“NO!” Liz threw her hands up. “Don’t kill him! He’s been kind to us!”

  The big redhead hesitated—just long enough for Hirbod to yell out a warning.

  ***

  Flame had had little trouble ghosting across the tiny Iranian compound toward the jail. The outer door had been unlocked and, as Gino climbed onto the roof, Flame stepped in, careful not to make a sound.

  A tiny cell filled one side of the building—and Flame could see three girls inside, all asleep on mats laid across the floor. He slipped his night vision goggles off—no use frightening them with the look of a space alien—and stepped to the cell.

  A pretty blonde was closest to the bars. Flame touched her big toe, which was sticking out of her blanket, smiling as she twitched away. He touched her again…

  The girl sat up. “What the hell…” she began. He held a finger to his lips. “Quiet!” He told her. “Wake the others,” he ordered, gesturing to the two still-sleeping girls. “And make sure they keep it down!”

  As the blonde turned to her neighbor, Flame studied the lock holding the cell door closed. It was an old one, rusted along one side with the shank passing through an old hasp screwed into the wall. He smiled, got a good grip on the body of the lock and pulled…

  He was shocked when the last girl sat bolt upright and yelled—loudly.

  Shit! Flame put his back to the wall and waited. If anyone heard that…

  There was a loud bang from the little space beyond the cell. Jailer heard the noise, Flame realized. He’ll come in to see what it is. He drew his fighting knife—a Bowie with an eight-inch blade—and held it ready. The door opened and a tallish man shuffled in.

  Flame made his move, threw his arm around the man’s neck and pulled the blade back…

  “NO!” The blonde threw herself against the door. ““Don’t kill him! He’s been kind to us!”

  Flame hesitated—and the man screamed a warning.

  “Shit!” Flame drove the blade into the Iranian’s kidney, twisted it and let the man’s body drop to the floor. “Come on.” He yanked the door open. “Let’s hope that nobody heard that!”

  The three girls stepped out of the cell, all of them staring at the body on the floor and the pool of blood slowly spreading around it.

  “There’s a truck in a wadi about two miles from here.” He took a quick peek out the door, saw no motion, and opened it wide. “You’ve got to follow me—and for God’s sake, keep quiet!”

  He pushed the blonde forward, made sure the others were following and trotted along beside them, pulling his night vision goggles down.

  He waited until they were halfway to the Safir before tapping his earbud.

  ***

  Gino cursed softly as he heard the ruckus in the building underneath him. He knew Flame could handle whatever was happening there—his job was to look for surprises. He looked through the night vision scope of the Barrett M107 he’d set up on the roof and scanned the camp.

  There was no visible movement.

  Okay, Flame, he told himself as he scanned the two barracks. Get ‘em out so we can get the old men out of here too. He heard the sound of a door opening behind and below him and turned just enough to see Flame and three young women emerge from the building and head off into the night. That’s my boy! Gino smiled and turned back to the barracks. Now let’s hope our friends stay nice and sleepy for a little while…

  There was a BEEP in his earbud.

  We might pull this off yet!

  ***

  It took Flame nearly twenty minutes to get the girls back to the Safir. Aesop was waiting when he got there.

  “These three seem to be okay.” He turned to the girls. “Do any of you need any help?

  “Get the professors out,” said the blonde he'd woken up, her voice betraying her concern. “They have them in that building at the far end of the compound.”

  “Headquarters.” Flame nodded. “That’s my next stop.” He sat back and nodded to the man at his side. “This is Aesop; he’s going to drive you back across the border where you’ll be safe.”

  “Safe…” Liz smiled. “That’s a nice word.”

  “It certainly is.” He clapped Aesop on the shoulder. “Just sit tight and stay low and you’ll be there before you know it.”

  “Everything all right back there?” Aesop whispered as Flame prepared to leave.

  “So far.” The big ex-SEAL pulled his night vision system into place. “Now get out of here.” They’ll be okay, he told himself as he watched the Safir with the girls inside pull away. Now to get the others out…

  ***

  Sergeant Qazwini stirred in his bunk. He thought he’d heard a noise—a voice crying out in the darkness.

  For a long moment he lay there, straining his ears to hear something more.

  There was nothing.

  I should get up, he told himself. Take a look around.

  Sgt. Qazwini was old—very old by military standards. He had spent nearly thirty years in the Iranian military—first in the regular army, then, when the war with Iraq started, in the Revolutionary Guard. His faith was strong—but his body was starting to weaken.

  I’ll wait and see if there’s another sound. He lay on his back to keep both ears in play. If there is, I will get up and check the guards, if not… He yawned—he was tired. Lt. El-Mafty had been keeping him busy taking the men through weapons drills while he interrogated the two westerners. The heat and exertion was starting to wear on the sergeant although he knew…

  The sound came again—a scraping sound—as if something metallic was sliding across stone.

  That came from just outside this building! Qazwini pushed himself upright, grabbed his boots. One of the guards is napping! The sergeant was sure that the sound came from the barrel or receiver of the man’s rifle touching the concrete of the barrack’s building. If he is there when I emerge… Qazwini shrugged into his uniform shirt. He will wish that he was never born!

