Fighting for Freedom by Serena Yates

Author:Serena Yates [Yates, Serena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-06-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

LUIZ COULDN’T wait to climb down the rope ladder stowed away in the floor of the stealth helicopter Alberto had managed to get hold of. It was an hour after sunset, and they were about thirty miles east of Montoya’s compound, the Andes mountains at their back and flying toward the ocean in the distance. They’d have to make a decision soon. It wasn’t safe to get much closer than twenty miles or so, since Montoya surely had patrols out. They were flying as low as possible over the jungle canopy as it was, but still. They couldn’t take any risks on this mission. He snorted quietly. V&O teams never willingly took risks when they extracted a kidnapping victim, but Luiz normally wasn’t this nervous. However, this was Pascal they were about to set free, and Luiz couldn’t believe what a difference knowing the victim made in his attitude.

Just keep it together, man!

As if Reinaldo had read his thoughts he glanced over from the seat next to Luiz and smiled, mouthing “All will be okay” as he gave Luiz a manly pat on the shoulder.

After developing a rough plan at the end of Wednesday, once they’d gathered all the information, they’d driven to Cali and spent the day planning the details, getting the gear ready, and obtaining the coordinates for Montoya’s compound so the pilot would know where to go. Then, using maps, they’d familiarized themselves with the terrain; not a replacement for doing actual reconnaissance once there, but it gave them a head start.

Now it was almost time for action and Luiz was ready to jump out of his skin. His backpack with all the equipment was strapped onto his back securely; he’d put a flashlight, a small handgun, and other necessities in the various pockets of his green-and-brown-flecked camo suit; and his boots were worn enough he’d be comfortable during the long march toward their destination. He grabbed his tranquilizer gun slung over one shoulder a little tighter and nodded to himself; he was as ready as he could be at this point.

“Approaching jump point.” The pilot’s voice came over Luiz’s headphones and catapulted him back into ops mode.

The “jump point” was twenty miles east of where they needed to be. Vitor and Pedro would circle around to approach from the south, while Reinaldo and Luiz were planning to do the same and end up north of the compound. The helicopter and a backup team would wait for their signal twenty miles to the west, well hidden by a particularly dense part of the coastal jungle. Of course, they wouldn’t actually jump, since they flew too low for parachutes, but the lingo was one they all understood.

“Go!” The pilot’s loud voice alerted everyone this was serious.

Reinaldo took point, checking the ladder was secure at the end tied to the motorized spool that would pull it back up once they were on the ground. Reinaldo nodded, happy with what he’d found, and pushed it out so it dropped below the treetops.

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