Gateway: A Max Ahlgren Novel (Crucible Book 5) by Ryan W. Aslesen

Author:Ryan W. Aslesen [Aslesen, Ryan W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2020-08-27T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

“Mars calling Scout3, report in, over.”

Dead air.

Goadish sat at his desk in the trailer and listened to O’Toole call for his men. Scout3 remained MIA after two more calls. Outwardly, Goadish maintained a granite mask of impassive bearing, even though he was alone. Within, bellowed rage battered at his skull and demanded release. Dammit! Fucking Ahlgren and that commie cunt!

They just wouldn’t die. When he’d received word of the plane being shot down, Goadish had been satisfied yet wary. That his anti-aircraft team hadn’t seen chutes deploy meant little considering the plane’s low altitude and the poor visibility from the jungle floor. It had likely flown through their target window within a few seconds, leaving behind only a trail of black smoke as it plummeted to earth. He had patrols searching the area for kill confirmation, yet they had failed to find anything.

And now they don’t need to.

The hits kept on coming—or rather not coming—as O’Toole received no answer from a second patrol. Fuck this! Draco prodded him constantly to speed progress within the underground complex, and he didn’t need this additional aggravation on the surface. It’s their fault now, not mine. Jarvis should have assassinated Ahlgren and Kedrova when they’d returned to La Paz. Now, thanks to Draco and the Accident Man’s incompetence, Goadish again had to fight the two-front war of site operations and security.

He texted O’Toole: AWARE OF SITUATION. STAND BY FOR ORDERS.

Then he called Draco and apprised him of the situation.

“Find these missing patrols,” Draco said. “But do not sacrifice site security in the process. Send out two teams, your best men, and order all others to fall back and fortify the site.”

“Understood. They won’t get past our perimeter security.” His array of cameras, seismic sensors, and drones would spot Ahlgren from two klicks away, just as they had the man responsible for drawing off his missing patrols.

“Talk is cheap, as you Americans say. I want progress—and heads—not your mollifying platitudes.”

Watch what you say. But damn it, it had to be said. “I would gladly offer you heads without question… if I knew for certain they were going to infiltrate our site. But what if Kedrova is going for another entrance we don’t know about? One only mentioned in her father’s notes? If Jarvis hadn’t botched the operation—”

“The only botched operations you should be concerned with are your own. If you believe they are going for another entrance, then do what I pay you to do and find them before they infiltrate.”

Something exploded in Goadish’s brain, a popping bubble of anxiety, perhaps. How the fuck did I wind up here, working as glorified superintendent for some freakish oligarch who looks like a washed-up rock star?

“Are you still there?” Draco asked. “An acknowledgement would be appreciated.”

“Yes, sir,” Goadish said, a plaster smile now frozen on his face. Only the jolly expression kept him from lashing out with the full force of his fed-up temper. “I’ll see to it.” You bet I fucking will. I’m gonna flay the skin off Ahlgren’s hide when I catch him.

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