Black Flag: A Taskforce Story Read Online Free Page A

top of my tank. He shoved it in his mouth, cleared it, and took a deep breath. I waved my hand in front of his face in a cutting motion, then pointed to my gauge.
    We had about five minutes of air left between us. I pointed to Navassa Island and he nodded. We started stroking, cresting the reef bed at ten feet and drawing more bullets from the air bubbles in our tank. We reached the island and looked for a way up.
    Completely circled with limestone cliffs of about eight feet, the island had no beach to roll into. We poked our heads above the water and immediately drew a fusillade from the boat, all most likely from some type of 9mm submachine gun. The range was too great for any chance to hit us with a precision aim, but it wasn’t too great for a lucky break, and they were liberally trying to make that happen.
    I found an alcove and pressed into the rock. I looked over my head and saw a shallow niche rising to the island, a five-foot climb over limestone.
    I spit out my regulator and said, “Great clients. I think we’ll really solidify your cover in Grolier with these assholes.”
    Knuckles said, “Spare me. Can we get out of the beaten zone, please? Sooner or later, they’re going to hit us.”
    I braced myself on the rock and ditched my tank, then scampered up the cut. I reached the top and was visible from the boat, drawing another fusillade. I dove into the dirt at the same time Knuckles made it to the top. I low-crawled through the vegetation for about thirty meters before stopping.
    Where we’d surfaced was scrub, with bushes and trees that topped out at five feet. If we stood, we’d be visible from the coast, which forced us to snake our way forward like a couple of animals.
    Knuckles reached my position, and we both focused on the boat, seeing it powering into our position. I said, “What the hell happened?”
    He said, “I don’t know. I got back on the boat, pulled off my gear, and gave them the pipe containing the map. While they were all jumping up and down cheering, I saw an itinerary for a container ship out of Jamaica. It was a reservation for four rooms on the boat, and it was all of us, including Jennifer. Lying on top of the duffel bag full of weapons.”
    “What are you talking about? Reservations on a cruise ship?”
    “No, no. A freighter. One of those giant container ships. You can book passage on just about any ship crossing the ocean, and it’s pretty cheap, considering. Someone booked us passage on a container ship out of Kingston, Jamaica. When I saw that, they turned nasty.”
    The boat continued toward us, but slower due to the rocks. I watched it inch forward and said, “They aren’t going to quit. We need to get the fuck out of here.”
    I started duckwalking deeper into the island, finding a game trail and sticking to it, the vegetation ripping into my exposed skin. When we reached an expanse of flat terrain, I crouched and said, “I don’t know what you triggered, but they’ve got a plan. They’re going to come here and hunt us. You want to go separately or stick together?”
    Knuckles said, “Splitting up is probably the best way to take these guys, since we have no weapons. Make them separate, then take them out.”
    I said, “Okay. I’m sticking to this game trail. You go somewhere else.”
    He looked at the intimidating rocks, sticker bushes, and other foliage, then at his bare feet and said, “Maybe we should stay together.”
    “Yeah. This is going to be like the worst episode of
Naked and Afraid
.”

Chapter 5
    Dylan knocked on the hotel door and dreaded what he was about to report, even though it wasn’t his fault. Why Nickolae brought the damn reservation confirmation with him was a mystery, but it certainly wasn’t because Dylan had ordered it. And it wasn’t Dylan’s fault that the Romanian, instead of trying to talk his way out of it, had turned immediately to violence. Like they always did.
    It’s amazing they get anything done. What idiot would want