Hearths of Fire (32 page)

This uneasy feeling was only because she knew what was taking place at the compound.
Charlotte kept telling herself that as she leaned into the backseat and reached around
on the floor. The bag of candy must have slid underneath the seat, so she bent further
until her hand finally felt the plastic bag. She lifted it up and was finally able
to pull back and set her shoes on the sidewalk. It was only then that she heard the
idle of the vehicle and when she turned to see if Neal had finally arrived, it was
to come face to face with Sally.

Charlotte’s relief was cut short when she saw Sally’s malicious smile and the stun
gun in her hand. Charlotte spun on her heel with every intention of sprinting around
her vehicle to the sheriff’s office, but terror took hold as she ran directly into
a man she’d never set eyes on before. His large hand muted her screams and before
she could do anything to defend herself, he’d spun her around and lifted her off of
the ground. She was now their captive and while she was truly terrified, her only
thought was that they couldn’t get a hold of Mandy.

*

Neal waited for
Gunny’s signal to the team that they could continue their advancement through the
compound. After having studied the cult members’ movements and obtaining verification
through the two men earlier today, the Ashes’ followers obeyed a strict lights-out
policy by twenty-one hundred hours. Their schedule seemed to be run like a business,
but since no one went against the Ashes, it ran flawlessly.

The team was dressed in green digital Marpat, which had been standard battle dress
for them when they were in the Marines, with the addition of type IIIA vests. Type
IIIA vests were rated to protect them from most types of pistol rounds and nearly
all fighting knifes. Communications were top of the line keyless mic headsets with
Motorola encrypted multi-channel burst transmission radios. Every man on the team
carried his personal choice of .45 ACP firearm. They didn’t have to be the same make,
but they had to all shoot the same caliber round for logistics’ sake.

Due to the nature of this particular mission, most of the team had forsaken their
usual complement long guns, which had been staged in the transport with the boss.
Starr remained back in a nondescript rental van monitoring comms and tracking each
team member’s movement via GPS meta-data transmitted on an alternate channel on the
same radio they used for voice traffic. As the team moved over the terrain, their
position accurate to one meter was transmitted in real time back to Starr’s node where
it was displayed on a contour overlay map displayed on her laptop.

That was the magic of burst transmission—it was capable of transmitting voice, tons
of data, and had the added benefit of having a very low probability of intercept.
Add some encryption and the bad guys have a hard time even knowing someone is transmitting
in the immediate area while the operations and plans guys maintained excellent situational
awareness.

Meanwhile Gunny led the hostage rescue ground extract team through the open terrain
and around the supposed guards that were protecting the property. Daegan was the only
team member not present, having already made his way across to an over-watch position
that would give him an overall view of the compound through his 4-15x50mm Gen3 low
light image intensified rifle scope. His position would also be able to pinpoint any
movement that the team didn’t have a visual on themselves. This information could
be reported verbally to the team or transmitted via data link to a situational awareness
app loaded to the team’s ruggedized tablet that Gunny carried in his load bearing
gear. All this data or none of it could be crossed-decked via Starr’s node or gated
as necessary due to mission requirements or compromise.

“Clear.”

Starr’s digitized voice came through the team’s earpieces as she continued to monitor
the heat and ground movement sensors that were deployed by earlier reconnaissance
missions from her position about one and a half clicks to their east. Gunny held up
a fist, telling them to hold their location and then used two fingers to indicate
they were to move forward at a slower pace. Moving in a staggered line while maintaining
proper separation, they waited for Gunny’s hand and arm signal to branch out in front
of the makeshift church.

Robert and Patricia Ashe had retired for the evening over an hour ago, along with
Garreth—although his bedroom light had stayed on for an additional ten minutes. Being
the messiah must give him special privileges. Glancing toward the main house, nothing
seemed out of place yet Neal got the feeling that something wasn’t right. The older
member that had been of help had been extricated by early evening and he was now in
a safe place where the Ashes wouldn’t be able to touch him. The man’s name was Dennis
Wilkens and though there was no telling if he would ever get a dime back from what
the Ashes had taken from him, he was willing to start his life over on his own terms.

The team had worked in unison for most of the day and it didn’t come as a surprise
that after months of training, they were able to meld together as a unit effectively
and efficiently. The church doors were locked shut, so Stick went forward and popped
the lock off the hasp with a pair of bolt cutters. It wasn’t long before the door
was breached and Gunny once again took lead through the door.

Their headsets integrated a new state of the art spiral enhanced night vision goggle
which permitted them to see without the aid of ambient light. The inside of the barn
and what the Ashes had done to convert it into an altar was right there in front of
them. There were benches on either side of an improvised aisle that contained a runner
of some sort that led to a large podium. The platform contained an altar that consisted
of two high backed chairs, a sacrificial stone, and candles which were currently unlit.
After the area was cleared, the team rushed the door inside which Dennis claimed would
be one cult member with a two-way radio in his possession, guarding a trap door that
led to the underground complex…where they would find Becky Garson.

There was no time for nerves, no time for doubts. In less than three seconds Trigger
was able to access the small room after Stick forced the door. Trigger’s skill in
close combat was second to none amongst elite military operators and within moments,
the lone cult member was on the floor with his hands and feet zip-tied behind his
back rodeo style. Diesel was left behind guarding the team’s six as Neal and the rest
of the team searched for the trap door.

