Free Day One (Book 2): Choices by Michael Mcdonald Page B

face it. I was no Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, or Delta Force operator. I was a normal Joe, apparently one with a death wish disguised as a good intention.
    Johnny pointed. “Okay, there’s your drop off point,” he stated, pitching the bird into a shallow right hand turn.
    I strained through the darkness to see the landing area. The street lights and a few lawn lights of several houses helped to bring my eyes to the familiar single story brick house I had so many times before pulled up to. It was kind of odd to see it from a few hundred feet up.
    “I’m going to put us down in the cul-de-sac over there, that way you can slip between those two houses and use the cover of darkness to hit your ex’s house,” he added and made a sharper turn the opposite direction. “I’d also advice that you go in through the backdoor instead of the front. It’ll make you less of a target to someone that’s hold up in their house shooting anyone that comes near.”
    Great! I thought to myself and rocked a full mag into my SBR and slid the sling over my head and under my right shoulder. I took another look at Kember; who was still either amazed at flying or scared to the point of remaining perfectly still. “I’m gonna go get, bubba now. You be good for, Johnny and stay safe,” I said to her.
    She looked only briefly at me before shifting her big blues eyes back to the window in the door. She could now see the lights from the approaching ground and she pointed and made some off the wall noise.
    “Get ready to go,” Johnny said as he made a few corrections and began bringing the bird back to earth.
    I chambered the first round, ensured the weapon was ready in case I had to shoot just seconds after exiting the chopper, and then slid my right hand down to my hip to feel the Beretta firmly seated in its holster. The chest rig felt tight, like it was shrinking with each passing minute. I pulled at it a few times and was unable to get the feeling to go away. My mind stumbled back to the shooting process and I brought up the proper shooting fundamentals that the Young Woman had taught me, trying my best to load them into my memory. That’s also when I realized that I couldn’t just start shooting if I ran into a group of them, as it would surely draw more. I pulled the suppressor from a narrow pocket on my chest rig and swiftly screwed it onto the end of my weapon.
    “Ten seconds,” Johnny said. “Take this.” He handed me a small radio.
    “What’s this?” I asked.
    “Military grade radios, that way we can talk to each other. So when you find your boy just call me and I’ll come get you two,” he said.
    I took several deep breaths of air, letting them out through my mouth as I saw the world coming up at us. Seconds later I felt the bird touch the earth. I swung the door open, jumped out and shut the door, taking only a few steps before hunkering down as the bird lifted off and quickly flew away.
    “What the hell am I doing?” I asked myself as I lie there in silence waiting and watching. The buzz of the helicopter disappeared and I was all alone in the dark, and of course my mind made the best of the situation by forcing me to hear things normal in nature, although I took them as multiple threats closing in on my position, but unable to determine which direction they were coming from. I was at a loss of what to do next.
    I couldn’t just wait around for them to find me. I jumped to my feet and hurried across someone’s front yard, slid between two houses and stopped near the rear to take a peek out into the further unknown. From where I was I could see the back of my ex’s house. They had a deck which I had never noticed before, although I did remember the door leading from the deck into the back of the residence. That would probably be my best point of entry, as their living room, dining room, and kitchen where all one large room. It would be easier for me to asses any threats and deal with them, rather than going around to