“You did the right thing. I’ve no doubt Kirkpatrick sent those men to take out President Lancaster.”
“We took on heavy gunfire, but we got out of the area. I had to leave Abby and Brookes behind. I didn’t have a choice.” Kevin pulled in a breath. “I tried circling so that I could engage the vehicles, but they opened fire on us.”
“Listen to me, Kevin.” He had to make the young man see what happened wasn’t his fault. “James is tracking Abby and Brookes. We’ll find them. You have to take the president and his wife to a safe location and out of the air before Kirkpatrick sends more fighters after you. Get on the ground. We’ll dispatch people your way to escort you to the new compound.” The words had barely cleared his lips when shots lobbed at the chopper drowned out the conversation.
“Oh, geez,” Kevin exclaimed into the phone. “We’re taking fire.”
Someone touched Cole’s arm. He turned. Eva stood beside him. The concern on her face assured him she’d heard everything.
“We’re under attack. Multiple fighters,” Kevin’s frantic tone screamed through the speaker. The young man was ill-equipped to handle this type of combat.
“Stay as low as you can and get out of the area. Leave the line open.”
“I’m handing the phone to the president.”
Tinging sounds filled the space as multiple shots struck the chopper.
“Seth, are you there?” Cole hated not being able to do anything but listen as the battle continued.
“I’m here.” President Seth Lancaster’s less frantic voice filled the space. “Kevin is doing a great job, but those fighters aren’t letting up. If they make a direct hit, we’re in trouble, but we can’t afford to land. I have a feeling there are more troops on the ground. Don’t know how they found us.” An audible breath filled the air. “Pray. We need your prayers.”
“You’ve got them.” Every head bowed. Eyes closed as the room filled with pleas to God.
Cole slipped his arm around Eva, and they both prayed as the drama continued to come through the phone.
“We’re hit!” Kevin’s yelled. “We’re going down.”
“How bad is it?” Cole’s heart rate accelerated as the chaos in the cockpit filled the war room.
“Bad. Kevin’s right. We’re going down.”
Someone screamed. Chopper blades cut through something dense, perhaps trees. Then the crash seemed to go on forever.
“Seth, are you there? Seth?” Nothing but silence filled the space, and Cole’s worst fears raced through his mind. “We need a rescue team on their way there now. We don’t have hours; we have minutes to rescue our people from the crash site. Get Michael Hurt on the phone. There’s no longer a choice. We have to trust him.”
The horrible truth settled over Cole. He’d had a choice to make between the vetted contact in Denver and one they weren’t sure of, and he’d made the wrong decision. A fissure of uneasiness slipped into his brain. Had their Denver contact set up Abby?
“Calling Hurt now.” Jordyn dialed the number.
While she placed the call, Cole turned to James. “What about Abby and Brookes?” He was terrified for his people.
“They both appear to be heading in the same direction, only they aren’t in the same vehicle.”
“There was more than one car,” Cole concluded the obvious.
James glanced his way. “It would appear so.”
“Guys, I have Michael Hurt on the phone.” Jordyn put the call on speaker. “Michael, tell the team what you told me.”
A deep male voice came on the line. “Thanks for reaching out to me. I’m a ham radio fanatic, and I’ve been monitoring some unusual messages coming through. They’re cryptic, but it sounds as if something is being planned. I caught the name of a location. A regional airfield outside of Hinton, Iowa.”
Cole couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Michael, Cole Hernandez here. We have people down near that location.”
James gave the last known coordinates for the chopper and Cole repeated them. “We need immediate evacuation, but it’s risky. There are enemy soldiers in the area.”
Hurt was quick to respond. “Sir, I’m a former Army Ranger, and I’ve seen combat. I have some friends who believe the way I do. They’ve served as well. We’ll get your people out.”
Relief threatened to buckle Cole’s knees. God was good and watching out for His people. Cole just prayed his bad decision didn’t cost lives. “Thank you, Michael. Stay in touch with Jordyn, and if you run into trouble. . .” He didn’t finish because he knew the type of man he was dealing with. As a soldier, Michael and his people were trained to go into dangerous situations and bring home those in need.
“Don’t worry about us, sir. I’ll let you know when the mission is finished.”
Cole smiled despite the situation. He’d just found the latest members of Strike Force.
Chapter Three
As hard as it was not to panic, Abby had to keep her head about her. She was now a prisoner of the enemy.
They’d shoved her into the back of the car, flanked by two heavily armed men. A pillowcase covered her head to prevent her from seeing where they were going.
As they’d sped away, she’d heard an exchange of gunfire. Abby had no idea where she was being taken; only that whoever had her was her worst enemy. She was now a prisoner of an enemy that was far more deadly than his predecessor.
“Where are you taking me?” Abby fought to keep her voice level. Think rationally. There had been four of them altogether. The cars hadn’t used any lights as they approached. Coming in dark prevented her and the others from knowing of the attack until they’d heard the engine sounds, then it was too late. There’d been so many shots exchanged. She was terrified for Brookes and the others.
“Keep quiet,” The man to her right barked the order. She detected an accent that sounded. . . German?
Her jumbled thoughts flew over the limited information she had. The press conference in Berlin. These were Kirkpatrick’s people. Think. Which direction was she being driven? She forced herself to pull in several breaths. Let them go. Untangle her mind. Even though she couldn’t see a thing, she closed her eyes. Breathing steadied. Northeast. They were heading northeast. Away from the people Cole had dispatched to rescue them.
The car continued down a smooth road at a rapid rate of speed. The driver wanted to put distance between them and the scene of what happened.
“We have two of them.” Another male voice interrupted her troubled thoughts. He spoke in German to someone on the phone, not realizing she understood the language. This was the man who had ordered her to surrender. “The others got away.”
Another person had been taken hostage. She had no doubt it was Brookes. Tears filled her eyes.
“We will meet you there.” The man continued speaking while a chill sped up her spine when she thought about what lay ahead for her.
Give me strength.
Silence returned to the car’s interior. She estimated they’d traveled ten miles by now. Still going northeast. Was there a military base somewhere in the area? She had no idea.