“Ashes to Dirt will lead us—”

No more words came from the man’s mouth as Trigger used the butt of his weapon against
the back of the man’s head. The last thing they needed was to bring attention to themselves
before their mission was carried out. Dennis stated that he’d never been permitted
to enter this room so he wasn’t quite sure where the entrance to the underground room
was located. These cultists weren’t that skilled at hiding things from people who
knew what they were looking for. Gunny quickly located the concealed trapdoor and
Neal descended through it into the crude underground complex.

In the HD digitized night vision monocular, Neal immediately spotted Becky curled
up on a mattress in the corner of a side room. Her hair was hanging down over her
hunched shoulders as her eyes tried to figure out where the sounds were coming from
in the dark. She pulled her legs tighter together and wrapped her arms around them
to protect herself from whatever might be coming for her.

“Becky, it’s Neal Bauer.” He kept his tone low, focusing on his target. His team would
have his six and alert him to any threat that would make this conversation speed up.
As it was he didn’t know her state of mind and he needed to ensure that she was physically
and mentally capable of walking out of here on her own two feet. “I’m here to take
you home.”

“Neal?” Becky whispered his name as if she was terrified someone would overhear them.
He didn’t blame her. She was reaching an arm out to him, falling short of her goal.
“I can’t see you.”

Neal reached out for her hand, feeling dirt and grit on her skin. Had the Ashes kept
Becky down in this hole the entire time? He didn’t see any plates or bottles to indicate
that she’d been fed or hydrated, but maybe Robert and Patricia had her meals on a
schedule. Becky used his hand and the wall behind her as leverage to stand.

“Are you physically hurt?”

“N-no. Please…get me out of here.”

“That’s what we’re going to do, but you need to listen and follow everything I say.
I’m going to place your hand on my back. Grab hold and don’t let go as I lead you
out. I need it to stay there until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Becky’s teeth started to chatter and echo through the small chamber. Her hand
tightened on his, and when Neal finally turned she did as he asked and made sure her
handhold on his cartridge was solid. “T-they want Mandy.”

“I know,” Neal replied, making sure she could hear him but needing to get her to safety
before they had this conversation. “You can tell us everything once we’re away from
here.”

Neal caught sight of Trigger walking behind the steps that led to the exit and recognized
the large opening for what it was. It was a tunnel that wasn’t on the original blueprint
and although it confirmed their belief that the Ashes had another way off of the compound,
it made Neal wonder if the tunnel had branches to other housing structures on the
land. Gunny hadn’t located any exits on the other side of the acreage. Neal’s inquiry
would have to wait to be answered at a later time. At the moment their first priority
was getting Becky to safety.

“Incoming. I have a multi-passenger van approaching the property from the east.” The
team remained still until they were given enough intel to make the decision on whether
to proceed with the extraction or if they needed to change their course of action.
“Contact is slowing down as it approaches the compound and has now stopped outside
of the entrance gate a half click out from the property.”

Neal could hear Becky’s ragged breathing and feel the pressure of her hand encouraging
him to move. The young girl couldn’t hear what was taking place and had to be wondering
why everyone had stopped their movement. He could just imagine how frightened she
was. He whispered over his shoulder that she needed to trust them to get her out of
here, but they also needed her to remain quiet. He felt a slight pat on his back,
signaling that she understood.

In those few moments Daegan had rattled off the plate number of the vehicle that Starr
had identified as a threat. It wasn’t long before she announced the name of the owner—Sally
Jenkins. It was seconds after her announcement that Daegan came across their earpieces
with information that had Neal’s heart stopping in his chest and his blood rushing
through his ears.

“Charlotte is inside the vehicle. I repeat—Charlotte is inside the vehicle with two
Tango subjects.”

“Take the shots,” Neal ordered, doing his best not to raise his voice inside the small
space. He could barely contain himself to stand still while knowing that Charlotte
was within five hundred meters of his current location and very likely in serious
trouble. She wouldn’t have left the store for any reason. “Now.”

“Negative,” Starr countered, her deadpan voice coming across the airwaves. “Complete
the extraction.”

Neal bit off expletives as Gunny gave the gesture for them to exit. Trigger spun on
his heel and slowly climbed the wooden stairs. Neal knew he was next, followed by
Becky, and he damn well did his job regardless that he wanted to be the ones with
eyes on Charlotte. Stick and Gunny brought up the rear. Diesel was in the same place
they’d left him and it wasn’t until Trigger gave the shepherd a hand signal that he
then fell in line by his side. The male subject that was still out cold on the floor
would be recovered after Rebecca Garson was safe and the proper authorities brought
in to make the appropriate arrests. It would be a hell of a night for these cult members,
but Neal didn’t know if he would be here to witness it. In all likelihood Sally Jenkins
and another Tango had Charlotte in their clutches. They wouldn’t for long.

It took less than five minutes to make it off the grounds of the compound, multiple
things occurring within that time. Starr had alerted the feds since it was their warrant
that had given the team access to the property. She had included state authorities
in on the prior warning order, but she’d intentionally excluded the local police for
security reasons. Because everyone had been put on notice, the agents and state police
should be surrounding the compound at any moment. Unfortunately the vehicle in which
Charlotte was contained in had suddenly driven off and Starr had made the call to
allow it to happen. Neal felt rage consume him at her pronouncement and by the time
he reached her location, far enough away from the compound that it wouldn’t interfere
with the federal authorities, it hadn’t diminished any.