Five Ways To Surrender

He prayed his diversion had bought the rest of the SEAL team time enough to get away from the ISIS rebels. They would expect him to seek refuge and escape from the occupied village before attempting to reconnect with friendly forces.

Jake wondered what had happened to the drone that was supposed to be flying over while they were on their mission. Had the drone been in the vicinity of the village, they would have known the ISIS group was on its way and either been prepared for the attack or gotten the hell out of Dodge before they’d arrived.

Instead, they’d been outmaneuvered and outgunned. If Jake hadn’t rammed the other truck, they would have been mowed down by the sheer number of bullets the terrorists could have unloaded into them.

Hut by hut, Jake led the way, making it to the edge of the village. He paused to assess the chances of strolling across a wide, barren expanse of land. By himself, he could low crawl or run in a zigzag line long enough to achieve the safety of cover behind some of the larger boulders at the base of the nearby hills. With the woman, he wasn’t sure he could reach safety before they were discovered, and he didn’t know her physical capabilities.

He ran his gaze over her length. “Can you run?”

The woman tilted her chin. “I was on the track team in high school.”

“I didn’t ask if you were on the track team.” He drew in a deep breath, let it out and asked again, “Can you run now?”

She frowned. A nearby shout made her jump. “Yes. Yes, I can run.” She inched closer to him.

“Then on the count of three, I want you to take off in front of me and run like the hounds of hell are on your heels. Keep as low as you can. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t slow down until you reach those boulders at the base of the hills.” He touched her arm. “Can you do it?”

Her eyes round, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded.

After one more glance around the vicinity, Jake whispered, “Go.”

For a moment, the woman didn’t move. Then she took off like a bullet shot from an M4A1 rifle. He’d never seen a woman run as fast as that woman ran from the Niger village.

He almost smiled, but he didn’t have time to admire her resilience and strength. He took off after her, staying as close as possible to block the bullets someone might shoot their way. He had the bulletproof vest, but the woman had nothing.

Once they were over halfway there, he began to think they’d make it without being noticed. That was not the case. The sharp report of gunfire echoed off the hillsides.

Jake automatically ducked lower, and he was glad to see the woman in front of him doing the same.

With over two hundred yards between them and the village, they could potentially make it to the hills without being shot. Hitting a still target at two hundred yards was hard enough. Hitting one that was moving was even harder. He closed the distance between himself and his lady counterpart, keeping his back between her and that village. Fifty yards. All they needed was another fifty yards, and then they could duck behind the cover of the boulders.

Something slammed into his back, pushing him forward. He stumbled and plowed into the woman, sending her flying forward. She hit the ground on her hands and knees, but kept moving, crawling as fast as she could go.

Jake regained his footing, scooped up the woman, set her on her feet and hustled her toward the boulders.

Bullets kicked up dust at their feet as they rounded a man-size rock that had fallen from the bluffs above.

After a few deep breaths to refill his lungs, Jake stared at the woman who wasn’t breathing any harder than he was. “By the way, I’m Jake.”

“Alexandria Parker. Most folks call me Alex.” She looked past his shoulder. “I can hear voices coming nearer. Let’s go.”

She stepped out with purpose, heading away from the village and up into the hills.

Jake followed. “You weren’t kidding about running track.”

“I run whenever I get a chance,” she said without slowing to catch her breath. “Even over here in Niger.”

When they came to a bend in the trail, Jake glanced back, his pulse picking up again. “Well, you’re going to have to keep running. They’re coming after us.”

Alexandria picked up the pace, climbing higher and faster. Soon the village was completely out of view behind a hill. They couldn’t keep up the pace, but, thankfully, neither could their pursuers, and they didn’t have the benefit of ATVs to speed up the search.

“If you’re up to it, we should keep moving until nightfall,” Jake suggested.

“I’m good to go,” she said, her breathing a little labored. But she didn’t slow, didn’t falter, just kept going.

Jake thanked his lucky stars this woman wasn’t one to fall to pieces when the going got tough. A glance ahead at the rocky path provided a good indication that the going promised to get tougher. And they had no food or water to sustain them if they had to hide out for any longer than a day or two.

At the moment, though, their number-one need was a safe haven from gunfire.

The path into the hills forked. When Alexandria turned right instead of left, he didn’t question her choice. It made sense to choose the path least traveled. The other appeared to be recently disturbed.

The crack of gunfire echoed off the hillsides. As they slipped over the top of a ridge, Jake glanced back.

Several men dressed in the black garb of the ISIS rebels were climbing the path they’d taken.

“Wait on the other side,” Jake commanded.

Alexandria dropped below the ridge and did as told.

Hunkering low to the ground, Jake steadied his rifle and peered through the scope, focusing on the movement below.

His hands tightened on the rifle. “Damn.”

“What?” Alexandria started to climb up beside him.

Jake held out a hand to stop her and replied, “They’re following our path.”

“Good,” Alexandria whispered. “They found the candy wrapper I left.”

Anger surged as Jake sank back behind the ridge and stared at the woman as if she’d lost her mind. He stopped short of grabbing her by the arms and shaking some sense into her. “Why the hell did you do that?”

Her lips firmed and she lifted her chin. “The other path led to where the orphans and villagers are hiding in the caves. I didn’t want the militants to find them.”

His ire abated as he stared into the eyes of a woman who had sacrificed her own safety for that of others. He couldn’t fault her for that, not when he’d done the same for his team. “Okay. I get it. But that doesn’t make it any easier on us. We can’t stop moving until dark.” He glanced one last time over the top of the ridge.

They’d lost some of their lead. They’d have to get a move on to gain ground. He’d counted six of the ISIS fighters. The predators outnumbered the prey, but they still had the lead. With only a few rounds remaining in his magazine, Jake couldn’t risk a firefight. He had to get himself and Alexandria back to his team before they were caught or died in the arid landscape.

Chapter Three (#uf80de86b-b6e9-5d24-8278-a71cd4081eae)

Alex’s calves and thighs were past sore and now bordered on numb, but she kept climbing. Dusk settled in around her and Jake, making it more difficult to judge distance. She slipped on the path and almost tumbled down the hill they were on.

Jake grabbed her arm just in time and jerked her backward, slamming her into his broad, muscular chest.

She clung to him, appreciating his strength for a brief moment. He didn’t seem to be winded at all, whereas she was breathing hard and every muscle in her body quivered with overuse. Sure, she ran and kept in good shape, but she hadn’t been climbing hills, which required the use of a different set of muscles.

“We need to find shelter for the night,” Jake said, his voice so close to her ear it warmed the side of her neck.

She pushed against his chest and straightened. “I can keep going.” It was a lie, but she refused to be the one to hold them back. If the rebels caught up to them because of her, she would be responsible for the outcome.