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THE PLANE DESCENDED into a remote area outside of Bogota, coming to a stop at the end of a bumpy dirt runway. DEA had left some equipment around for their flights in and out, and members of the Colombian military had been guarding the site now that the Delta team was arriving.
Colton strode down the metal ramp of the C-17 cargo plane, gear on his back, assault rifle in hand, and into the cool South American air. Although it was the start of spring in the southern hemisphere, the elevation of the city made it cooler than other parts of Colombia. Not to mention a nice damn change from the 100-degree desert heat. They’d been wheels-up to the Middle East more times in recent years than he could count.
Stunning expanses of dark mountains and blue sky filled the horizon, and he stopped, scanning his surroundings. Taking a breath of the cool, refreshing air. At the moment, Colombia looked nothing but peaceful and serene.
Save for the rival drug cartels battling one another, the kidnapping ring run by Camila’s father, and the other hidden dangers waiting for them.
The presence of the military surrounding the remote airstrip proved it was anything but calm and quiet.
“Hell of a change from the desert air,” Noah said as he came up beside him, sliding on his aviators.
Colton glanced off in the distance, to the members of the Colombian military at the other end of the runway. “Yeah. I hate to say it, but I like the break from all that damn heat. Doesn’t mean I like the reason we were sent down here though.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked around. Imprints from combat boots were left in the dusty ground, and their plane had left tire tracks where it had come to a stop at the end of the runway. Other vehicles’ tire tracks circled the area, no doubt from the DEA agents and Colombian military.
Uncle Sam had the DEA coming and going for months in an attempt to track down the notorious drug lord. Amazing that in a way, the kidnapping of his daughter had helped to flush him out. Storming his compound could’ve been an option requiring a hell of a lot more firepower. Grabbing him when he was with a small group of his own men would make it practically too damn easy.
And now that he was out in the open?
Their perfect chance had come at the cost of Camila’s kidnapping.
The sound of boots on metal from another SEAL team member walking down the C-17 ramp had Colton glancing back behind him. Hunter dropped his gear on the ground, holding only his weapon, and scanned the distance. “There’s a hell of a lot of places to hide in the mountains. The latest word was that Miguel was still in the city though. We’ll set up base here with extra supplies. Go over the specs again. We roll into the city at nightfall unless we receive new information. Grab him from the location he was last spotted at and bring him back to the States.”
“Understood,” Colton said, clenching his jaw. His hand fisted at his side, and he gripped his assault rifle more tightly.
Situations were always rapidly changing. New developments unfolding. They could easily hunt down Miguel and leave without ever spotting one of the missing women.
Without Camila.
Ryker spat on the ground as he strode over, coming to a stop beside them. His dark hair gleamed in the sunlight, and he adjusted his headset and nodded toward some recently disturbed earth less than fifty yards from them.
“What the hell is that?” Colton asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Hidden drugs? Money? A recently-dug grave? Don’t know. It could be anything.”
Colton’s blood ran cold. He took a step toward it, his gaze instinctively sweeping the area. “It doesn’t look like explosives. It would be hard to sneak in and plant them anyway with so many eyes in the area.”
“Well something sure as shit has been there,” Ryker comment dryly.
Hunter moved up beside Colton, taking command. “Colton and I will check out the disturbance,” he said into his headset. “Ryker and Noah, wait here until the other members of team disembark the plane. The Colombians will be rolling up in a few minutes.”
Ryker’s gaze slid to the waiting plane. “Roger that,” he said, casually looking around.
A military vehicle starting driving toward them from the other end of the airstrip.
“We’re gathering up some additional gear,” Jacob said over the comm channel. “About to unload the Humvees from the plane. You guys see something out there?”
“It looks like something’s buried in the ground nearby,” Hunter said. “Someone. Hell, it could be nothing. We’ll find out in fifty yards.”
“Roger that,” Jacob said coolly. Metal clanked in the background, and Colton heard an engine start.
He looked into the distance, knowing the rest of their men had him covered from behind. That the military at the far end of the runway would most likely ward off potential attacks. There was nothing else around but an open field of dirt in the area between the city and mountains. There weren’t many places for someone to hide. That didn’t mean someone couldn’t launch an RPG their way though. Or plant an IED in the ground.
