Alpha Awakened (Reaper Pack 84, #1)

Chapter 43

Date: Redacted

Time: Redacted

Location: Redacted

Ice sat on the edge of the helo’s open doorway, holding on to the safety strap beside him. They were coming up fast on a large coniferous forest, a half-moon lighting the way. The reported location of the cartel leader was on the other side of the giant swath of trees.

This was a night op, so he wore his black and green mask to blend in with the surrounding environment. Jax and Ortiz had both painted their faces with black and green streaks for the same purpose. Marshal had on a pair of night vision goggles. Unlike the three shifters, he’d need them to see in the dark.

“We can’t drop onto the X for this op,” Ortiz shouted into her headset over the noise of the helicopter blades. “We’re being set down five klicks out and we’ll cut through that forest to reach the target.”

Ice nodded to acknowledge his unit leader. But as he prepared for the drop, questions about this mission ran through his mind.

Why would a big time cartel leader leave the safety of his homeland for a sojourn in hostile territory and risk being taken into military custody? And why was the orchestrator of this mission so classified that even Ortiz didn’t know who it was? The questions nagged him in a vaguely unsettling way. He wasn’t going to get any answers while they were up in the air however, so he pushed the questions to the back of his mind for now.

Feeling eyes on him, his gaze slid to Marshal. The sergeant was staring at him. Ice glared until Marshal smirked and looked away. Not for the first time, Ice wished it was Hazard there instead of the obnoxious sergeant. Unfortunately, he’d have to deal with this jackass for tonight. He didn’t expect to have the same field chemistry with Marshal that he did with Hazard, but they’d get the job done.

The helicopter touched down in a clearing at the edge of the forest. Ice jumped out. Once the team was on the ground, the helo rose into the air, headed back the way they’d come to wait in a safe zone until they called for extraction.

Ortiz gave the order to get them underway.

“Move out.”

Ice gripped his rifle and started forward. They set off into the dark forest, spread out but within speaking distance. It was still. Quiet. No wind. Birds sleeping. Ice’s hackles rose with unease. His Instinct wasn’t blaring Danger ! but a sense of caution that went past his usual wariness during missions was tight in his chest. Whatever they were headed into, Ice didn’t like it. He relayed his feeling to the major.

“Something feels off about this mission,” he said low and quiet.

“Are you getting that from your wolf senses?” Marshal snidely asked.

Ice answered without bothering to look at him. “Yeah, asshole I am.”

Marshal snorted but didn’t say anything else.

Ortiz frowned as she turned her head to scan the area to the left and right. “I feel it too, Ice. Everyone stay on high alert.”

“Roger that, Major,” Jax said with a nod.

They continued on, weapons up, eyes watching the thick forest for anything unusual. They’d gone about two miles when Marshal looked down at the portable radar in his hand.

“Major, I’ve got movement approaching.”

“Where?”

“A body coming in at three o’clock. Make that two of them.” He paused for a moment. “Two more at eight o’clock.”

“Shit,” Ortiz cursed. “They’re trying to pinch us. Ice, you and Jax peel off. See if you can come up behind them and take them out.

“Roger, Major.”

After a quick nod at Jax, Ice struck out to his right, headed for the possible hostiles coming in from three o’clock. He used his eyes and his nose, trying to find whoever was out there. But he didn’t see anyone. Didn’t smell anyone either. The only thing he picked up were nocturnal animals going about their business. Then he heard a sound to his left.

Moving quick but cautious, he changed direction slightly to head that way. Near where he’d heard the sound, he came upon a small clearing. A ring of trees surrounded a patch of grass and fallen pine needles. His Instinct pulsed, telling him to stop. Ice came to a halt. He started to back away from the clearing when there was a rustle overhead. Ice looked up. A rope net disguised with foliage fell from the treetops. He tried to dive out of the way, but he didn’t get clear in time. The net dropped on his head, the heavy weights anchored to it dragging him down to the ground, trapping him beneath the thick, webbed rope.

“Fuck.” His adrenaline pumping, Ice pulled out one of his knives. Working fast, he cut through the net, making a hole big enough for him to fit through. He needed to get out of there. This was a trap, which meant someone would be along soon to see what they’d caught.

