Page 27 of A SEAL's Protection
My shoulder protests as I pull myself onto the ridge, but I ignore it and roll to my feet, landing in a crouching position.
The ridge is uneven, with jagged rocks sticking up at awkward angles. I creep along it, keeping as low as possible with deliberate movements.
I’m as exposed up here as I was below, and my senses go on high alert, my heart only returning to a steady beat when I get Allegra in my line of sight.
She’s doing her piece for the camera, and she’s angled the camera so the ridge is in the background. I duck out of sight. The last thing she or I want is for me to be caught on camera.
I move further along the ridge, scanning the ground, the skyline, and down below, looking for anything out of place.
But the rocks are sturdy. There are no footprints here and no obvious signs of disturbance. I spin in a wide circle, but the sky above me and the rocks below are all there is. I rub the back of my neck, and the prickling is gone. Maybe I’m being paranoid.
I shrug off the thought. There’s no such thing as paranoia when you’re working as a SEAL. Thinking you’re being paranoid will get you killed.
I check my wrist device, and the perimeter markers display green. All is good.
I step away from the edge and pull out my sat phone and put in a call to Hudson.
“Marcus.” There’s an edge to his voice. “We found something.”
I crouch on the ridge, trying to find a comfortable spot between the sharp rocks. “Tell me.”
“Green Metals is owned by Future Enterprises.”
I rub a hand across my forehead, but the name doesn’t ring a bell. “And what’s the significance?”
“Future Enterprises is lobbying for mining rights in North Carolina.”
“And where does Green Metals fit in?”
“Green Metals is one of their subsidiary companies. It’s a greenwashing scheme to make them appear as if they give a shit about the environment. They sponsor university research, but only what suits their interests. Giving small grants to geology departments that will help their mining interests and withholding it from environmental research.
‘
My chest goes cold. There’s the connection right here. A multi-billion company that stands to lose if Allegra’s research proves they’re polluting the water.
“Shit.”
“It gets more interesting,” Hudson continues. “There’s unusual bank activity; large sums of money being transferred…”
Two things happen simultaneously; there’s a loud rumble of rocks falling, and my wrist vibrates.
I don’t hear the rest of Hudson’s sentence as I race to the edge of the ridge.
Allegra is standing in the water holding her sample up, and her eyes are wide with shock. My heart slides back into my chest. She’s all right. Then I follow her gaze.
On the boulder where she was sitting only a moment ago is a pile of rocks. There’s been a landslide. Straight onto the rock where she was sitting.
I swing myself over the edge of the ridge, feeling my hand cut open on the sharp rocks. I lose my grip, and my sat phone slips out of my hands. It bumps down the side of the cliff face, and I follow it, half climbing and half sliding until I’m at the bottom.
As I dash to Allegra, I pull my handgun from my pocket and put myself between her body and the ridge. My gaze scans the ridgeline as I keep my gun raised. Aside from small pebbles trickling down where the slide happened, there’s no movement.
“Are you okay?” I turn to Allegra, and her eyes are wide, but she nods.
“I was just sitting there.”
She’s shaking, and I take her arm gently. “We need to get moving. Pack up your things.”
She looks up at me, and her face is pale. I take her cheeks in both my hands.
