Ambush Read Free

the jaguar grunted
once and the tiny eyes disappeared into the underbrush. That was their signal
to book it.
    Waving the others on, Svengurd watched as the jaguar sunk
her fangs into the neck of the tapir and dragged the carcass back. Now that her
cubs were safe, she needed to secure their dinner. In an amazing feat of
strength, she pulled the tapir up and into the tree.
    Once the team was at a safe distance, Svengurd bowed his
head. “ Tuck sa mycket.” Thank you so very much.
    Catching up with the group, he went to move into the point
position, but as he passed Brandt, the British operative patted Svengurd’s
shoulder. “Nice work, mate.”
    Svengurd gave a sharp nod and moved on. He wasn’t going to
take any praise until they were on that helicopter.
    * * *
    Okay, Brandt thought, so they had avoided death by jaguar,
but they weren’t out of the woods yet. Literally. Why did they call them plans
when they never actually went as planned? Vanderwalt was getting heavy, and
even Lopez stumbled over a vine.
    They were way off course, going in nearly the opposite
direction as the Jeep, and correcting course would take them directly into the
path of the cartel’s main force.
    “Stop,” Brandt whispered harshly. “Time to regroup.”
    Vanderwalt pushed himself off of Brandt, leaning against a
tree trunk. Lopez lowered the boy to the ground.
    “I’ve got to get the Jeep,” the corporal stated.
    “Agreed.”
    There was just no way they were going to haul this motley
crew out of the jungle on foot. Lopez took in several quick breaths, pumping
himself up. “Meet you at the secondary rally point.”
    Luckily, they knew that their plans rarely worked out, so
they had a backup.
    “Don’t take any unnecessary risks,” Brandt urged, knowing it
was useless. Lopez’s middle name was “reckless.”
    The corporal didn’t even bother lying as he charged into the
forest. Alone, unburdened, Lopez at the least had a chance of threading the
needle through the enemy forces to reach the hidden Jeep.
    “Svengurd,” Brandt ordered, expecting the point man to move
them out. But Svengurd knelt to pick up the boy. “No.” Brandt said. “I’ll get
him.”
    A blond eyebrow shot up. “Would you like me to carry you
both, then?”
    Right. Brandt clocked in at two ten, yet if there was anyone
who would actually attempt to lift both the boy and Brandt, it would be
Svengurd.
    “All right,” Brandt conceded. Svengurd was the most logical
choice to carry the boy. “Vanderwalt. It’s you and me again.”
    The Brit groaned as he leaned into Brandt’s shoulder. “Not
sure how much further I can hoof it, mate.”
    “It’s not far,” Brandt reassured the MI–5 operative. Of
course that was a lie, but a necessary one. Not just for Vanderwalt, but for
the two CIA operatives as well. They swayed on their feet. Injured, dehydrated,
scared. They all needed to believe that relief was in sight.
    Even carrying the teen, Svengurd set a brisk pace. They
moved as quietly as they could through the forest. How Brandt wished they had some
kind of satellite feed of the area. Unfortunately, getting a live feed of this
area meant going through the Mexican government, which basically meant they
would be giving the cartel a feed of the area, as well. Corruption in this part
of the world was just how life worked.
    Still, it would be nice to know where the hell the cartel’s
men were. His team was making good time, though, and not being shot at. Always
a bonus.
    Then they came upon a wall. An eight–foot wall. The stones
of the ancient wall towered above them.
    “Part of the plan, Brandt?” Vanderwalt asked knowing the
answer already.
    Brandt ripped the Velcro off his pocket and pulled out a map
of the area. Crap, they’d hit Becán already. Their altered route had brought
them to the base of the ancient Mayan ruin complex. He scanned the gray stone
wall that ran in a curved pattern as far as the eye could see. And, unlike the
forest behind them,