A few words were exchanged, a hollow look on the young girl’s face. Reynolds shut the door, hurrying. He slipped on a pair of pants and a t-shirt, running out the door, hurrying down the hallway and into the command center.
“What happened?” Reynolds blurted as he strode in.
Elizabeth turned, her dark hair in a pony tail, her face gentle, yet the stress obvious. She shooed Michael and Viki away.
“Colonel, how quickly can the team be ready?” Elizabeth asked.
“Why? What happened?” Reynolds asked.
“How long?” Elizabeth asked, her tone firm.
“We discussed a week…”
“We don’t have that much time,” she replied.
“A few days, maybe,” Reynolds replied. He was hesitant. There was still much to do.
“Let’s make it a few hours,” Elizabeth said, boldly.
“Say what?” Reynolds was wide eyed now. “Tell me what happened.”
“We have a problem. I received a call from Langley. The Russians…” Elizabeth paused a moment, thinking to the phone call. The dry, mechanical voice on the other end. The man’s words to her.
“The Russians? What’s the deal?” Reynolds asked, confused.
“They’re frantic. Somehow they caught word before we did. They want this mission escalated, and so does Langley. They want us to go in — right now!”
“What do you mean?”
“Colonel, the Russians are holding something back. That is, until just now. They caught it before we did, and within minutes were on the line with Langley. That means there’s trouble. They’ve never been so—”
“Helpful?” he suggested.
“Correct,” she said, nodding. “It happened less than half an hour ago.”
“What did?” he asked. “What happened?”
“The creatures, they came out of the cave. Colonel Reynolds, we’ve confirmed a mass attack on the village. We cannot be certain the numbers, but we know there was mass chaos. Lots of deaths.”
“How do you know this?” Reynolds asked.
“Our asset inside the village.”
Reynolds remembered, nodding his head. “What did he say?” If anything, the Marine knew one thing. Proper planning for such a mission was crucial. It might sound good to someone in an office ten thousand miles away, but without the proper INTEL, they were setting themselves up for disaster.
Elizabeth felt the same sentiment, but she had a job to do. God willing, she’d accomplish this mission, and wasn’t about to hesitate now. “Our asset sent a message through an old, yet secure line. It was urgent. Here, read this,” she said, picking up a paper and handing it his way.
Reynolds read the message. “What the hell?” he proclaimed.
“The village was under attack. Our source revealed this to be true. The catch is, Colonel, the Russians notified us minutes prior to our own source.”
“Wait, what?” Reynolds asked. “That doesn’t make sense. You mean they have a live feed?”
“I can’t say. They claim not to, and even our best technology has trouble anywhere near that valley. They won’t say how they know, but they know.”
“Could this be a setup? Could your asset be working for the Russians?” Reynolds asked. He was suspicious almost instantly.
“Negative, Colonel. The man works for us.”
“How then? The woman, perhaps?”
“Svetlana? No, that’s impossible. Besides, she’s monitored better than you think, and sleeping at the moment.”
“So how do they know?” he asked.
“They aren’t sharing, but that doesn’t matter now, does it?” she asked bluntly.
“I suppose not, unless it endangers our men.”
“The Russians are literally begging for help. Through back-channels of course, but still… it’s not their way, if you know what I mean.”
He nodded, saying, “I do. All right, so we go in. Any new estimate on the numbers of these… supposed things? Any deaths or injuries of the villagers?” he asked.
“They’re either dead or alive,” she responded. “Matters not to us. Our mission is the cave, not the village.”
“And you want the team to be mission ready in a few hours?”
“I want the team in the air in a few hours.”
Reynolds eyed her, looking to the clock on the wall, knowing the deadline was impossible. However, the Marine also knew something else. Elizabeth was serious, and this was her party. Reynolds nodded his head, accepting it. The logistics would be a nightmare, but he supposed the team could adapt. “Why now?” he asked. “Why not wait a few days? Watch and observe, attempt contact with our asset first?”
“The reason is this: For over two decades, those things have remained in that damn cave. We’ve seen a handful from time to time, long range, angled snapshots. High altitude, they use a new thermal reading. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best we can do. Again, we’ve been watching for years, as have the Russians. In the course of twenty-six years, that village has remained intact. Those things left them alone for all these years. We don’t know why, either. The problem is, they finally attacked, and our secondary reports are showing they killed quite a few.”
“And our asset?”
“We can assume he is dead or hiding. We’ve heard nothing, no response, since his first message,” she replied solemnly.
“You think he’s dead, don’t you?” Reynolds asked.
Elizabeth nodded. “I do.”
“Ma’am, that poses a heavy problem.”
“It does,” she agreed.
“I’ll assume you understand the intelligence needed on an operation like this. In my early years, I did a lot of recon. Eyes on the ground saves lives, plain and simple. Now that our asset is dead, and with no way to watch our men’s backs, the team will be walking in blind.”
“They’ve done it before when INTEL was sketchy.”
“With all due respect, this isn’t sketchy. There is absolutely none!” Reynolds proclaimed.
“I know, I know,” Elizabeth muttered. “Without drone capability, and with our satellite imagery still not up to par, we have no instant intelligence. They’ll be going in blind, and against something that seems…”
“Very pissed off,” Colonel Reynolds finished for her. He shook his head, letting it sink in. He was in disbelief, and though exhausted from only a few hours rest, fully awake and aware. His mind spun out of control, attempting to figure out a solution to this problem.
He had one.
“I’ll do it,” Reynolds stated.
“You’ll do what?” she asked, hands on her hips, scowl on her face.
“I’ll be your eyes on the ground. I’ll go in, post up on the southern ridge. I’ll cover them, watch their backs,” Reynolds said.
“You’ll do no such thing,” Elizabeth replied.
“You need a lookout.”
“Colonel, I need you here at command.”
“No, you need one of the best scout-snipers in the world to watch your guys, make sure nothing comes up behind them. No surprises, early intelligence. Seconds might matter.”
“I don’t like this,” she began.
“Neither do I, but what else can we do? We’re here to accomplish a mission, and you’ll need me down there. From an elevated position, I could monitor the valley as they go into the cave.”
Elizabeth sighed, knowing the Marine was right. “I’ll need to get clearance from Langley.”
“Screw Langley. They aren’t here right now. We are.”
“I just…” Elizabeth paused, pondering the consequences of such action.
“Listen, you wonder why the Russians seem to know what’s going on? Think maybe there’s someone telling ’em too much? Keeping this silent might play into our hands.”
“Well, maybe.”
“Asymmetrical Warfare Group, right?”