The cartels weren’t likely to bring the war to them, not on an airstrip guarded by the Colombian military. They had their own turf wars against each other—their own caco fields to guard. Their own cocaine shipments to protect.
Colton’s eyes trailed over the brown dirt. Aside from tire tracks and boot imprints, both lessening the further away they walked, nothing around here appeared to be recently disturbed.
“See anything suspicious?” Hunter asked, his eyes sweeping the area.
“Negative. Let’s keep alert as we move forward. The cartels are known to have IEDs. Seems unlikely they’d come here though.”
“Affirmative. The cartels won’t come out here looking for a fight. Doesn’t mean some lone wolf won’t see us and decide to shoot.”
“Game on,” Colton muttered.
Static crackled over his headset, and their CO’s voice from Little Creek filled his ear. “Delta team—we’ve received new intelligence while you were midflight. Miguel Rodriguez was spotted in a convoy of vehicles heading west of the city at 1700 local time. Coordinates are on the way.”
“Roger that,” Hunter said quietly into his headset. “We’re investigating what looks to be a buried body at the edge of the airfield, and then we’ll be on the move. The Colombians can investigate further and deal with it. We’re just making sure someone wasn’t buried alive out here.”
“Roger. Over and out,” their CO said.
Colton and Hunter approached the mound of dirt slowly, cautiously edging closer. Colton paused, looking at the ground. Dirt covered his combat boots. All the tire tracks left on the ground meant that it hadn’t rained recently. Which meant it would’ve been harder to dig a grave.
Someone could’ve dumped a body and then just piled dirt atop it, not even bothering to make sure they were six feet underground.
“It hasn’t rained recently,” Colton said. “Maybe that’s why whatever they buried isn’t very deep? A freshly-dug mound of dirt sure as hell doesn’t conceal the location at all though.”
“You think there are explosives buried around here?” Hunter asked.
Colton paused, glancing around. There were no tell-tale signs of a tripwire, but IEDs were generally well hidden because they were so small. “I doubt anyone would bury a large explosive device way out here,” he said, nodding in the direction of the mound. “If they wanted to target a plane, it would need to be on the runway. And with the military standing guard, it’d be difficult to get close enough for that.”
“Agreed. Maybe they dumped a body. It’s not exactly a great location to hide cash or drugs.”
The walked closer to the pile of fresh dirt, and Colton’s heart dropped as he saw a woman’s shoe abandoned on the ground. A sprinkling of dirt covered the pink sandal, and the delicate strap was broken.
“Shit,” Hunter muttered beside him. “Definite corpse. Looks like it was recently buried.”
Unable to stop himself, Colton stepped closer. He ground his jaw as he saw strands of blonde hair and realized that his heart had been thumping wildly. That he’d inadvertently been holding his breath.
It wasn’t Camila.
But another young woman had lost her life. Probably kidnapped by the cartels and then tossed aside. Accidentally killed, perhaps. Maybe left to send a message.
And now she was abandoned in the dirt.
“Strange to leave a body way out here,” Hunter mused, glancing around. “If they wanted the military to find it, past the end of the runway doesn’t seem like a great choice.”
“DEA has been flying planes in and out of this area for months,” Colton said. “It does seem risky to come all the way out here just to dump a body. Not when the U.S. has boots on the ground. Maybe this was as close as they could get and hope that the U.S. or Colombian military would find it.”
“All right boys, enough talk about the damn body,” Ryker said over the headsets. “The sat imagery we just received shows exactly where Miguel’s convoy stopped. No telling how long it’ll be before they move out again. I’m pulling up the specs, and we can be on our merry way.”
“Hell.” Hunter glanced again at the pile of dirt covering the woman before looking back toward their C-17 and teammates. The rest of the team was gathered around the Humvees, packing up the rest of the gear. Nothing like landing with their own vehicles ready to roll.
“She’ll still be here when we get back,” Colton said.
Hunter nodded, turning and walking toward the rest of the team.
“What’d you find?” their CO asked over the headsets. “Anything to be concerned about?”
“A woman’s body. Tell the Colombians to investigate further after we move out. Colton and I are headed back to Delta.”
Colton followed behind, uneasiness settling over him. Something didn’t sit right about a body being dumped here, in an area the U.S. Government was known to frequent.
Someone was sending them a message.
But what?
