Page 6 of Gripp

What’s a girl like that doing caught up in this?

“We haven’t heard from her in weeks,” the General said. “We can only assume the worst. We need you to infiltrate the base and bring her back unharmed. She happens to be the daughter of an ambassador, so this is a particularly sensitive issue.”

“I understand,” Gripp said. “You want me to go in alone and rescue this girl?”

The General nodded. “I believe a single special forces soldier who already knows the area will have greater success than a full assault team, and we want this to be kept quiet, if possible. We don’t want to start a full-on incursion.”

Of course, they didn’t want to draw attention to the place. Crooked government officials were still associated with it, but they still needed the girl rescued. And he knew exactly where she was. This would be a piece of cake.

Gripp nodded, holding up his shackles. “So, I’m supposed to do this with my hands tied?”

“If you agree, you will be immediately released. Your inhibitor chip will be replaced by GPS, so you can literally run, but not hide, should you choose to defect. Once your mission is complete, you will be given complete freedom.”

Gripp looked up at Cannon, who was still staring straight ahead. His friend made eye contact very briefly and gave a short nod.

Gripp did not want to trust them … he didn’t trust anybody … but he knew he had absolutely no choice if he wanted freedom and his shifter half back.

“I’ll do it,” he said. Gripp was already planning how he might get the tracker out of his neck. He was also beginning to feel that taking his rage out on a bunch of child-abusing lowlifes who enjoyed torturing others might be a very cathartic experience.

“Excellent,” Nydia said, standing. “Will there be any requirements for the mission we need to know?”

Gripp gave her a rundown of the tools and weapons he might need. He kept the list short, confined to the bare necessities he could carry on him in a small backpack. He didn’t want to be weighed down.

In and out. Rescue the girl, blow up some assholes, then run back to freedom!

The General barked out a few orders. Gripp was taken from the room and down the hallway. He wished that he’d been allowed to speak to Cannon, even if it was only for a few minutes. Clearly, his old friend knew something he didn’t.

The soldiers took him to a med bay, where he was immediately prepped for the procedure of having his chip removed. Gripp considered escaping the moment the inhibitor chip was taken out before they could insert the GPS, but to his dismay, he was given a sedative as well as a local anesthesia.

He was on a small bunk in an empty room when he woke. His fatigues and pack were at the foot of the bed. Gripp suited up and went to the door.

"This way,” the soldier said.

Gripp followed the guy warily. He’d expected to be shackled again, but maybe the general hadn’t been lying.

Everyone’s lying about something.

He was taken to a Jeep driven by a hard-faced captain. The guy didn’t speak. He barely even looked at Gripp as he drove through the base. When they arrived at the dock, he gestured for Gripp to get out.

“This is as far as I go, soldier. Move out,” the captain said.

Gripp headed up the gangplank onto the warship. He was greeted by the Admiral of the Fleet. Talk about bringing out the big guns. Why would they do this for him? A criminal. Something wasn’t right here.

“Ready for your mission, soldier?” the admiral asked.

“Yes, sir,” Gripp replied. He wasn’t going to salute everyone, but the admiral was treating him with respect, so Gripp responded in kind.

“We are running reconnaissance around the islands. We’ll get you as close as we can, but then it’s just you and a dingy for the last few miles to shore. Are you up to it?”

“Yes, sir. No problem, sir.”

“Excellent. We’ll get underway soon.”

The admiral dismissed him, and Gripp headed to a side rail. The big ship was moving within a few minutes, picking up speed as she plowed through the waves, leaving Supermax and the military base behind.

Gripp felt a sense of freedom and hope as the sea breeze blew back his hair. His panther purred somewhere deep inside him, lulled by the motion of the boat and the knowledge that soon Gripp would be able to shift and run through the wilderness again.

It had been so long since he’d shifted he felt like he was out of touch with the other side of his nature. Just being free of the shackles and feeling the fresh air on his cheeks brought back the sense of connection.

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