Free Centurion's Rise by Mark Henrikson

to befriend since you’ll pose no temptation to break her vow of chastity.  Can you do this?”
    The apprehensive ensign gave a hesitant nod.
    Hastelloy could easily see he needed to bolster the young man’s confidence.  “Valnor, your life force has been around now for almost two thousand years.  It’s time you step out of your protective cocoon and start embracing risks and responsibility.  You are more than ready, and I’m giving you free reign on this assignment.  There will be no meddling or supervision on my part.”
    Valnor took in a deep breath, straightened his posture as a visible sign of him rising to the challenge, “I won’t let you down.”
    Hastelloy put his arm around the young man and gave him a gentle shake, “I know.”
    Gallono glanced back with a frustrated look.  Everyone had something to do except him.
     

Chapter 10:  Going in Heavy
     
    A procession of three desert camouflage Humvees roared through the crowded streets of Cairo city center.  The intimidating size of the vehicles was certainly a factor in other cars giving them a wide birth, but most of the motivation came from the sight of a TOW anti-tank rocket launcher mounted on top of the lead vehicle.  Mark sat in the passenger seat of the lead Humvee and navigated the caravan into a private warehouse district.
    “You’re trespassing on private property,” the Egyptian army Colonel protested from the back bench.  “And you’re outside the scope of operations granted you in this country.”
    Mark looked back at the man nestled among six SEAL team members decked out in full combat armor and carrying heavy assault rifles with the safeties off.  Somehow the Colonel looked rather small, and the disregarding look from Mark let the man know how valued his input was on the matter.  The Colonel got the message and sank back behind the broad shoulders of the men crammed in next to him and meekly went with the flow.
    “The target entrance is dead ahead,” Mark said while taking a cursory look around the area.  On the surface everything was consistent with your typical industrial park.  A dozen large warehouse structures dominated the landscape, except for the small brick structure that lay dead ahead.  The building couldn’t have been more than a thousand square feet in size, and there were no windows or loading docks.  The only distinguishing feature was a single steel door facing the main street.
    Mark picked up his communication radio and issued orders to the headsets worn by each soldier.  “We’re going in heavy.”
    The two trailing vehicles accelerated to form up on either side of the lead Humvee.  All three roared to a stop in front of the building’s single door and soldiers poured out of the vehicles from every point of exit: left, right, back hatch, and even the roof portal.  A perimeter was formed amid the gawking stares of everyone in the office park trying to go about the usual day.
    Four men brandished a battering ram and hit the front door with everything they had.  The door did not even flinch upon impact, and the only evidence to the devastating blow was a black gash.  Mark drew confidence from their progress until he realized it was just a smudge from the battering ram’s black paint.
    The men delivered six more full force blows to the door which yielded the same result; a door still standing with barely a scratch on it.
    Mark looked at the demolitions engineer.  “ Your turn.”
    “Yes sir,” the man beamed and then proceeded to outline the door with C4 explosives and ran the detonation cords out into the street.  The rest of the SEAL team and vehicles immediately followed.
    “Fire in the hole,” Mark heard just before he plunged both index fingers into his ears and took cover behind the nearest Humvee.  Moments later his ears rung and his body ached from the concussion of an explosion.
    Mark got back to his feet and once again looked toward the small building expecting to see a gaping hole