CHAPTER 37

  Scorpion squad crouched in the dense foliage on opposite sides of the small dam nestled in the heart of the jungle. A river flowed into the concrete structure, the water churning as it passed through the turbines before spilling out the other side.

  Alex scanned the area, taking in every detail. The two-story, synthcrete control station sat on the right side of the dam, its blocky, utilitarian form a stark contrast to the lush greenery surrounding it. Atop the flat roof, a tangle of antennas marked the location of the comms array. A power transfer station sat at the bottom of the dam, beside the reduced water flow spilling out through the other side, quickly vanishing into the surrounding jungle.

  Two units of enemy soldiers patrolled the perimeter. Clad in charcoal Kikko model powered armor, they moved with mechanical precision, eyes forward, relying on sensors to pick up any signs of threat. Prior observation had revealed two units of guards stationed at the dam, each on a twelve-hour rotation, swapped out every three days from the fort. The guards patrolling right now had just been dropped off a couple of hours earlier. It meant they were fresher than the departing guards, which was a negative. But it also meant nobody would be back to check on them for a few days.

  Alex turned to Zoe and Jackson, waiting with him on this side of the river. Like him, their faces were streaked with mud for camouflage. He didn’t say anything, his inquisitive glance eliciting returning nods from the pair. They were ready to go. He turned back toward the river, letting out a shrill whistle that could have easily belonged to one of the jungle’s denizens. A return call came back from the other side. Malik, Sarah, and Diego were ready.

  Alex shouldered his rifle, edging the muzzle out through the brush and using a gap through two large leaves to sight down the barrel. Zoe and Jackson did the same on either side of him. He whistled again, a slightly different pattern. Though he couldn’t see what was happening, he could picture it.

  Malik would move out from cover, creeping toward the control station like a ghost. When he reached the rear wall, he would crouch low and open the folded leaf he pulled from his pocket. Its insides were filled with a sticky, resinous paste made from the sap of one of the jungle plants. Smearing it on his hands and the bottom of his boots, he would begin his climb, his hands and boots adhering to the rough surface like those of a gecko.

  Alex counted down from ten, eyes sharp on the top of the control station and the guards monitoring the perimeter. When he reached zero, Malik appeared on the rooftop, crouching low to avoid being seen. He dropped even lower, leopard crawling towards the comms array, his eyes occasionally flicking up to where Alex had perched to observe and provide overwatch. When one of the guards paused unexpectedly, Alex quickly gestured to Malik with a closed fist. He came to a sudden stop, freezing on the rooftop.

  The guard looked back at one of the other guards, likely said something through her helmet comm, gestured like they’d had an amusing exchange, and continued on her pattern. Alex opened his fist, and Malik proceeded across the roof.

  Reaching the array, he pulled the switchblade from his boot, using it to unscrew the cover for the networking panel. Eyeing the wires inside, he took a minute before moving the connectors from one port to another, creating a loop that wouldn’t alert the control room operators to a network connection loss.

  He signaled his success to Alex, who passed it back to Sarah and Diego on the other side of the river.

  Adrenaline surged into Alex’s body as he turned to the others, giving a silent nod. As one, they began to move, slipping quietly through the foliage toward the edge of the jungle, matching their movements to the rhythm of the guards. Securing his rifle across his back, Alex retrieved a freshly made garrote from the pocket of his utilities, careful not to cut himself on the thorns. He knew Zoe and Jackson would be doing the same.

  One of the guards approached his position, crossing horizontally from where he crouched just behind the brush. He tensed, readying his garrote in both hands, pulling the vine tight.

  The guard walked past him. With his skin coated in mud, her helmet’s sensors failed to pick him out in the cool moisture of the brush.

  With a burst of speed, Alex lunged, looping the vine over the guard’s helmet and pulling in underneath the woman’s helmet and up to her exposed throat. The wicked thorns bit deep, the strangulation cutting off her ability to cry out. The guard thrashed, her armored hands scrabbling at her throat, trying to get a grip on the vine. Alex held fast, throwing his weight into tightening the garrote, his muscles screaming with strain.

