“What the fuck’s that got to do with anything right now?” Confusion and fear are warring for supremacy, neither a comfortable feeling. It’s when he opens his mouth to speak again that a nasty thought pops into my head.
“Why do ask, Digit?” I ask quietly, so quietly he’d not have been able to hear me had he not been wearing a headset.
By the way Knight stiffens beside me, I’m guessing he’s had a similar thought to mine.
If it weren’t happening to me, I’d have felt sorry for Digit. I can see he’s tormented by having to be the bearer of bad tidings – which I still have no idea what they are, and now I’m not sure I want to – but it is happening to me, and instead of feeling bad for him, I just want him to say what he has to say and be done with it.
“Please answer the question, Lucky?” he asks almost as quietly.
Swearing, I do. “She said they’re headed to a resort off the coast of Bolívar – off Cartagena, to be more specific. So again I ask, why do you want to know?”
Taking a deep breath, he proceeds to drop his bombshell. “We’re being sent to an island resort off the coast of Bolívar to deal with a hostage situation.”
To be fair, the man is ashen as he delivers his blow, but I’m unable to worry about his as my world tilts alarmingly on its axis. All I can do is pray that Agatha is safe, and we can neutralize the situation as quickly as possible once we’ve arrived.
I feel a hand clasp each shoulder as Bear on one side and Knight on my other each offer their silent support. Mentally, I cling to their unspoken show of solidarity and strive to hold it together. We don’t know how bad the situation is, or if it’s even the resort she’s at. My gut roiling, I can hear my mom’s gentle voice in my head.
“Rather than borrow trouble, my boy, wait until you have all the facts,” is one of her favorite sayings. With a silent vow to her, and myself, I try to do exactly that – wait until I have all the facts. I have never prayed so hard for a flight to be over and to wade into the heart of a hostile situation as much as I do right now.
“I’m sorry, man. I hate that I’m the one who had to break that to you.” Digit’s words, while sincere, bring me no comfort.
Beside me, Knight leans forward, elbows on knees. “Tell us what you know Digit.”
He shares all the intel the commander has given him to this point. It’s not a huge amount, but enough for us to start outlining a strategy. It’s what Knight is good at, the reason his nickname is Knight – he’s always one step ahead. A muted ding from Digit’s tablet alerts him to an incoming communique. He reads through it quickly and adds the relevant details shared within, then turns it so that we’re all able to see the map he’s now opened.
By the time we’re back on the ground, we have a working plan, and I’m antsy to get going. There’s a small group of men waiting for us as we hop off the chopper – a rather grim-looking group at that. Knight leads us over to where they’re standing. Once introductions have been made, they lead us to a conference room where we connect with Commander Hurt.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m glad to hear you’ve arrived safely. We’ve been monitoring the situation as best we can, but we need it resolved, and quickly. Knight …”
“Yes, sir?”
“I need a word, please. Use Digit’s satellite phone.” Knight frowns but simply replies in the affirmative. “I’ll be right back, gentlemen. Sit tight.” And with that, Commander Hurt is gone.
Knight collects Digit’s satellite phone and excuses himself from the room. While he’s away, we make good use of the time and continue to throw scenarios back and forth to be prepared for any eventuality. It seems Mother Nature is smiling benevolently upon us. There’s a storm brewing, about to hit the island Agatha’s on.
Using it to our advantage, it’ll provide the perfect cover for us to not only get onto the island, but also to hide what we’re up to. The downside is that we’re thoroughly sick of the rain.
We’re just wrapping it up when Knight sticks his head around the door and shows for me to join him, a grim look on his face. My stomach knots at the expression, and I hasten over to him.
He opens the door wider for me to exit the room, then steers me to another, empty room down the hall. When he closes the door behind him, I know I’m not going to like whatever he’s about to tell me.
For long, tense moments I watch him pace up and down, a hand clasped to the back of his neck. When I can’t take the silence any longer, I finally burst out, “For the love of God, just spit it out, man. Whatever it is surelycannotbe worse than the anticipation of waiting for you to tell me.”
Boy, was I wrong.
“Commander Hurt wants this situation resolved ASAP. The base commander isn’t happy — the hostages have been identified, and his goddaughter is one of them.” He pauses a long moment, giving me the chance to process the information he’s just given me. He nods when he sees I’ve connected the dots.
“His goddaughter …” Ah, fuck. As understanding dawns, my heart drops into my stomach. “As in – Agatha’s personal assistant.” Closing my eyes, I rub a tired hand across my forehead. “Right?”
I don’t need his nod of confirmation to tell me I’m right. Nausea rolls in my stomach, and I have to fight back a strong urge to heave. I’ve been holding onto hope that it wasn’t Agatha.
“Then let’s get this shit done and go rescue my girl.” I step past him to let myself out, and Knight lays a hand on my arm to halt me.
“I need to know if I’m gonna need to request another sniper?” His gaze is searching as he studies me, rather like a fly under a microscope.
I suppress the urge to snarl at him. “No,” I all I can manage to squeeze out past the anger clogging my throat at his words.
“Had to ask. You know that.”
