Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
It was also very standard that if they were compromised, they would be on their own. Normally, they were sent out on a mission. Even then, the government would deny all knowledge of their existence. This mission was not approved by their government, nor did anyone know about it. The GhostWalker teams had initiated, planned and were carrying out this covert operation on their own.
GhostWalker Teams One and Four were parachuting into the Congo to retrieve Bridget and destroy the laboratory. If possible, they would locate and kill Whitney. GhostWalker Team Two was their extraction team. They would be flying a CV-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft designed for low-level penetration into hostile enemy territory day or night. The Osprey would be accompanied by two AH-6 gunships for cover. The light craft carried formidable artillery.
The third team was their backup in case of an emergency. They were ready to engage in battle, work to retrieve or supply any possible support needed. Every single GhostWalker was on board, ready to help.
Joe gave the order at 02:00. “Suit up. We’re thirty minutes out. Check oxygen. Double-check one another’s gear.” Gino checked Joe’s gear.
Joe signaled the men at 02:20. “Final in-oxygen check. Five minutes, we depressurize.”
Diego glanced at his brother. As always, he wasn’t comfortable with having Rubin accompany them on such a dangerous mission. Just the jump alone could be disastrous. A high-altitude jump in the dark into a dense rainforest was extremely dicey.
He knew Rubin was uncomfortable with the others protecting him. Before, Diego hadn’t cared that his brother didn’t like it. He had encouraged those on the team to protect Rubin. Now, he had a taste of his own medicine. He was the man who set up to guard the backs of his team. He should have jumped first and set the specialty night strobe for the others. The moment he indicated he would make the HAHO jump first, Joe, Ezekiel and Rubin simultaneously and adamantly said no.
Joe gave him his cold, piercing stare when he would have protested the decision. There had been instant silence among the team members seated around the oval table where they were planning the mission. He had been with those men for several years, Mordichai and Malichai even longer. Now they were looking at him with a mixture of alarm and speculation. Diego hadn’t liked it at all. He’d always managed to fade into the background while remaining in plain sight. He knew that was going to be impossible. Joe, Rubin and Ezekiel hadn’t told the others he was capable of performing psychic surgery, but they weren’t going to allow him to put himself in harm’s way when someone else could assume that role.
He’d ventured a quiet argument that Bridget was going to be his sister-in-law and that none of them would be there if it weren’t for his decisions, but Joe kept his stone face and Ezekiel leveled his icy gaze at him. That only brought more undue attention. He was grateful his brother didn’t rub it in his face that he was now in the same boat with him. Most of his team members had no idea why Joe had nixed the obvious choice to protect them, but they didn’t weigh in on the decision.
“One minute…thirty seconds. First jumper in the door,” Joe said.
Mordichai stood at the door with Diego directly behind him. That strange alarm he had was building and building.
“Go!”
Mordichai dove before Diego had a chance to assess the blaring alarm. It was overwhelming.
Something’s wrong, Joe. I have to follow him right now. I need clearance for the jump.
Diego didn’t look at Joe; instead, he stepped up to the door and stared out into the night. It was dark, just a sliver of a moon, so small there might as well not have been a moon. The wind whipped at him, clawing at him in an attempt to drag him from the plane. The engines roared. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. Usually, on a jump like this one, fear was familiar, but now that fear was for Mordichai, not himself.
You certain?
Absolutely, no time to waste. The feeling was growing in strength, and it was all he could do not to hurl himself out into the night after the man he considered a brother.
The temperature at this elevation was around minus fifteen. The vicious cold snapped and bit, and the wind stung every exposed part of his skin. He could smell the jet fuel as the plane traveled close to a hundred and fifty knots.
Joe double-checked his gear. Diego took a deep breath, grateful his friend knew him so well and didn’t question that feeling that had saved them so many times.
“Go.”
At the command, Diego dove without hesitation. The wind hit hard, jerking and tugging, pulling at him. He fought to control two hundred pounds of gear. The rucksack hung between his legs was a hindrance to his movement. Then the roar of the engines ceased and he was free-falling. In that moment, as he soared alone through the dark sky, the feeling was euphoric. Exhilarating. He loved the jump. The sky was a place of absolute peace.