cocaine alone would be processed and shipped north per year, through Mexico and then into the United States. The street value was more than she could juggle in her head.
"Cover!" Hollywood, who was her 'battle buddy' on this op, called, kicking in the door. Linda immediately tossed a flash-bang grenade, waiting for it to go off before she and Hollywood cleared the room, putting down a staggering man who was carrying a pistol in his right hand. "Clear!"
"Clear!" Linda replied, sweeping the room. Her pulse was racing in her ears, and even through the hearing protection she wore she could hear the gunfire that rattled through the entire compound.
Getting to the end of the hallway, Linda and the rest of Alpha Team went up the stairs while Atkins and Bravo Team provided cover.
Linda and Orkin led the way, and as they got to the landing a man burst out, spraying the stairwell with gunfire, screaming in Spanish so tinged with rage that even she couldn't understand the exact curse he was using.
It felt like she'd been kicked in the chest, and the pain was immediate. It'd happened before, so she knew she'd taken at least one round, but this time was different. As the impact knocked her back a step, her mind wasn't consumed with completing the objective or returning fire, her first thought was of Brutus. Of never seeing him again. Of leaving things unfinished between them.
For the first time in her career, Linda found herself not just concerned about completing the mission, but about making it home.
She and Orkin immediately returned fire, putting the gunman down. Not even breaking stride, Linda took her cover position, peering down the second floor hallway, pushing through the pain radiating from her chest.
"Move!"
It was another twenty minutes before everything was swept, and Linda and the rest of Second Squad joined up with the rest of the platoon in front of the compound.
"Alpha Team accounted for," Linda told Orkin, who relayed to Lieutenant Parker that First Squad was all present and accounted for. "What now?"
"We burn the entire compound to the ground," Agent Foster said. "We're leaving nothing for the cartel to reclaim."
Foster was in a foul mood, and Linda could understand why. She'd heard the whispers, and knew that the cartel underboss they'd been sent to kill or capture had gotten away. Apparently someone had talked, and while there'd been soldiers... the boss himself had been nowhere to be found.
"Feels like a damn shame to burn this place," Hollywood said as he and Linda dumped gasoline from the fuel depot in the first floor library.
When she looked over, he indicated the furnishings around them. "You have to admit it's a nice house."
"I'm sure you can take your second honeymoon here sometime," Linda commented wryly, grimacing slightly as the pain started to set into her chest. She was going to be sporting a bruise, that was for sure.
Hollywood noticed. "You okay?"
"I've been hit harder in martial arts practice," she lied through her teeth, chuckling. "I'll be okay, just don't ask me to do a pushup test for a week or so."
"Yeah well, I won't be so okay when Sergeant Adams learns my battle buddy got shot," Hollywood griped. "And I promised her we'd get in a lift together when we got back. You got shot, but I'm the one who's going to die."
A moment of silence passed between them before Hollywood asked quietly, "How's Brutus going to take it when he finds out you got shot?"
Linda paused, surprised by the question. "I... I don't know. I've never had to tell someone who cares about me that I got hurt on the job before."
"First time for everything," Hollywood said with unexpected gentleness. "Jess was a wreck the first time I came home with a bullet graze. Now she just asks if I kept pressure on it properly." He gave her a sideways glance. "It changes things, you know. Having someone waiting."
"Yeah," Linda admitted. "I noticed that today. When I took that hit upstairs... my first thought wasn't about the mission. It was about him." She shook her head. "Never happened before."
"Welcome to the club," Hollywood said with a small smile.
Linda laughed, knowing just how much Jess Adams cared for her brother-in-law, and how accurate Hollywood was about her reaction.
"I'll tell her on the plane that it was me and Orkin who took the stairs," Linda assured him. "Besides, if she gives you any shit, ask her to tell you the story about how Sergeant Lentz got that star-shaped scar on his left buttcheek."
"Who?"
"Her former squad leader," Linda said with a grin. "Don't tell her I said who to ask about."
They finished their preparations, and as they formed up to evacuate, smoke began to rise from the compound as fire ripped through the guts.
