Chapter 7
For the first time, Hassan noticed the doors around him.
Cell One.
Cell Two.
Cell Three.
Cell Five.
Cell Six.
All full.
Not of criminals.
Not of soldiers.
Hostages.
Aid workers.
A captured interpreter.
Two wounded American contractors.
And the missing intelligence officer Hassan had spent three days denying he had.
Alexis had not been captured while running away.
She had allowed herself to be taken after she saw the prison convoy move through the village.
Because command needed proof of where the hostages were.
Because a rescue team could not strike blind.
Because Hassan had hidden prisoners under a hospital and used civilians above it as shields.
So Alexis had gone in the only way she could.
As bait.
The red light on the camera had not gone dark because it failed.
It had gone dark because the rescue team had taken the system.
Every hallway.
Every door.
Every guard position.
All of it was now on American screens.
Hassan lifted his pistol.
Alexis was faster.
She fired once.
The round struck the pipe above his head.
Steam burst into the corridor.
Hassan stumbled back, shouting.
Alexis moved.
Not toward the exit.
Toward the cells.
She unlocked Cell Three first.
Inside, a man with a broken arm looked up in disbelief.
“Captain Reed?”
“Can you walk?”
“Yes.”
“Then help me get the others.”
Gunfire erupted two corridors away.
Deep.
Controlled.
Professional.
Not Hassan’s men.
Alexis smiled for the first time.
May you like
The rescue team was inside.
Read Part 8 to see how Alexis turned Hassan’s own prison against him.