  The old man strode out of the private room his rank entitled him to and across the large bay that held half of his men. He pushed the door open, never realizing that by doing so he had put himself squarely into Gino’s sights.

  He didn’t have time to realize his mistake.

  ***

  Movement in the barracks! Gino’s voice came through the earbud just as Flame finished destroying the second Safir’s distributor cap. The sergeant is in the doorway. Gino’s voice lost all trace of emotion. Firing…

  Flame abandoned the third vehicle and ran back into the compound as Gino squeezed the trigger on the big Barrett.

  ***

  Lt. Kaveh El-Mafty woke at the sound of a rifle being fired. A very large rifle. That’s not one of our men, he knew. The AK-47s they had made a very different sound. It’s an outsider! He rolled off the bed, stuffed his feet into his boots. Someone is after our prisoners! He grabbed his shirt and sidearm. I’ve got to stop them!

  He raced to the door of the small structure that served as officer’s quarters and pulled the door open.

  Just as a large explosion shattered the silence of the compound.

  ***

  Flame raced around the edge of the barracks building and headed for the edifice they had decided was headquarters. He was almost there when he heard a whisper in his earbud.

  “They’re starting to come out of barracks one,” Topper’s said in a level and quite calm voice. “Everybody down and look away.”

  He’s going to set off the first claymore, Flame realized. He started to look to his right, where he knew the barracks to be—then thought better of it. Better listen to the man!

  Matching action to thought, Flame threw himself on the ground and turned his night vision goggles away from the barracks in question—just in the nick of time.

  “Triggering now,” Topper muttered—and a loud explosion echoed through the little camp.

  ***

  Gino grinned as seven hundred 3.2.mm steel balls swept across the entrance to the first barracks. His shot had driven its target—minus about half his head—back into the building and against the back wall. To their credit, the men inside had reacted quickly, pulling on clothes and grabbing weapons, they’d run to the exit door, pushing each other out of the way as they looked for the new enemy.

  Almost twenty had managed to get through the door in just a few moments—at which point Topper set off the first claymore.

  Now that entrance was a bloody morass of shattered flesh and bone and the entire front of the barracks was painted red with blood.

  Gino waited for a long minute—long enough for those left inside to jack up their courage to look outside—and set his sights on the doorway.

  Right on schedule, a frightened-looking face came peering around the corner…

  Gino squeezed the trigger…

  ***

  Flame used the bounce of the explosion to boost himself onto his feet. Once there, he continued toward the headquarters building, anxious to release the two professors he really hoped were locked up inside.

  He had almost reached the entrance when an Iranian soldier appeared out of the shadows, AK-47 in hand. The man started to turn toward Flame…

  And spouted a new, blood-red eye, right in the middle of his forehead.

  Flame waved to Gino as he stepped over the body and moved to the door.

  Wonder where the others are? he thought as he pulled his night goggle visions off his face. If everything was working as planned, Fixer and Topper were supposed to meet him at the door…

  Even as the thought crossed his mind, Fixer, his own goggles on his forehead, materialized out of the darkness and stepped to the other side of the door.

  “Sorry for the delay.” He smiled. “Ran into a couple of strays when I passed barracks number one.”

  Flame glanced toward that building—now on fire—and smiled. “No sweat.” He grabbed the door handle. “On three. One, two…”

  “THREE!” He yanked the door open and froze for a second as Francis slipped through, his MP-5 pointed forward, ready for anything.

  An instant later, Flame was right behind him, his own rifle searching for a target.

  There was no one in sight.

  “Only two doors.” Francis grinned. “You go right, I’ll go left.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Flame turned to the door on the right. It was an unassuming sort of door—no nameplate or other ornamentation. He thought about trying to turn the knob…

  There was a loud SMASH as Francis kicked his door open and rushed inside.

  Oh well. Flame shrugged and mirrored the recon man’s action, smashing the door down and entering the room in a fighting crouch, weapon moving from left to right.

  He instantly saw the man in the chair.

  “Clear here!” Francis sang out from next door.

  ”In here!” Flame stepped forward, went to a knee in front of the badly beaten figure tied to the chair. “I think this is one of the professors,” he told the other man as he entered. “Parfitt, I think.”

  “Where’s the other one?” Francis swept the room with a quick glance. “Have you found him?”

  “See if the lights work.” Flame took his canteen out, dribbled some water onto his hand and rubbed it over the man’s face. “There aren’t any windows in this room.”

  “Got it.” Francis took a look to his left, found the appropriate switch, and flicked the lights on. “There’s a door over there—maybe a closet of some kind…”

  “Check it out.” Flame pulled his knife, and sliced away the ropes holding the beaten man in his chair. “I’ve got this one.”

  “Okay.” Francis held his weapon one-handed and stood to the side as he turned the knob on the second door and pushed it open.

  There was another man inside—hogtied and barely breathing.

  “I think I’ve got the other one.” He knelt beside the man, cutting the ropes free. “He’s alive but nearly suffocated.”

