Page 138 of The Best of Us

Two to the head. He crumpled over the railing, dead before he got the shot off.

One more down. An unknown number to go.

“This is Alpha Two. Two armed guards are posted in front of a container in the middle of an alleyway. Colin must be in there.”

Hudson relayed the container’s location.

Line of sight clear.

I ordered our teams tocharlie mikeand get to my son.

“This is Alpha Two. You’re nearing a chokepoint alley. I’ve got you on overwatch, but I can’t see everyone down there. There are too many forklifts and stacked containers the hostiles can use for cover.”

Translation: this is a kill box.“Foxtrot, find another way to flank them. We’ll meet in the middle and intercept the package.”My son.

The two SEALs altered course, disappearing into the shadows.

I held up a gloved fist for my brothers to hold position.

I reloaded, slamming a new mag into place.

“Foxtrot in position,” one of the SEALs confirmed.

“This is Alpha Two. I’ve got eyes on five tangos. I’ll take down as many as possible as you advance in.”

“Roger that.” I took a steady breath. “On my mark.” We rounded the corner just as the streetlights cut out. “Switch to NODs.” I knocked down my NVGs, green hues washing over the darkened battlefield.

We weren’t the only ones using thermal. They could see us coming.

Enzo moved backward, covering our six while Alessandro and I led the charge, clearing every bastard in our way.

A gunman shifted behind a forklift, his rifle lifting, but he was too slow.

I took him out before he could fire on Alessandro, the suppressed shot barely echoing before he dropped.

We pushed forward.

“This is One. How far are we from the target?”

“This is Alpha Two. Guards in front of the container are ready for you. They know you’re coming.”

I motioned to Alessandro. “I’ll get the one on the right,” I said in a low voice. “You take the left.”

He gave a quick nod.

The first tango rushed me.

I sidestepped, slammed the butt of my rifle into his throat, then let the sling catch it as I drew my Glock 19 and finished him.

“Clear,” Alessandro let me know after taking out the other guard.

“I’m covering you,” Enzo said as I checked the container, finding it sealed with an electronic lock.

“Colin, you in there?” I banged on the door.

“Dad?Dad!Is that you?”

I nearly took a knee in relief at the sound of my son’s voice. “It’s me! Anyone in there with you?”

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