Page 8 of Green Ravens

“Copy that,Chariot. Time to make some fuckin’ waves, over.”

His boat sliced through the churning waters like a hot knife through butter. The roar of his engine was raw power andprecision, loud and terrifying like a lion’s roar. It was a thrilling ride of unfathomable speed and control.

God, he fuckin’ lived for this.

TheNeptunewasn’t just a goddamn boat. It was a predator.

Each surge forward sent cascades of frothy waves splashing against the sides. The cold spray of the water hit his cheeks like tiny needles, invigorating and sharp.

The crack of bullets sounded chaotic through the comms, but Sawyer remained composed.

The horizon blended into streaks of purple and blues as the vast tropical rainforest flanking both sides of the Madeira River became a bright-green blur.

They were full throttle, balls to the wall, coming in blazing.

“Neptune, we’re taking fire. What’s your ETA to my position, over?”

The lieutenant sounded out of breath, but his voice was steady. At this time, the team should almost be at the extraction point.

“ETA three mikes, pushing to your location, Actual.”

Hang in there, boys. We’re coming.

His boat operator made a smooth turn deeper into enemy territory, and his six snipers were locked and loaded behind their guns.

“Actual, you have eight aggressor vehicles closing in on you from the north.” Sawyer’s surveillance operator controlling the drone was laser focused on his tablet. “There’s two trucks on the opposite side of the path. You need to hot-ass it, over.”

Fuck.

The sound of heavy machine gun fire from the hostiles almost busted his eardrum.

“Neptune, be advised we’ve overshot our site. The extract point is burned,” the lieutenant. rushed. “We can make it to the secondary rally point. One klick out.”

“Hard copy, Actual,” Sawyer gritted.

Contact rear! Contact rear. We’re taking rounds,Neptune!Reverberated inside Sawyer’s helmet.

He didn’t panic at the sound of tires screeching and explosions popping in his ears over the comms. There was no time for losing his shit and no room for fear.

“Chariotbe advised, I have eight sets of boots, one package, and a hammer. Hammer has gunshots to the shoulder and stomach. Requesting immediate fire support. This will be a hot extract,Chariot. Actual out.”

Oakley had four medics on his boat and was responsible for securing the wounded while Sawyer picked up the remaining team.

“Dammit! Triton is down,” his operator cursed. “Visibility is gone. I repeat, visibility is dead.”

It wasn’t the first time their eyes had been shut down…and it wouldn’t be the last. Sawyer didn’t need his drone to know he was barreling into an active, hostile war zone.

The moment his operator steered them around the bend, Sawyer hollered.

“Light ’em up!”

The thunderous booms of the .50 calibers and barrage of fire from the M16s mounted on the sides of his and Oakley’s boats lit up the narrow enclave of the river brighter than the Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks.

TheNeptune’sandChariot’smovements were synchronized as if they’d rehearsed this entrance a hundred times, both of them engaging the enemy with epic force.

Gunfire came at them from all sides, but Sawyer’s men remained undeterred, faces determined, their shots calculated.

Bullets whizzed through the air, coming dangerously close, but the bulletproof shell of his boat was impenetrable to rifle fire.

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