Page 1 of Cooper's Salvation
Prologue
Twelve months ago ...
Silence hung over the compound.
An unusual silence since their intel was solid, and they knew there were people within the compound’s main building. Even the small village surrounding them was unnaturally quiet. It had the hair on the back of Master Sergeant Cooper “Ghost” McDowell’s neck standing at attention. He was one of three snipers, one assigned to each of the teams present at the raid.
Sighting down his scope again, he scanned every nook and cranny within his field of vision. Nothing stirred. For once, not even the damn wind that plagued them regularly.
What the hell?Cooper swung his rifle sharply toward an alleyway between the main building and what appeared to be a smaller storage facility.
“Did you see that?” he asked his spotter, Specialist Thomas Deane.
“See what, Sarge?”
“I could have sworn I saw movement over on the southwest corner there.”
“No, nothing. I saw no movement.”
His intuition was clanging like a klaxon – something was off. He was sure they were being set up for an ambush. There was just no way to confirm it without storming the building.
The single earpiece he had inserted crackled to life, and he heard a teammate whisper, “I smell a rat, guys. It’s way too quiet. Either Atal lied to us, or he’s been fed bullshit intel himself. Either way, does anyone else smell an ambush?”
No one got an opportunity to answer. At that very moment, Cooper noticed a door begin to open a distance down from where he was stationed. “Take cover,” he called into his shoulder com. “Tango at the southwest corner of the main building.”
A young man, appearing to be in his late teens or early twenties, made his way slowly into the middle of the compound courtyard. An explosive device was firmly strapped to his torso, but he appeared not to have the detonator as he held his shaking hands high for all to see.
The unnatural silence that had shrouded the area just moments before was rent by a heart-wrenching wail. The words were not in English, but no one needed to understand the language to comprehend the fear and terror they conveyed. The anguish of a mother about to witness the death of her child.
A voice rang out. “Stop where you are.”
The youngster cast a panicked glance over his shoulder, but stopped nonetheless. Then a different voice shouted in broken English. “We will never surrender.”
Something about the man’s words had Cooper’s stomach clenching and, once again, he yelled out, “Get down. Get down. He’s gonna—”
An explosion ripped through the small square, dirt and debris erupting before he could finish his sentence. He felt himself lift and become airborne, landing in a crumpled heap some distance from when he’d been lying. Other than the loud ringing in his ears, Cooper couldn’t hear anything.
Agonizing pain radiated throughout his body, and black edged his vision. Lying unmoving where he’d landed, he turned his head to glance around him. His gaze snagged on something to the left, and he found himself staring into the unseeing eyes of his spotter.
His heart stuttered at the sight. Unable to tear his eyes away from what had been his closest teammate, emotion churned through him. He had no idea whether it was minutes or hours he lay there before blessed unconsciousness enfolded him.
* * *
The waitingroom was fairly quiet as Dr. Takara Deane escorted an irate Chihuahua and her owner back to the reception desk.
“You’re sure it’s nothing serious and Fifi will be fine? She been so out of sorts these past few days,” the older woman asked.
“Absolutely, Mrs. Fonda. It’s nothing more than an allergic reaction to the chicken you’re feeding her. Remove the chicken and add a little variety to her diet, as I’ve recommended, and you’ll see she’ll be back to her old self in no time.” Kara repeated the diagnosis she’d given Mrs. Fonda in the consultation room.
“Oh, thank you, Kara. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear that.”
“You’re most welcome. I’m going to leave you in Darby’s capable hands now, okay?”
“Yes, of course dear. I know you’re a busy young lady.”
Giving the older woman a final smile, she turned to call her next patient just as the outer door opened. Taking one look at the two uniformed men who walked in, Kara felt the bottom fall out of her world. There was only one reason they would be there. And it wasn’t a good one.
She took a moment to try and get her heartrate under control.
