Breaking Point by C. G. Cooper

Author:C. G. Cooper [Cooper, C. G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-16T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

BENJAMIN CLAREMONT — IRAQ — YEARS EARLIER

The small sniper outfit’s numbers ebbed and flowed as casualties were taken and reinforcements were provided. Every few weeks, they went to a new location, and bit by bit, their digs got nicer while their vehicles got older, dirtier, and more rugged. Flashy cars, they learned, made them an easy target.

The snipers provided overwatch, went on sensitive target missions, and spent a lot of time waiting around for someone with the right connections and enough money to call in the cavalry. They were not door kickers, but sometimes they kicked down doors. They were not hand-to-hand fighters, but sometimes they fought hand to hand. Really, they did whatever the situation warranted. Claremont had never felt more alive.

During his first three months in Iraq, he took out six lucrative targets, survived ten firefights, and escaped three ambushes relatively unscathed. He also witnessed Gray’s skills and found himself impressed by how good the young man had grown at his craft. Not as good as Claremont, but in time, he would get there. Gray was clever and ruthless, and he achieved anything he put his mind to.

Claremont and Gray had yet to go on a mission together, but maybe that was for the best. There was something about Gray that unsettled him. Some ruthlessness that the young man kept hidden away. But in quiet times, Claremont saw it in his eyes, in his mannerisms. And of course, there were the rumors that maybe, just maybe, Gray had killed one of their own snipers, and that maybe, just maybe, he was working some dirty missions on the side.

The first rumor wasn't comforting, but they were mercenaries, after all. As for the second? Well, so long as they completed their assignments, making money on the side was encouraged. In fact, their employer had instituted a referral program after some of the snipers’ side jobs had brought fresh opportunities to the company. Now, any sniper who referred new business got a cut of the payout. It seemed unbelievable, but it was true.

"Claremont, you ready?" asked Jake Anderson, a burly barrel of a man from Wisconsin. Or was it Wyoming? Claremont couldn't remember. Anderson was his partner for the night, and luckily, he seemed like a solid one. Claremont could usually tell by the way a man cared for his weapons, and this man cared for his very much.

"I'm ready," Claremont said, heading for the front door. It was midnight, and they needed to be in position by 0300. There would be no helicopter support, so they were going in on foot.

Outside the walls of their compound, Claremont breathed in the warm evening air and smiled. He liked the dark hours in Iraq. There was something peaceful about them—but also dangerous. The combination filled him with an excitement that he'd never known, an excitement that he'd read about as a child. This was what it meant to be a warrior.

They were in place by 0200. Fifteen minutes later, they made radio contact with the night controller.

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