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Chapters (82)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. FIFTY-FIVE
  59. FIFTY-SIX
  60. FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. FIFTY-NINE
  63. SIXTY
  64. SIXTY-ONE
  65. SIXTY-TWO
  66. SIXTY-THREE
  67. SIXTY-FOUR
  68. SIXTY-FIVE
  69. SIXTY-SIX
  70. SIXTY-SEVEN
  71. SIXTY-EIGHT
  72. SIXTY-NINE
  73. SEVENTY
  74. SEVENTY-ONE
  75. SEVENTY-TWO
  76. SEVENTY-THREE
  77. SEVENTY-FOUR
  78. SEVENTY-FIVE
  79. SEVENTY-SIX
  80. Praise for Blood in the Water
  81. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  82. Newsletter Sign-up

It took them twenty minutes to make their way through the southeastern section of Fort Strong and reach the door leading to the long corridor that connected to the northern section of the fort. Cormack was well acquainted with the interior layout; the place was often used by smugglers as a temporary storage area for various contraband. He had described the place to Buddy and Cicero so that they would have a good idea of where they were and what they could expect. If Cormack was correct in his assumption, Soh and his men would likely be utilizing the northern section. It was the larger area, and there was plenty of space for two dozen men, which was the size of the force Cormack estimated that Soh had.

So far Cormack’s assumptions had been borne out. But that was little comfort. He knew that in order to get into the northern section of the fort, they would have to first open the steel door on their side of the corridor. In all likelihood, the noise from that would be enough to alert Soh’s men that they were there. They then had to make their way down the fifty-foot-long, low concrete passageway. If Soh and his men were alerted to their presence, all they would have to do was crack the door at their end of the corridor open and shoot blindly through the opening. The concrete walls, floor, and ceiling would guarantee an endless ricochet and there would be no way that Cormack and his men would escape being carved to ribbons.

Even if they made it down the corridor and managed to get the door on the other end open, they would still be forced to fight their way through anywhere between fifteen and twenty well-armed, highly motivated MS-13 soldiers who accepted that their lives were by definition likely to end early.

As Cormack stared at the door to the corridor, the hopelessness of the situation fully dawned on him, and he realized that he would likely never see his daughter again. After a moment’s thought, he motioned for Cicero and Buddy to follow him back out toward the eastern entrance.

“It’s no good,” Cormack whispered once they were back out near the entryway. “It won’t work. It’ll get us killed, and it’ll get Diamond killed.” He could tell from the looks on the other men’s faces that they knew he was right.

“What now, then?” Buddy asked. “I’m not leaving her here.”

“I’m not either,” Cormack said. “But there might be a better way.”

“I’m all ears,” Cicero whispered. “This is your show.”

“You two head back to the corridor. Wait there. As soon as you hear a commotion, you hit the hallway as hard and as fast as you can. Get to Diamond before they do, and get her out.”

Cicero frowned. “What commotion?” he asked.