Grayson

Chapter Twenty Three

3 weeks later

Grayson

Sweat dripped down Grayson's back, trickling a trail between his shoulder blades as he concealed himself on the roof of an abandoned building.

"Northside clear." Grayson said quietly into the mic that was pressed against his throat.

Alpha team has been tasked with a nearly impossible objective. Their target was a wanted terrorist who had evaded capture for over two years. He was heavily guarded at all times and chatter recharging his whereabouts was always short and coded, but Caroline was able to pinpoint him within a month.

"Convoy approaching. East." Axel said firmly, causing Grayson to adjust his sights on the long line of vehicles.

"Six vehicles." Hawk confirmed.

Grayson watched through his scope taking in every detail he could. He analyzed the position of the vehicles, the make and models of each one, trying to figure out which cars were filled with armed guards and which one held their high valued target.

"He's in the second car." Grayson announced confidently.

"You turn your X-ray vision on or what?" Axel asked quietly, wanting Grayson to explain his reasoning.

"Look how low the second car is riding. It's almost scraping the ground. Armored siding."

"Good eye." Axel confirmed. "Alpha Four, you got eyes on it?"

"I got em'" Hawk said quietly.

The plan was simple, but dangerous. There were too many armed guards to ambush the convoy. Alpha team needed to separate the leader and capture him in a much smaller setting.

"Convoy's approaching the mark." Austin said. "Just a liiiiiitle bit more."

A few seconds passed with all eyes on the slow moving cars that were traveling through the tight city passage.

"Now." Axel commanded.

A split second after Axel had given the order, the familiar chirp of a suppressed rifle whistled through the air as the front right tire of the second car collapsed and the convoy came to a stop. Multiple armed guards spilled out of the vehicles with their guns pointed up to the high windows and rooftops, searching for a sniper - searching for Hawk.

"Come on out boys." Austin whispered as more men exited the vehicles, fanning out in defensive positions to cover more ground, just as Alpha team had planned.

This was Grayson's cue to move. Gathering his things, Grayson moved swiftly and silently back into the building and down the stairs, controlling every muscle in his body to remain as quiet as possible. His steps were calculated and sure-footed as he maneuvered down the stairs.

"Alpha Two in position." Grayson confirmed through the coms as he braced himself beneath the lowest level window, a thin wall and pane of glass separating him from the armed convoy outside.

"Fuck em up Alpha Three."

"My pleasure." Austin said, his smile evident even through the gritty coms. "Boom" He whispered a millisecond before two loud explosions ripped through the air. Dust and debris shattered the window above Grayson, and the loud screams of panic could be heard just a few feet away from him. Gun fire erupted, but it was in all directions, an act of despair and panic which was good. Not a single shot had been fired in the correct direction which meant the armed assailants had no idea where Alpha team was hiding.

"Alpha Two on my count." Axel said, waiting for the perfect opportunity to ambush the vehicle and capture their high value target.

Grayson closed his eyes and focused, anticipating Axel's commands as the firefight continued. A stray bullet landed by chance, through the window, hitting the adjacent wall right in front of Grayson, causing him to follow the trajectory by whipping his head to the right. Normally a stray bullet was laughable. It meant the enemy had failed and gave Grayson information about the position of his attacker, but that bullet did something to Grayson.