Ambush (4 page)

That was what Brandt liked to hear.

* * *

Svengurd braced his legs on the dashboard and door, but even
so he almost flew out of the Jeep as it hit one of the steps on the edge,
nearly flipping them.

“Pyramid luging!” Lopez shouted. He truly did seem to be
enjoying himself.

They had scattered the Zetas, but they would not stay down
for long. These guards were no children. They had been battle hardened.

Finally, the Jeep was reaching the bottom. Lopez gunned it,
sailing them off the platform and landing a good ten feet from the base. The
grassy earth dulled the jarring, at least a little. Then they were across the
commons. The corporal skidded them sideways into Brandt and Vanderwalt’s path.

“Keep going!” Brandt yelled as he pushed Vanderwalt forward.

The CIA operatives hauled the British agent into the back of
the Jeep. Brandt ran alongside, then swung up, grabbing hold of the roll bars.
With one last push, Brandt launched himself into the back seat. A heartbeat
later, his gun was up, spraying bullets into the surrounding area. There were
no Zetas to be seen, but clearly the sergeant planned to keep it that way.

Now, with the awkward rock steps out of his way, Lopez could
really nurse some speed from the Jeep. The corporal angled them toward one of
the breaks in the wall. They were nearly to the exit when another vehicle
turned onto the dirt bridge, gunning right for them.

Lopez probably would have played chicken, but if they went
much further, they would have nowhere to turn except into the flanking stone
walls.

“
Right
, Lopez!” Brandt barked.

Even with certain death approaching and his sergeant’s
orders, the corporal still seemed loath to give in to the Los Zetas’ challenge.
At the last moment, Lopez braked, cranking the wheel to the right. Their tires
spit up chunks of earth as dirt rained down upon them. The rear bumper barely
made the turn before the Zetas’ SUV sped past them.

Svengurd joined Brandt in firing at the vehicle, which
turned sharply to give chase.

The Jeep practically jumped out from under them as Lopez
stepped on the accelerator. They streaked past the ancient ruins. The corporal
swerved around burned out stumps and small stone structures. Svengurd couldn’t
even identify what the markers were beyond grey blurs.

It took a few moments to realize that there were walls on
each side of them. By then, the Zetas’ SUV was on their six, streaking along
behind them. Then the walls opened up into a small area. An
enclosed
area.
Not even Lopez could get the Jeep to jump the eight–foot–high stone walls that
surrounded them.

Instead, Lopez yanked up the emergency brake, skidding them
around 180 degrees—just in time for them to watch the Zetas hurl toward them.

* * *

“Bloody hell, mate,” Vanderwalt exhaled. “What do you Yanks
say? Straight from the kettle and into the flames.”

“Yeah,” Brandt said, firing at the oncoming SUV. “Something
like that.”

The enemy vehicle skidded to a stop, guns bristling out of
every window. A hail of gunfire tore through the Jeep. Everyone ducked to avoid
the bullets flying overhead. Getting brazen, the enemy exited the car, firing
as they advanced on the Jeep.

The Los Zetas thought they had the upper hand. They thought
they had them outnumbered. They thought they had them outgunned.

They were so sure of themselves that they didn’t even notice
a man in the back of the group drop to the ground. Then another. Then a third.
It took them losing four men before anyone noticed. Then the line broke and
shouts rose on the evening air.

“Now!” Brandt yelled. Lopez and Svengurd joined him, firing
at the now exposed enemy.

The Los Zetas scrambled, rushing back to their SUV. Only the
windshield cracked, a bullet going straight through the driver’s chest. One of
the guards shoved his deceased teammate out of the way and put the SUV in
reverse, stepping on the gas.

The problem with that? Lopez had laid a tire spike string at
the bottleneck. The SUV’s rear tires blew, then the front tires, grinding them
to a stop. Another shot ripped into the radiator. Down to three men and a busted
SUV, the Los Zetas weren’t going anywhere.

