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Everyone made their way into command. “Thanks for the hustle team,” Ryan began over the intercom. “From the satellite images we were able to collect from Absame’s position, he definitely has a hot bomb. You need to get there as soon as possible before this exchange goes down. If we don’t strike fast, there is going to be a massive loss of life on American soil.”
They suited up and headed out. They would try to get as close to Absame’s location as they could. They were going to utilize their scuba gear for this attack. With the sniper rifles locked and loaded, they should be able to make this problem go away in a matter of seconds. Ryan requested that Absame be taken alive, but he certainly wouldn’t blame anyone for giving the man what he deserved. He probably wouldn’t talk even if they were successful in capturing him. BJ, Shawn, and Bill were relieved to see the rest of the team show up. They hit the water and BJ gave them fifteen minutes before he moved the boat in a little closer. He prepared his sniper rifle and got ready to get this party started. Once the green light sounded in their ears, BJ squeezed the trigger and took out the two sentry guards—almost without a sound. Sarah and Reese boarded the boat while the others rushed the shoreline.
Kat and Jake went straight to the house. Reese and Sarah joined Janie in rounding up Absame’s men on shore once the boat had been cleared. Jake was in hand-to-hand combat with Ayiid and two others. Kat went in search of Absame. She found him passed out between two women. Kat quietly woke the women and sent them out of the room. She then pushed Absame over the side of the bed.
“Wake up asshole. I want you to see the person that’s about to end your life.” Absame looked confused. Kat laughed. “You don’t even recognize my voice? Aww, Absame that hurts kind of.”
“Kaitlyn?” He asked as terror and recognition filled his eyes simultaneously. Then, both of those were replaced with anger. He kicked her away and got to his feet. He hit her three times across the face—hard. She fell backwards, but he picked her up and was about to hit her again, when she sunk her knife into his chest. Jake came in just as Absame was sliding to the floor. Kat just stood there trembling. Jake rushed to her side and folded her in his arms.
“Shhhh, it’s okay. It’s over. It’s over. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
Ryan was relieved to hear his entire team call, “Clear” into his ear. Then, he received the report of Absame’s death. Janie reported that the bomb had been secured.
“Excellent. A containment team will be there soon,” Ryan informed. “A helicopter is on its way to bring you home.”
Kat snuck away to give herself a morphine shot. Each person’s pack was equipped with one, and it would be a while before hers was missed. If anything, she would just say that it was lost in her struggle. She hated lying to the team, but what she hated even more was how good she was becoming at it. Once they had settled onto their flight, Kat began pretending to rummage through her backpack.
“Is something wrong Kat?” Janie asked.
“I’m in a lot of pain from the struggle with Absame. I was just looking for my hypo, but it must have fallen out.” Janie and Sarah exchanged looks. Jake reached into his bag and handed her his needle. After the second shot, she was feeling much calmer. Jake asked if she were feeling any better and she nodded her head ‘yes’ and closed her eyes. She adjusted in her seat to get more comfortable for a nap, when she suddenly yelped in pain. Sarah jumped up and helped her sit back. She was trying to get her vest undone. Reese used his knife to cut it away. There was a gaping hole below her left shoulder. Sarah took out her syringe and gave Kat another dose. Janie pulled out her first aid kit and cleaned the wound. A bullet had gone straight through Kat’s vest. Kat hadn’t even realized that she had been shot. Reese got on the phone and requested that a medical team be standing by when they arrived. Jake and Reese helped Kat lay down on the floor so that Sarah could hold a tight compress to her shoulder. Janie had started a field IV. When they arrived at the compound, the doctor replaced the IV with a morphine drip.
“Go get cleaned up everyone. I will stay with her,” Jako told the group. The doctor came out an hour later and told Jako that the surgery had gone better than expected. Kat was now resting peacefully in recovery. Jake, Sarah, and Janie took terms sitting with her throughout the night. This feels familiar, Jake thought to himself as he watched her sleep.