Firestorm: Book III of the Wildfire Saga Read Free Page A

prisoners."
    "Sweep and reap," said Charlie.
    “Hooyah!"   replied the rest of the SEALs.
    Cooper looked over his squad.   Sparky, Jax, Swede, and Charlie were the only survivors of the original Team.   Clutch, Juice, and Maughan rounded out the surviving new guys left over from their raid on San Diego.   Added to their team were seven newly-arrived veterans from overseas, led by Switchplate.  
    After President Harris had reactivated the National Command Authority, secure, instant comms returned.   It was only a matter of hours before the special forces community came back online.   Cooper was now in command of 15 combat effective SEALs—the last of the Teams.  
    It felt good to be back in the saddle.
    He frowned.   If his CO hadn’t died in Los Angeles, Cooper would already be a few weeks into his new job with Oakrock.
    Reginald would be his final mission.   Once they eliminated the threat posed by the Council, Cooper could retire with a clear conscience and start his new life.
    Without Brenda.
    Cooper clenched his jaw as he finished going through the final pre-jump checklists and inspecting the oxygen pack on Charlie's back.   He slapped Charlie on the shoulder and turned around to let him reciprocate.  
    Watching the SEALs work, Cooper remembered the way the docs had looked in their bio-hazard suits as they discussed patients back at the Underground.   He never seemed to stray very far from a reminder that Brenda was no longer waiting for him back in Denver.   Thanks to a botched kidnapping attempt by Reginald's forces, Dr. Boatner had been injured, Chad Huntley’s blood had been stolen, and Brenda had been killed.   The only positive outcome of the whole messy situation had been the capture of 13, a double agent.
    After a rough start at their first meeting, 13 had decided to provide him enough information about Reginald and the Council to launch an effective counter-attack.   She’d been fairly high up in his covert organization and had seemed to have commanded more than a little respect.   He knew she was an effective operator—Cooper still had a few bruises to prove her worth as a fighter.   Their subsequent sparring matches had gone on for what seemed like hours, drawn crowds of soldiers to the gym, and had proven she was virtually his equal in hand-to-hand fighting.   Her speed balanced out his strength giving neither a competitive advantage.   Not that he didn't try—they'd fought to a draw more times than he'd cared to admit.   He was glad she was on their side.   Whether or not he could fully trust her was still a question.
    "Good to go," said Charlie with a slap on Cooper's shoulder.
    Cooper blinked.   Back to reality.   "Good to go," replied Cooper as he slapped Charlie’s shoulder.   He looked out over the open ramp onto the glowing mountaintops thousands of feet below.  
    He knew the Pentagon had dispatched flights of bombers, soldiers, and Marines around the world to seek out and destroy Council forces wherever they could be found.   The European powers—even Russia and China—had all banded together to stamp out the evil that had spawned the Korean Flu.   13's intelligence had proven to be the key to the global plan.  
    It was the largest counter-terror coalition in history.   Cooper and his SEALs were tasked with decapitating Reginald's operation.   At the same time, British SAS were preparing to assault other known Council strongholds across northern Europe in coordination with the German and French Special Forces.   Over the next 24 hours, a coordinated assault with conventional forces would eliminate most of the Council’s influence across the globe.  
    It promised to be a long, bloody conflict, and his mission was the opening act.   Cooper knew that the fight would go on, but he would not be part of it.   Not after this mission.   Once Reginald was in custody or dead, Cooper would retire.   He wasn’t sure how much more his knee could take.   The last