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The suppressors did their work.

Marcus heard none of the shots. He did, however, see the heads of both men in his field of vision snap back in a puff of pink mist. When both men dropped to the ground, Marcus ordered Noah to fire as well. These shots he heard, along with the shattering of glass, and soon he could see thick clouds of tear gas pouring out of the house in every direction.

Donning their gas masks, Marcus and Callaghan threw open the front doors of the barn and sprinted across the courtyard. As they did, the sound of automatic weapons fire erupted from their right. Now the colonel—the only member of the team with eyes on the windows of the long rectangular building—opened fire. It was instantly clear from the sound that the Saudi had shifted from the suppressed sniper rifle to the light machine gun. Abdul-Malik was strafing every window of the office with everything he had and buying them badly needed time.

Callaghan reached the porch first. Marcus was steps behind, winded, nowhere near recovered from his ordeal in Lebanon. Whoever had been shooting at them had stopped, at least for the moment. So both men proceeded with the plan. Pulling grenades from their backpacks, they each pulled their pin, lobbed the grenades through the filthy windows next to them, then flattened themselves on the porch and covered their heads.

The explosions were deafening. Glass and chunks of concrete flew everywhere. A moment later, Marcus and Callaghan rinsed and repeated. Tossing two more grenades into the house, they again hit the deck and two more explosions ripped through the structure.

Callaghan jumped to his feet and kicked in what was left of the back door. Marcus was right behind him. They found themselves in a kitchen. Water from a shattered sink pipe was spraying all over the room. Through the tear gas, the smoke of the explosions, and the collateral dust, Marcus could see what looked like two mangled bodies. Moving deeper into the house, he saw Callaghan disappear into what appeared to be a dining area. Marcus turned around and watched their six. Then he heard combat boots rushing down the stairs behind them.

Pivoting, he unleashed a burst into the chest of the first man to hit the landing, killing him instantly. The man went sprawling. The second man, right behind and coughing up a storm, lost his footing and tripped over the first. Callaghan pounced on him immediately, smashing the back of his head with the butt of his rifle, knocking him out cold, and kicking the man’s weapon out of reach. Callaghan moved quickly to cover the jihadist’s mouth with a gag and fastened plastic flex-cuffs around his hands and feet.

Marcus kept his weapon aimed up the stairs. The air was already clearing somewhat on the second floor, and he could hear sounds up there. Slowly, carefully, Marcus crept up the steps, weapon at the ready, waiting for someone to come around the corner. No one did. When he reached the top, Marcus took a quick peek down the hallway to the right. As he did, someone unleashed a hail of gunfire.

Pulling back, Marcus weighed his options. They had one prisoner now. But they needed more. Saudi intelligence said anyone on the second floor would be a high-value target, as the men on the ground floor were mostly there to guard the senior Kairos commanders. Still, it was going to be almost impossible to reach the second floor and whatever computers, phones, and other treasures were up there if the stairwell was being guarded. Marcus radioed to his team, explaining where he was and asking if any of them could see through the windows and had a shot. None of them did. Callaghan radioed to him to use another grenade. Time was running out. Someone in this canyon was hearing all this gunfire, which meant reinforcements were on the way.

Marcus pulled a flash bomb from his backpack. Just before he pulled the pin, he ordered Noah to fire another tear-gas canister through the windows in the southeast corner of the building. When Noah did, Marcus raced back up the stairs, leaned into the hallway—now filled with clouds of gas—and rolled the device down the hall. Once again, an explosion rocked the house. But rather than kill everyone on the second floor, the device emitted an intense energy flash, disorienting everyone in its range.

Marcus immediately pivoted back into the hallway and unleashed a full burst of automatic weapons fire. Then he ejected the empty mag, popped in another, and charged forward. Callaghan charged up the stairs right behind him. What they found was a bloodbath. But as the gas and smoke and dust began to dissipate again, they also realized they had hit the jackpot.