Free Carlie Simmons (Book 2): In Too Deep by JT Sawyer Page A

to lead
that phase of the op. You have far more experience boarding vessels than anyone
here.”
    “That’s fine by me. Besides, a good
leader knows when to delegate,” he said, racking the slide on his M4. “By the
looks of it, the vessel is a Handymax Series B bulk freighter so the entrance
to the cargo hold will be at the stern—or rear of the ship for those of
you who are landlubbers.”
    “Look who’s talking, you desert rat—you’d
been living in Arizona longer than me.”
    “Yeah, well, that’s worked out OK for me
so far,” he said, winking at Carlie and then returning to checking his vest for
magazines.
    Carlie unbuckled herself from her seat
and moved across the cabin towards Jared. She sat beside him and unfurled the
map in her hand. “You’re sure this is the best avenue of approach to the waterfront?”
she said, pointing her finger at the highlighted circle on the map.
    “You’ve asked me that three times now.
I’m beginning to think you just enjoy my company.”
    She gave him a hard look and tapped her
finger on the map again. “I sweated my tail off on those streets for years with
my old man when I was younger. I know my way around there like a flea on a
coondog’s ass.”
    As the helo circled the wrecked
storefronts along the river, Carlie craned her head away from the map and could
see the wrecked freighter in the moonlight.
    “Set down on that twelve-story hotel a mile
to the south,” she yelled to the pilot over the rotor wash. She looked around
at the other operators in the cabin. “My team will head over to the frigate and
into the cargo hold down below while Boyd’s team maintains a secure perimeter
on the outside. SAT imagery from General Adams indicates that the nearest
concentration of creatures is about a half-mile out from here but there are
sure to be stragglers roaming around. With sunrise not far off, there ain’t
gonna be any time for sightseeing.”
    “Thirty seconds,” shouted the pilot.
    Shane leaned over towards Amy and Jared.
“If anything does go down, just remember your muzzle control. You’re both used
to high-stress situations, so rely on your breathing and mental focus,” he
paused, looking at Jared, “…or whatever the hell voodoo you use to stay calm.”
    As the Blackhawk descended, a swirl of leaves
and debris spun around the rooftop. Carlie looked at her two teams and saw that
everyone was ready. She noticed Boyd looking away from her with a smirk. She
found herself already irritated by the man and they hadn’t even seen action
together. Maybe he’d be different on the battlefield, though she hated going
into combat blind with men she only knew from personnel files. It seemed like
every time Carlie entered a new group of operators, she had to fight her way
through their convoluted gauntlet of respect to a degree unlike her male
counterparts.
    She pulled her scrutinizing gaze away
from Boyd as the helo came to a standstill on the derelict roof of the Westin Hotel,
eight hundred yards from the Mississippi River.

 
    Chapter 16
     
    The doors of the Blackhawk slid back and
both teams exited. Boyd led his team of five operators along the rooftop,
sweeping for hostiles. Once the area was deemed secure, he instructed one man
to position himself on the south side of the roof with his sniper rifle trained
on the riverfront. He and his remaining men followed Carlie and her team down the
stairwell to the lobby.
    Carlie and Shane led the way, followed by
Amy and Jared, with Matias in the rear. They moved down the gray corridor with
their flashlight-mounted weapons illuminating the path that led to ground level.
Their boots clanked on the metal steps and the muffled sound of nervous
breathing filled the stairwell.
    Once the lobby was secure, Carlie
whispered to the rear for Jared to come up. “You’re up front with me until we
get to the freighter. I know we already went over the route on paper but that’s
a different beast than having boots on the ground.