  The guard's struggles grew weaker, her movements more erratic, but just as Alex thought he had her, she managed to get a hand on his. With a burst of enhanced strength, she loosened his grip enough to pull away, the thorns leaving ragged, bleeding furrows in her neck. She spun, lashing out with a vicious backhand that caught Alex across the face, sending him sprawling.

  Damn it.

  Alex hit the synthcrete, tasting blood from a split lip, but he was already moving, rolling to his feet as the guard tracked him with her rifle. Alex dove to the side as a burst of fire stitched the ground where he'd been a heartbeat ago. Then he moved in close enough to grab her weapon and shove it aside. His eyes met his opponent’s through her faceplate, and for a moment, they stared at one another in mutual respect.

  Then Alex ducked low and slipped around the back of the guard, wrapping his arm around her throat and locking her in a bloody chokehold. The guard bucked and thrashed, but Alex squeezed with all his might. The guard's struggles grew weaker, her movements more sluggish. Finally, with a shuddering gasp, she went limp.

  Alex held on a moment longer, making sure the guard was truly out, then he rolled off her. He heard the fighting before he saw it. There was too much gunfire for his liking, and his miscue threatened the whole plan. He looked up to see that Zoe and Jackson had taken down their tangos, as did Sarah and even Diego. Pride and embarrassment flowed across his thoughts at the sight.

  There was no time to worry about that now. Zoe and Jackson were exchanging fire with the second rotation guards emerging from the power station below. Meanwhile, more guards were already pouring out of the control room, alerted to the fighting.

  They didn’t make it far.

  From the top of the control station, Malik planted rounds in the back of their heads, dropping them before they knew what hit them.

  The guards down below were the problem, as was the noise. If there were any drones nearby, they would be on the dam in seconds and, with a clear line to the fort, communicate back to base. The enemy would take less than ten minutes to send an entire dropship full of bad guys to wipe them out.

  He had to make a quick decision. Press ahead or abort. Retreat held less risk, but it also meant starting again from scratch, and they were already on the clock.

  He knew what his father would do. The Wraith had made a career out of daring, risky maneuvers. Could he do any less?

  A series of quick hand gestures signaled Sarah and Diego to join Zoe and Jackson, focusing on the reinforcements. They scampered out onto the dam to get a better angle on the guards, who had taken cover and were no doubt frantically trying to contact the fort.

  Alex scanned the area, searching for a way to flank the enemy fighters. There. On this side of the control station, an access hatch partially concealed by overgrowth. He sprinted for it, trusting his team to keep the enemy occupied.

  Reaching the hatch, he wrenched it open and dropped inside. The roar of the turbines assaulted his ears, the massive machines churning away, converting the river's flow into electricity. Catwalks and ladders crisscrossed the space, providing access for maintenance and repairs.

  Alex moved quickly, his boots ringing on the metal grating. He needed to get to the transfer station to come up behind the enemy troops using it for cover. There. A service ladder. He descended it rapidly, the din of the turbines fading as he dropped lower into the dam's interior. Finally, he reached the bottom level—a dank, dimly lit space—filled with pipes and conduits.

  He could faintly hear the gunfire echoing from outside, his Scorpions and the guards trading short bursts in a stalemate while the enemy waited for reinforcements that wouldn’t come. Shouldering his rifle, he followed the conduits at a run, reaching a junction and turning in the direction of the shooting.

  Advancing swiftly, he reached his destination, freezing at the edge of the passageway as his eyes swept the area. Two doors led deeper into the station, while the external access door hung open, the guards just outside. He crept forward, sparing the extra time it took to sneak up on the enemy. He needed to take them out before they caused any additional complications.

  Then, swinging out into the open doorway, he opened fire, hitting three of the tangoes from behind before they could turn around, his short bursts at such close range easily punching through their powered armor. The fourth went down as Alex shot him in the chest, the last two bringing their rifles to bear and forcing him to duck back out of the doorway. Their rounds chewed into the synthcrete wall opposite him, the gunfire so loud his eardrums flared with pain as if they’d ruptured.

