Declan

Chapter Forty One

Declan~

Declan and Pierce were in position on either side of the door frame waiting for Marcus to give the order.

"Bravo team in position," Marcus said low in his throat mic.

"Delta team in position," Slater responded.

The plan was to infiltrate both of the main structures simultaneously, having Bravo team storm the main structure where they assumed Lexi was being held and Delta team handle the combatants in the secondary structure. Logan had gone down to the third structure to sweep and secure it and the teams awaited his confirmation.

Hunter volunteered to stay behind on the feeder road to block the only exit as a last resort in case the op went south. All of the men affirmed his decision knowing if any of them would be able to eliminate an armed hoard single handedly, it was Hunter.

Nate had run surveillance thirty to forty five minutes prior which informed them of the six to eight bodies in the main house with one that remained constantly unmoved in a back room for hours. Based on experience Nate made the call and decided that had to be Lexi. He also saw at least four bodies that seemed to come and go from the secondary structure.

Declan clutched the rifle hanging around his neck and held it tight to his chest as he awaited commands from Marcus.

Logan's whispered voice sounded through their earpieces. "Delta One, structure three secure."

With a nod of his head, Marcus acknowledged the confirmation and prepared the team to enter the main cabin.

"Breach," Marcus directed as he raised his foot and kicked the door in.

As soon as the door had caved Declan and Pierce exploded over the threshold with Declan sweeping his weapon over the right corner and Pierce sweeping the left, leaving room for Marcus and Caleb to come forward from between them. Marcus took the lead with his weapon raised and controlled as the team followed suit.

The living room of the cabin was empty but loud voices and the sound of loading and cocking of weapons was unmistakable.

"Check left. Door," Declan said into the comms as Marcus approached an open doorway.

"Movement," Marcus answered before firing several shots into the room.

He and Caleb swept the rest of the room before exiting and rejoining the team.

"Primary. Three down," Caleb said low, calling out their kills to help the team avoid any unwanted surprises.

"Secondary. Two down," Slater echoed from the other building.

The team fanned out into a line as they checked the rest of the house with each member knowing his role and executing every movement with machine-like precision.

Under any other circumstance hearing "all clears" over the comms as the teams cleared a building would have been music to Declan's ears, but not today. How had they not found Lexi yet? Where was Estrada?

"Any sign of HVT One?" Declan asked.

"Negative." Kincaid answered.

Shit.

Lexi and Estrada were both high value targets (HVT), but Lexi was their primary target with Estrada falling second. Hunter had agreed that recovering Lexi was the main mission and bagging Estrada would be an added bonus.

Only two rooms remained and they hadn't seen any sign of Lexi.

Moving quietly through the house the team used their throat mics and hand signals to communicate as they went from room to room checking every inch for signs of Lexi or Estrada. Their boots crossed over a patch of flooring that was saturated with blood. Lexi's blood. Declan realized that he was standing in the spot where Lexi had taken her lashings and it suddenly became harder to breathe. His eyes surveyed the floor and the various patterns of blood spatter that coated the hard concrete.