He’d just made it out of the net when a smoke grenade landed in front of him. Then another behind him. And another to his left. Ice cursed again. With smoke billowing all around him, it was difficult to see where he was going and who might be approaching. And the acrid stink made him momentarily nose blind to any other smells. Clicking the button on his radio, he started to let the others know what had happened. But at that moment, the boom of an explosion sounded far to his left, which meant it was closer to Jax’s position than his own.

His weapon up and finger on the trigger, he cautiously moved forward through the smoke. Before he made it more than a few steps, he heard boots crushing the leaves and twigs on the ground and the metallic clicks of multiple guns being readied.

“Stop where you are!” a voice ordered through the smoke.

Unsure which way he could go without encountering a hostile, Ice stopped. As the smoke slowly drifted away on the wind, he got a look at who he was dealing with. He was surrounded by six armed men, all in black gear with no identifying markers or patches on their uniforms. Their heads were covered by plain black balaclavas, and they wore dark goggles to hide their eyes. Ice couldn’t make out any specific features on any of them. The only thing he could determine was that they were all human. With no military or country identification on their uniforms, they had to be mercenaries.

The gunman standing directly across from Ice stepped forward from the circle.

“Drop your weapon or I’ll kneecap you,” he ordered in a hard voice.

Six on one were shit odds. Outgunned and outnumbered, Ice knew it was best to obey. They’d put in the effort to capture him instead of killing him right off, which meant they planned to keep him alive — at least for now. That gave him the option to escape later. He put his rifle on the ground in front of him.

“Raise your hands.”

Slowly, Ice raised his hands high above his head and waited for their next move.

“Number Two. Disarm him. And hurry, those explosives we set off to draw the others out won’t keep them away for long.”

They weren’t using names or call signs. That meant they were determined to make sure he learned nothing about them. Interesting.

Ice stood still as Number Two approached him. The smell of nervousness wafting from the man made his nose twitch. He was tempted to growl, just to scare him but he held back. He didn’t doubt that their leader would put a bullet in his leg if he moved or spoke the wrong way. They wanted him alive. Didn’t mean they needed him whole.

Number Two went through his tac vest and holsters, removing the hand guns, knives, and clubs he carried on his body. He was thorough, leaving nothing behind that Ice could use as a weapon. His radio was taken as well.

Once he was disarmed, Number Two bound his hands behind his back and loosely hobbled his ankles as well. He could walk, but he was going nowhere fast.

“He’s disarmed and restrained, Boss.”

The leader nodded. “Number Four, you’re up.”

Someone at Ice’s rear approached.

It was a little harder for Ice to remain still this time. His hackles rose again, he didn’t like an unknown walking up on him from behind. He tensed as they drew close and his nose caught the smells of metal and something chemical. They were about to give him a shot.

Not a second after he realized what was coming, a needle pricked the side of his neck. When he didn’t black out, he guessed what they’d injected him with. The serum that prevented shifters from changing into their wolf forms. He wouldn’t be able to shift as long as the agent was active in his system.

This felt targeted. They’d come prepared to incapacitate and capture a shifter. But did they want him specifically? Or would they have done the same to Jax if he’d taken the path to the right?

“Serum administered, sir.”

“Good work. Team! Let’s move out.”

One of the gunmen gripped his arm and led him through the forest with the rest of the group. After about a mile, they reached another clearing where two big vehicles with darkened windows were waiting. He was put into the back of the second one. They failed to blindfold him, so he made sure to pay attention to the direction they took once they started driving.

He was disarmed. Bound. Captured. Ice couldn’t help but wonder if this was happening because he’d changed for the worse. Because he no longer worked as a lone wolf and had become used to having a team along with him on missions. Used to having Dylan at his six. Had his reliance on his squadmates dulled his skills? Made him vulnerable? Or was it his ego making him think that he’d never have been captured on his own?

There was no way to tell. Right now, all he could do was keep his eyes and ears open, learn what he could about his captors, and watch for the first opportunity to make his escape.