The survivors came out of the car, arms raised, tossing
their guns to the side.

“Ha!” Lopez yelled, pointing at the disarmed men. He then
turned to the two CI agents. “
That’s
how you do an ambush!”

Yes, that was exactly how you wanted to do an ambush, except
for possibly the jaguar, hang glider, and Jeep down the pyramid diversions, but
hey, it got the job done.

The after–action report would be a doozy to write up,
though.

What had always been clear was that this mission was just
one big trap. The fact that the CIA had known exactly where their captured
asset had been held? Then, for them to know exactly where the captured CIA
agents were? Come on. The Zetas should have just burned the letters A. M. B. U.
S. H. into the forest.

Most of the time, the best way to handle a trap? Spring the
sucker, with a
plan
. A good plan. Or, in their case, an adaptable plan.

And it all happened because they had one of the best
perimeter specialists in the business. Brandt had to search the trees for
several moments before he could make out his sniper, Davidson, and he knew
where the kid was holed up.

A midwestern smile glistened in the waning light. Brandt
waved, indicating that the kid could come down out of his perch. Whip–thin,
Davidson barely stirred the leaves as he climbed to the ground. As Svengurd zip–tied
the Los Zetas men, Lopez rushed to Davidson.

“You and the rifle, man? You are one!” Lopez exclaimed as he
brought the younger man into a bro–hug.

While Brandt agreed wholeheartedly, he wouldn’t go so far as
to hug the kid.

Davidson shrugged his way out of the embrace. “It was just a
point–and–shoot setup. No biggie.”

Compared to some of the other incredibly difficult shots
Brandt had seen the sniper take, Davidson was right, but to take down that many
men that quickly? That was still something. As the sniper passed, Brandt did
indulge in clapping his back.

“Still. Decent job.”

There was that easy smile. If only Brandt had so few cares
in the world to be that relaxed. Maybe with a cold brew in one hand and a
fishing pole in the other he could feel as carefree as Davidson.

The beat of rotors in the distance did cheer him up a bit.
Their extraction helicopter was right on time. Their orders were to leave the
Los Zetas secured for the Federales, then get the hell out of Campeche.

Which was perfectly fine by Brandt.

Within moments, the chopper dropped a back board for the
teen and lines for the rest of them. In rapid order, they ascended up into the
helicopter. The injured were taken to the back of the large transport
helicopter, where a medic awaited them.

Brandt sat down hard on the metal jump seat. He wiped his
forehead with the back of his hand as the helicopter sped across the sky. They
should be landing in Ticul and picking up a small plane to fly them to Cancun,
then onward to Miami.

Lopez didn’t sit down, though. “Don’t worry, Sarge. I’ll get
us home in a jiffy.”

“No,” Brandt said sharp enough it gave the corporal pause.
He softened his tone. “Let’s let the pilot get us to Ticul. You can take over
from there.”

“But—”

Brandt raised his hand. “No ‘buts.’ I do not want to referee
a smackdown match between you and a Federales.”

“Okay, fine, but we’re flying in the wrong direction.”

“What?” Brandt said, rising from his seat. The sun was
setting out the left window, rather than the right. Lopez was correct. They
were going south. Exactly the opposite direction of Miami.

He made his way to the pilot, shouting over the rotors. “Your
orders were to take us to Ticul.”

The man shook his head. “Did they not inform you?”

Brandt did not like the sound of that. “Inform us of what?”

“We are to drop the injured off in Ciudad de Carmen, where
you will rendezvous with a jet to take you to Ecuador.”

“Ecuador?” Lopez said at his shoulder. “What happened to Key
West?”

The co–pilot handed Brandt a thin folder. He didn’t like
thin folders. It meant they were being shipped off with little or no
information. Brandt opened it to find only one page. He skimmed it, which
didn’t take a whole hell of a lot of time.

Slamming it shut, he headed back to his seat and strapped
in.