  The gunfire stopped seconds later, leaving his hearing muffled. One of the two remaining guards tumbled through the doorway, landing face down and remaining still, a hole in the back of his helmet.

  Alex returned to the doorway, his eyes landing on the sprawled body of the other enemy combatant laid out on the floor. Zoe signaled him the all clear from the ridge overlooking the transfer station. He returned the signal and then signaled everyone to meet him at the control station. Spinning back toward the transfer station’s interior, he hurried to an elevator and boarded it, remaining alert and ready as it rose to the bottom level of the control station. The doors opened, and he surged forward, dropping to a knee as bullets hit the elevator behind him. Surging up and out of the line of fire, his short burst of bullets hit the pair of operators near the controls, their sidearms pointed directly at him. His rounds sent them falling back into their terminals before they toppled to the floor.

  Alex straightened and hurried to the entrance, unlocking the door from the inside. He was greeted by Malik’s rifle in his face. It quickly dropped.

  “Gunny,” Malik said with a grin. “This wasn’t part of the plan.”

  “Sometimes you need to improvise,” Alex replied, smiling back as the other Scorpions approached the building. “Any sign of drones?”

  “Negative. But we made a hell of a racket. I can’t believe nobody heard us.”

  “Let’s assume they did. Sarah, you’re up. You have three minutes to get across the dam and get into position to fire on any incoming enemy assets. You need to lead them away from the dam. Make it look as though we made a quick strike and took off. If nobody shows, get yourself in power armor, gather up as much gear as you can, and haul it to camp.”

  “Copy that, Gunny,” she replied, turning and racing away.

  “The rest of you, let’s do our part to complete step two, and show these bastards why they should never have messed with FUP Marines.”

  “Oorah!”

  CHAPTER 38

  With Sarah busy making it look like they’d retreated into the jungle, Alex and the rest of the Scorpions gathered the weapons and ammunition from the fallen guards at the transfer station. Assault rifles, pistols, extra magazines. They stripped the dead bodies of anything useful, loading it all into two duffels they found in the small bunk room at the back of the station, where they also came across a shower and fresh utilities.

  Alex hated to linger any longer at the dam, but he knew it would be much easier to sneak into Hut with a clean appearance than that of the ragged Recon Marines they actually were. They were all business as they quickly washed off the mud—in Malik’s case the sticky paste—they’d used during the ambush under the single water spray, ensuring all the dirt and grime had drained away before throwing on the clean utilities.

  At some point, the enemy would inevitably stumble across their old uniforms, but he didn’t think they would assume the Scorpions had re-entered the settlement. After all, even from his side, the idea bordered on madness. Eyeing his bloody, muddy, smelly, and frayed fatigues on the floor, he imagined the bad guys would understand why they wanted fresh clothing.

  "Alright team, let's move," Alex ordered.

  They located the entrance to the access tunnel inside the transfer station, a blast door in the rear of a room full of transformers and circuits. Malik yanked it open, revealing the opposite end of the tunnel they had traversed a portion of two weeks earlier.

  “I’ll take point," Alex said, the others falling in behind him, their boots echoing on the floor, alert and ready, just in case.

  They hurried along the passageway, slowing when they came to the first emergency exit. Expecting the Scorpions to open the hatches from the outside, wires dangled from the overhead hatch, connected to soft explosives pressed against the exit’s cover.

  “Damn,” Jackson said softly. “We thought they would seal the hatches, not booby trap them.”

  “It’s a shaped charge,” Malik said, eyeing the explosive. “With a slight delay. The hatch opens, we move to enter, then BOOM! The hatch is blown to shreds, the shrapnel goes everywhere, and no more Scorpions.”

  “Nasty,” Zoe agreed.

  “Do you think they did the same thing to the hatch at the substation,” Diego asked, “on the inside of the station?”

  “No,” Alex replied. “They’d take out the settlement’s electricity if they did that. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be cautious, either there or here.” He glanced at his team. “They may have booby trapped other parts of the passage, so stay sharp and watch your step, just in case.”

