The Tide 9: Dry Gallows by Anthony J Melchiorri

Author:Anthony J Melchiorri
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Anthony J Melchiorri
Published: 2019-04-15T16:00:00+00:00

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O’Neil had hoped that the elite team of Hybrids had been the source of the darkness pervading his mind. Maybe they possessed supernaturally strong biochemical abilities that made his own look like a toddler trying to play soccer with a team of professionals.

Or maybe there was something in the JIC itself that had been responsible for clouding his senses.

But the darkness haunted him like a relentless ghost. Once it had taken hold in his mind, its claws hadn’t released for a second. Now, as they pushed deeper into the tunnels, away from the JIC, the feeling only grew stronger.

Air shifted in the chambers, carrying the rank odor of must and decay. The tunnels started to branch off into smaller passages. Lang suddenly held up a fist. Craw returned the gesture, and the group came to a pause. O’Neil searched the darkness for enemy contacts. But nothing moved except for water falling from the ceiling in persistent drips.

The two Special Forces leaders conferred between themselves before inviting Dom into their fold. O’Neil strained to listen, but he couldn’t hear them. The damn darkness was making it hard to concentrate.

The suspense didn’t last long. Dom returned to the Hunters.

“These aren’t on their maps,” Dom said, pointing at the branching corridors. “They think they’re new. We’re going to keep following them in hopes we can get out of here.”

“Any word on an airlift?” Jenna asked. The look on her face suggested she already knew the answer.

“Negative,” Dom said. “HQ says Operation Thunderbolt is already in full effect. They need all their resources focused on getting people into the city, not out.”

“So what, they want us to join the fight on the ground?” Glenn asked.

“Lang had the same question for them,” Dom said. “They told us we’re welcome to join. But they have no way to reposition us.”

“That doesn’t sound a whole lot better,” Meredith said.

“From what they did tell us, things aren’t looking good in Moscow,” Dom said. “So I suspect they’re getting nervous about what’s going to happen here. Ground troops are rolling in over the next hour. I think they realize taking Baghdad won’t be as easy as they thought.”

O’Neil didn’t like the sound of that. Whenever the leadership was nervous, that feeling reverberated down the ranks and right into the minds of those with boots on the ground. “What are we doing now?”

“Mission’s not over,” Dom said. “For all we know, the FGL moved their work somewhere else. If we can find any useable intel, we have a better chance of getting out of Baghdad alive tonight.”

“Plus helping to save the world and all that, too,” Miguel said. “Right, Chief?”

“Right now, we got to save our own asses if we’re going to help anyone else.”

Lang wandered over to the Hunters with his map of the tunnel system in hand. “We’re moving out. I want you guys on point.”

Dom raised an eyebrow. “Still trying to keep your guns on our backs?”

Lang shook his head. “No, man.” O’Neil noticed the corners of his lips twitched up ever so slightly.

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