Free Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Awakening Aubrey (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Jack 'Em Up Book 7) by Shauna Allen Page A

battlefield or a training mission or something and started barking orders. Not sure who he is, but I’m pretty sure he’s off his rocker. He’s been mumbling to himself in some kind of code and treating us like the enemy.” He quieted a moment as our captor moved to another aisle. “But that gun is real and it’s loaded. He’s already shot someone.”
    Unadulterated terror filled the man’s eyes and icy claws of fear scraped down my spine. “He did?”
    He inclined his head toward the cash registers. A pair of feet were all that were visible in a pool of blood. Shit.
    I froze at the sound of boots on the linoleum, but our captor stayed with the man he was currently berating for moving too much. “Do you know if help is coming?”
    The man shook his head. “I think we’re on our own.”
    I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and laid my forehead on the cold ground as realization hit me . . . I was being held hostage on an Army base by a soldier armed to the teeth.
    I was going to die.

Eleven
    Jude
    “Cortez.”
    I glanced over at my commander’s voice in the doorway and quietly excused myself from the tactical training video with a nod to Master Sergeant Creed.
    “Sir?” I joined Col. Remington in the hallway.
    He snapped an envelope my way. I stared down at the official seal of the United States Army. “What’s this?”
    “It came in this morning from Ft. Benning. I’d imagine it’s about your application to Ranger school.”
    My heart sped up to triple digit speeds as I looked again.
    3 rd Battalion, 75 th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia.
    I fought the urge to sag to the floor with my commander staring me down.
    “Aren’t you going to open it, Sergeant?”
    “Yes, sir.” I slid a shaking finger under the flap and cracked the seal. This was it. My future in a simple envelope. I drew out the paper and tried to read, though the words swam together like alphabet soup. I sucked in a deep breath and focused.
    The word Congratulations came into view and I grinned like a loon.
    “Sir!” Corporal Jones rushed in the front doors, leaving them to slam behind him. “We have a situation. I’ve been told to get you immediately, we need all hands on deck. Not a drill.”
    Col. Remington eyed him, then me, then turned back, his face all business. “Let’s go.”
    “Do you need me, sir?” I asked. If it was a real world situation, training could wait.
    “Let me assess the situation. I’ll let you know.” With that, he was out the door behind Jones, leaving me with a bad feeling.
    I scanned my acceptance letter again then shoved it in my pocket and went back to class, dread now squelching any sense of accomplishment.
    MSgt Creed eyeballed me when I rejoined the group. “Everything okay?”
    “Not sure. Guess we’ll hear in a few.”
    Within minutes, Col. Remington burst into our room, followed closely by Fletch and his friends. “Can we have a moment, Master Sergeant?”
    Fletch’s eyes met mine, but otherwise, nobody said a word as Creed joined them for a hushed conversation by the door. The longer they spoke, the more anxious I became. Some serious shit must be hitting the fan for this kind of interruption of a training session.
    Creed glanced my way, something sinister in his dark eyes, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I walked over. “Sir?”
    Fletch leaned in toward the Colonel and said something under his breath. Col. Remington shot me a look then bowed his head.
    Not. Good.
    “What is it?” I demanded. “How can I help?”
    The Colonel tipped his head toward the door and we all stepped back into the hall. He faced me, his eyes deadly serious. “We’re in the middle of a situation on base and we’re on lockdown.”
    “Situation?”
    “A hostage situation. An ex Special Ops soldier has taken over the PX with deadly force, and it’s estimated there are at least ten hostages currently, and he’s not talking. Sgt First Class Fletcher and his men are taking point on this because