  They pressed on, moving toward the ladder at the end of the tunnel with even greater caution now. They scanned the walls and floor for more traps. Thankfully, there weren’t any. They reached the other end of the tunnel within half an hour, returning to the ladder that rose to the substation.

  "I'll go first,” Alex said. “Wait for my signal." He grasped the ladder, taking a deep breath before ascending. They all knew that if the hatch were guarded, their mission would likely be over. They wouldn’t be able to escape through the tunnel a second time.

  With a soft creak, the hatch opened just a crack, and Alex peered cautiously into the substation. His heart pounded as he scanned the room, expecting to be greeted at any moment by the muzzle of a rifle.

  But the room was empty, silent save for the hum of machinery. Alex let out a slow breath, waving the others up. They emerged one by one, weapons ready, moving to secure the room further.

  "Clear," Malik reported after checking the shadowy corners.

  "Looks like we got lucky," Jackson said. But there was no triumph in his voice, only acknowledgment of the danger they had been fortunate enough to avoid.

  “Stow your rifles,” Alex said, shifting his to his back. “Easiest way across to the apartment blocks is to look like we belong.”

  “And hopefully not get spotted by any guards,” Zoe added.

  They advanced through the substation to the exit. The door, destroyed during their escape, had been replaced, and all the other damage was repaired.

  Alex opened it slowly, checking the area. The settlement seemed strangely quiet, an air of tension hanging over the domes. Civilians hurried about their business, eyes downcast, as if afraid to draw attention to themselves. Power-armored guards were positioned near the perimeter. Their lack of overall alertness suggested the plan remained intact.

  For now, at least.

  He signaled the others, and together they exited the substation without drawing attention, fast-walking to the apartment blocks while keeping their eyes glued to the guards.

  They arrived without incident, advancing along the rear of the first block to the next, where Diego’s girlfriend lived. Reaching the apartment block, they slipped inside through an emergency exit, the locked door yielding to Alex’s DA. They huddled at the bottom of the stairwell, regrouping while the adrenaline still surged through their veins.

  "Since my girl isn’t expecting us…hell, she probably thinks I’m dead. Let me go talk to her first. I don’t want to scare her,” Diego said, already moving towards the stairs. "Wait here."

  As he vanished up the steps, Jackson turned to Alex, his expression troubled. "Gunny, are you sure about this? Hiding out here, in the middle of enemy territory? It feels like we're just asking to be caught."

  Alex met his gaze, understanding in his eyes. “I don’t love it, either. Hell, I don’t like any of this. But the military didn’t spend so much time and energy training us for us to sit around and do nothing. I know all that simulator work felt like doing nothing, but now that we’re ass deep in this shit, I feel like all that digital preparation has paid off. It’s no substitute for real experience, but it’s kept us alive, and gotten us this far.”

  "You wanted real action, Jackson,” Malik added. “Remember? You definitely got your wish."

  Jackson snorted, shaking his head ruefully. "Yeah, be careful what you wish for, right?"

  "Right," Alex agreed. "But wishing won't get us through this. We need to stay focused, stay sharp. Trust in each other, and in the mission. Clear?"

  "Clear," they chorused.

  Just then, Diego reappeared with a dark-haired, full-figured woman in tow. "This is my girl, Ha-Yoon," he said, introducing her to the team. "She's agreed to help us."

  Ha-Yoon looked them over, a hint of pride in her eyes. "Come on," she said, her voice soft but urgent. "We need to get you to my apartment.”

  They followed Ha-Yoon around the stairwell to the elevator and stepped into it. As Diego selected the fourth floor and the doors closed, Alex felt a flicker of trepidation. They were committed now, their fate tied to the discretion and loyalty of a woman they trusted on Diego’s word alone.

  The elevator ascended, each floor ticking by with agonizing slowness. Suddenly, it lurched to a halt, the doors opening to reveal an older woman standing in the corridor. She stared at the Marines, eyes wide with shock and fear.