Chapter 6
Three days earlier, Alexis had been leading a recovery team near the burned remains of a downed aircraft.
The mission had been simple on paper.
Find the pilots.
Confirm civilian captives.
Get out.
But the patrol had come early.
Too many trucks.
Too many rifles.
Too many hostages in the back of one covered vehicle.
Alexis had seen the teenage girl first.
Hands tied.
Face pressed against the canvas.
Terrified.
Alexis made a choice in less than a second.
She stepped into the open.
She drew the enemy away from the ravine where her team was hidden.
She let them take her.
Not because she was reckless.
Because someone had to get inside.
Someone had to confirm the prison.
Someone had to survive long enough for the rescue signal to matter.
Hassan had mistaken capture for victory.
Alexis had let him.
Now the prison above them groaned with sudden movement.
A guard shouted from the stairwell.
Then his voice cut off.
Hassan grabbed the nearest rifle.
“Bring her.”
The guard hesitated.
“She has the keys.”
Hassan slapped him across the face.
“Then take them!”
The guard rushed Alexis.
He was bigger.
Stronger.
Fresh.
Alexis was injured, hungry, and barely standing.
But rage makes men sloppy.
May you like
Pain makes survivors precise.
Read Part 7 to see how Alexis turned a prison cell into the start of an escape.
