“It’s actually not all that communist anymore — just dirt poor.”
“So you’re not gonna tell me about her?”
“Well, she’s a little younger than me.”
“How young?”
“Twenty-one.”
Gil chuckled. “Twenty-one’s a good age.”
“She wants to get married soon — have a baby.”
“You should do it,” Gil said, lighting a cigarette of his own. “Be good for you.”
“The idea of havin’ a kid scares me,” Crosswhite said. “And what happens when you get yourself in another jam? Who’s gonna save your ass?”
“Don’t use me to try and wriggle out of it,” Gil said. “Besides, I was just in another jam. You were nowhere around.”
“Yeah, and you damn near died, from what I hear.”
“I damn near died the other two times.”
Crosswhite stopped and turned to face him. “Fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Means I think you should get married and have a baby, dumbass. Be good for you.”
“Yeah,” Crosswhite said with a sigh. “I know it.” They set off walking again. “She’s Catholic. I gotta start goin’ to church on Sundays. I hate fuckin’ church.”
“Christ, it ain’t gonna kill ya,” Gil said. “You’ll have to stop with the drugs, too.”
“Already did. You talk to Marie lately?”
Gil grew immediately sad at the mention of his wife. “She doesn’t want me back until I’m out for good. And I just ain’t ready to quit.”
“You know these young guys comin’ up,” Crosswhite said. “They’re faster, stronger — more dangerous than we are.”
“I know it, partner, but I ain’t ready.”
They stopped in front of the orange overhead door of the storage garage and stood looking at the big white number 9 stenciled on the front of it.
“So what the fuck do you suppose is gonna be in there?” Crosswhite wondered. “A booby trap?”
Gil tossed the cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. “I doubt it.”
“You’re absolutely positive you don’t wanna tell Pope about this first?”
“Yeah.” Gil stepped forward and put the key into the lock, giving it a turn. The door went up automatically, and both men stood staring.
“You gotta be shittin’ me,” Crosswhite said.
The phone rang in Gil’s pocket. “Hello?”
“So what’s behind door number nine?” Pope asked.
Gil glanced up at the sky, not at all surprised. “I think you’d better get on a plane and come have a look for yourself.”
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In direct defiance of the president’s orders, Navy Master Chief Gil Shannon, one of America’s most lethal SEAL snipers, launches a bold mission comprised of SEAL Team Six and Delta Force fighters to free a captured female helicopter pilot being held by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Scott McEwen is the number one New York Times bestselling coauthor of American Sniper, now made into a feature film with Clint Eastwood directing and Bradley Cooper playing Chris Kyle, Navy SEAL, CPO, deceased. Scott also coauthored Eyes On Target: Inside Stories from the Brotherhood of the U.S. Navy SEALs. He grew up in the mountains of eastern Oregon, where he became an Eagle Scout, hiking, fishing, and hunting at every opportunity. He obtained his undergraduate degree at Oregon State University and thereafter studied and worked extensively in London, England. Scott practiced law in Southern California before he began writing. Scott works with and provides support for several military charitable organizations, including the Navy SEAL Foundation.
Thomas Koloniar is the author of the postapocalyptic novel Cannibal Reign and the coauthor of the national bestseller Sniper Elite: One-Way Trip and Target America. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in English literature from the University of Akron. A retired police officer from Akron, Ohio, he currently lives in Mexico.