  “We’ve got to evac them.” Flame shook his head. “Right now.” He touched his earbud. “Gino! What’s the situation?”

  “Not too bad right now.” Gonda had fired twice more, killing an adventurous soul who tried to escape barracks one with a headshot before taking down a cautious soldier who attempted to open a window with the second. That shot had apparently also somehow started a fire inside the barracks and Gonda was anticipating a lot more business in a few minutes. “Gonna get busy soon, though.”

  “Can you hold out while we evac the two professors?”

  “Sure.” Gonda’s voice was clear in the earbuds as he took a bead on another face that suddenly appeared in the doorway to barracks number two. “No sweat.” He squeezed off a round, saw the face go from green to yellow in his night vision sight. “Topper and I can handle it for a while.”

  “Roger that,” Topper muttered.

  “Okay,” Flame grunted and lifted the professor from the chair, arranging him in a fireman’s carry. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He signaled to Francis, who had already lifted the smaller man, and together they retraced their steps and headed for the perimeter and the Land Rover parked there.

  ***

  What do I do? Lt. Kaveh El-Mafty’s boots slipped in the puddle of blood surrounding the body of one of his sentries. How do I stop this? He had seen the two big men run off with his prisoners—but he had also seen that same sentry struck down by a shot from a sniper somewhere on the other side of the compound.

  He didn’t want to chance moving into the open.

  I can’t call for help. Even if he could convince one of his superiors to send aid, the fight would be over before they got there. I can’t rally my troops… He winced and pulled himself further under cover as that unseen sniper sent a round into Corporal Dar, turning his chest into an exploding mass of blood and bone.

  I have to hide… He caught and edited his own thought. I must find cover and wait for these men to leave, than I can rally my men and chase them down. He nodded to himself. Chase them down and show them the true wrath of Allah!

  Vowing vengeance, Lt. El-Mafty slowly backed into the shadows from which he would watch and wait.

  In safety.

  ***

  At a full run, Flame reached the Land Rover in just a few minutes and carefully lowered the mistreated body of Professor Parfitt into the back seat. Moments later, Francis, breathing hard, arrived with the second captive. That one, Professor Cowie, was slowly regaining consciousness.

  “Take the car.” Flame tossed the keys to Francis. “Get these two back to base.”

  “What will you and the others use?”

  “Send Aesop back with one of the Safir’s.” Flame nodded toward the still-ongoing firefight. From the sound of things, some of the Iranians had finally managed to start returning fire. “Have him contact me when he gets close—we’ll pull back then.”

  “Roger.” Francis nodded. “See you in a few.” He slammed the Land Rover into gear and sped away, not wasting an instant of time.

  It’ll take about twenty minutes for Aesop to get our evac back out here. Flame checked the load in his AK. Time enough to wreak a little more havoc with this bunch.

  He turned and headed back into the fight, keying his earbud on so he could tell the others what was happening.

  ***

  Barracks number one was now burning rather fiercely. Gino had kept the surviving men inside for longer than he’d expected but more and more men had gotten frantic enough to brave his fire just to get away from the flames.

  It was time for the second claymore.

  “Topper?” Gino hadn’t heard from the big man in some time. “You hear me?”

  “Got you five by, Gino.” The redhead’s calm voice whispered into the sniper’s ear. “What do you need?”

  “I’m losing control of barracks one—I need that second claymore.”

  “Roger that.” Topper’s voice changed just a bit. “I’m moving into position now…” There was a pause. “See it now, just a moment…” Another pause. “Cover your eyes…”

  The central square of the little base again reverberated to the sound of an explosive charge as another seven hundred steel pellets ripped through the men in front of the doomed barracks.

  “Thanks, man.” Gino targeted one of the survivors, squeezed off a round. “How’re we doing in barracks two?”

  “I still have them bottled up there.” Topper’s voice changed a bit as he moved. “There’s no fire to get them to go outside and I think I’ve killed all their NCOs.” A pause. “Did Flame get all the hostages out? I saw him carry someone out of the headquarters and I heard his recall info.”

  “We got them all out, Topper.” Flame’s voice came through loud and clear. “And I’m on my way back to you guys—where can you use me?”

  “I got it here.” Gino fired again, ejected the magazine and jacked in a new one. “Why don’t you head over Topper’s way?”

  “Yeah, come over to barracks two—some of these guys…” There was a pause as Topper fired a short burst. “Some of them are getting a bit impatient.”

  “On my way.”

  ***

  Flame reached a position facing the only doors and windows on barracks two just as an explosion rocked barracks one. He turned to see a number of men—perhaps as many as twenty—rushing through a hole blown through the corner wall.

  “Gino! What happened?”

  “Looks like they used grenades to blow out part of the wall.” Gino fired and took out a running figure. “I’m not going to be able to hold them…”

  “Get out of there!” Flame turned his rifle in that direction and fired a few rounds for suppression. “Pull out and head to the rendezvous point!”

  “On my way, just let me…” He put another round downrange. “Empty this…” Another shot, another man down. “Magazine…” A third Iranian head disappeared in a cloud of blood and bone.