A force of a hundred Marines was perched at the far end of the valley, about a mile away, guarding its entrance against any Taliban reinforcements who might try to come to Haddad’s aid. The narrow valley itself made for a steep, rocky natural barrier that would prevent all but the most agile and well-equipped warriors from entering the area. Fortunately, the SEALs were both.

The main purpose of the entire support team—Marines, photo analysts, intel specialists, translators, and air support—was to make sure the SEALs weren’t surprised by anything. It allowed the operators to worry only about what was ahead of them and not what was behind.

Sherri felt her pulse leap as the go order was given. The images on the video monitors began to move as the Reapers started creeping down the hillside into the valley below.

Griffin muttered to Kettering, “How do you stand the suspense of sitting in an ops center, watching missions go down like this? I swear, my heart rate’s double what it would be if I were out there myself.”

Cal grimaced. “It’s no fun. I try to watch for any detail you guys miss, any hint of something going off plan that might get you in trouble. I console myself with being an extra pair of eyes for the team.”

Sherri caught Anna’s infinitesimal shift in her chair to lean closer to Trevor. Interesting. Had that been a conscious move on Anna’s part or not? Even more interesting was the fact that Trevor didn’t pull away from the contact. He seemed prepared to let the gorgeous brunette lean surreptitiously against his right arm.

Beside her, tension vibrated off Griffin. He really was suffering, being left behind like this. An impulse to reach over and offer him comfort nearly got the best of her. She settled for throwing him a sympathetic look when he happened to glance over at her. He quickly looked away.

Kenny, Sam, and Jojo formed one of three three-man strike teams approaching the compound from different directions. The idea was for at least one team to get inside, and they all would create diversions for one another.

Occasional faint sounds of gravel rolling underfoot were all Sherri heard for the next several minutes as the Reapers crept down the difficult terrain.

Without warning, an explosion and then a huge puff of smoke, dust, and fire erupted from the cave opening across the valley. Tracer rounds burst out of the compound below, and a second huge explosion shook the hillside mere yards in front of the cameras.

Griffin swore at the same time Kettering bit out, “Mortar. Big one.”

Griffin leaned forward. “That mortar came from the target compound! This is an ambush!”

It was Kettering’s turn to swear.