“Well?” Lopez asked, sitting next to him.

Brandt pulled a lighter from his pocket and set the file on
fire. “We’ve got to pull some researcher from the Amazon and get her to Paris.”

“Paris?” Davidson asked. “Why?”

“I don’t ask…”

“Because they won’t tell,” Lopez finished for him.

It was their life in black ops. Flicking the corner of the
file to put the flames out, Brandt leaned back against the bulkhead.

“At least it sounds straight–forward,” Svengurd remarked.

“Easy peasy,” Lopez agreed.

After this extraction? Brandt could use a nice boring
mission. And he wouldn’t turn down some R&R in Paris. However, instead of
basking in the glow of the thought of some time off, a knot formed in his stomach.

His gut was worried about this next mission.

And damn it, if his gut wasn’t always right.

Fans have been clamoring for a prequel to
30
Pieces of Silver
. Actually, more than likely they just wanted to see
more of Brandt in action. Hopefully new readers will have enjoyed
Ambush
as well.

If you enjoyed
Ambush
, I would love to ask you a
favor and go back to Amazon and leave a review. Indie authors live and die by
our reviews!

Want even more of Brandt and his team? Check out the next
section for more of my works!

30 Pieces of Silver
– Extremely controversial historical thriller

If you loved the thrills, and excitement of
The Rush
,
you should check out Carolyn’s #1 Bestseller in Men’s Adventure /War/Techno–Thrillers,
30 Pieces of Silver
.

Be warned, however, that
30 Pieces of Silver
is an EXTREMELY controversial historical/religious thriller. Please be sure to
read the warning on the Amazon page before purchasing!

Unabashedly controversial,
30 Pieces of Silver
has been described by NYT Bestselling author
James
Rollins
(author of
Devil
Colony
) as…

“Part minefield and
all roller–coaster ride, here is a story as controversial as it is thrilling.
Hunker down for a long night, because once you start reading this book, you
won’t be putting it down.”

And the praise doesn’t stop there…

“Even as I write this,
I find I can’t do justice to the scope and breadth of
30 Pieces of Silver
. It is
cinematic in its ambition and execution, taking the reader on a well–thought–out
and well–written journey.”

The
Word Zombie

Book Reviewer

“If you are looking for an action–packed,
archaeological thriller, then look no further than Carolyn McCray’s
30 Pieces of Silver
. I cannot
say enough good things about this book! I started reading this book and found
myself taking it everywhere I went just to finish it. McCray has you on the
edge of your seat from start to finish.”

The Pen & Muse Review

Book Reviewer

We could go on and on. However, it is probably best if
you sampled some of
30 Pieces
of Silver
for yourself. However, be forewarned! The ending is so
controversial that New York would not put it into print! #youhavebeenwarned

To purchase or read a sample of
30 Pieces of Silver
on
Amazon
,
click
here
.

* * *

Praise for
30 Pieces of Silver
…

“I don't know how to classify
30 Pieces of Silver
, it was
mystery, thriller, romance, all interwoven and it was so good. If some novels
feel like cotton candy, this was steak and potatoes! The writing was top notch
and I look forward to the coming sequel, Havoc. Hopefully Ms. McCray won't be
too long…”

Regina Shirdley

Blog Tour de Force.com Reviewer

“If you're looking for an action packed thriller
from the Dan Brown school of mystery mash ups with more than a smattering of
Indiana Jones thrown in – this is for you. It's a wild ride that I thoroughly
enjoyed: a lot of stuff is blown sky high, but the stakes are even higher in an
archeological cat and mouse that spans most of Europe and even a bit of Asia.
Exotic locations, colourfully described, sinister opponents, dynamic heroes,
mysteries hidden at the roots of Christianity and spanning the millennia as
well as the occasional thought provoking twist giving a fresh look at the life
of our savior make for an absolutely riveting read that will keep you glued to
the reading device of your choice.”