Chapter 22: Mysterious Foes
We arrived at the drop-zone at 8 a.m.
The captain laid out the plan: We’d split into teams—Sane, Yukio, and I with her on the south; Dmitry, Loid, and Zack on the east; William with the twins on the west; and Drake, Diego, and Wardak on the north.
“Only attack on my signal. Is that understood?” The captain emphasized.
“Crystal clear Captain!” Billy quickly assured her. And then he turned to William, “Relax—you’re with pros.” He clapped William’s shoulder. “Bill-Board and I have run ops like this a hundred times. Just stick with us.”
And then, suddenly and without warning, Bill-Board hurled himself from the chopper, plunging toward the ocean below.
“Stop!” the captain barked, but he was gone. “What’s he thinking goddam-it!”
I leaned out, bewildered. “He does know the difference between a kilometer and a meter, right? The island’s still far off.”
“That’s Bill-Board for you! Always goes with the flow!” Billy revealed, a smile swept over his face
And then he followed behind his brother, whooping with exhilaration.
“What the fuck is wrong those two?” Drake swore under his breath. “I’m not jumping!”
“Of course not, damn it!” the captain growled, exasperated. “We have a boat, you fools! New plan: Dmitry’s team, take the west instead.”
The mission launched, tension coiling tighter. The captain underscored the operation’s stakes, especially since it’s fate was in the hands of amateurs, book nerds and muscle heads. The question left me wondering why the general had entrusted such a supposedly critical task to a squad of untested rookies.