Dutch waited for him to go on, but he didn’t. “Doc?”
“She’s in Islamabad too.”
“What? Why?”
“Some crazy fucking idea that she was going to get both you and Mantis all on her own. Once she filled me in on her ‘plan,’ we came up with one of our own.”
“What was her plan?”
“Meeting with Ghafor herself; using our team as backup.”
“Jesus.”
When Doc’s phone vibrated, he pulled it out of his pocket. “They’ve got him,” he said, tossing it on the seat.
“Good to go back to base?” Razor asked.
Doc nodded his head. “Affirmative.”
Chapter 28
Mantis and Alegria
After spending two days at a hotel, waiting in limbo for word that the exchange was on, Mantis was summoned downstairs by one of Ghafor’s men. Just as he was ushered into the SUV that would transport him to the rendezvous location, the vehicle was surrounded. He was pulled away by men dressed in unfamiliar tactical gear, a bag was thrown over his head, and he was put into a different vehicle.
When the door slammed and the vehicle sped away, someone pulled the bag from over his head.
“We got him,” Gunner said into a radio mic.
“Fuck!” Mantis shouted. “Do you realize what you’ve just done?”
“Sure do,” Gunner answered, not looking at him.
“Dutch is—”
“Just fine, asshole. Like he would’ve been anyway if you hadn’t decided to go rogue and mount your own op.”
“Where is he?”
“On his way back to Bagram.”
“Are you sure? Who went in after him?”
“Doc.”
“On his own?”
“Razor was with him. Monk and Onyx too.” Gunner turned his head so Mantis could see his scowl. “Instead of questioning me about whether or not K19 has the best goddamn extraction teams on the planet, you might consider showing some gratitude for the fact that we kept your ass alive.”
“Thanks, guys,” Mantis said to Ranger, who was driving, Diesel seated it the front passenger seat, and Striker who was seated in the third row behind him. Then he turned back to Gunner. “I’m sorry, and thank you.”
“That’s better.”
“What about Safi?”
“On his way to hell, along with the rest of the men who had Dutch.”
“Any word on Kilbourne?”