Last Stand: Patriots (Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

latter. Two thousand years earlier, the Romans had faced much the same problem while trying to conquer Britain. Celtic armies often waited for the legions to enter a dense forest where they would be forced to march only a few men abreast. That was when they would attack, denying the Romans the ability to use the awesome power of the legion in full formation.
    “There’s more,” Wright said.
    “Go on.”
    “Two of our boys are missing. PFC Steven Hutchinson, nineteen years old, out of Luzerne, Michigan and PFC Ryan S. Davis, twenty-two, from Knoxville, Tennessee.”
    John put his coffee down and felt a terrible weight immediately settle on the tops of his shoulders. He couldn’t deny the responsibility he felt to make sure all his men made it home safe and sound. It was one thing to be killed in action, but kidnapped, likely tortured and only God knew what else—the thought was difficult to fathom.
    “Are either of them married ?” John asked, not entirely sure he wanted to hear the answer.
    “Only Davis,” Wright said somberly. “His wife’s pregnant, expecting any day now. I was in the MWR room when they were talking on Skype and they both seemed real…”
    Happy . That was what Wright was gonna say before he cut himself off.
    “Don’t worry , 1SG,” John said, mustering every ounce of faith he could under the circumstances. “I promise you we’re gonna find those boys and bring them home safe and sound.”
    “Roger that, sir.” Wright straightened up, turned and left.
    John opened a line straight away to his commander in order to push the CCIR (Commander's Critical Information Requirement) up through the chain of command. There was no telling what his men were being subjected to and he knew time was of the essence.
    Within an hour, nearly eight thousand men from dozens of units were out searching. Tips began rolling in. A number of Stryker teams went house to house, knocking in gates with Humvees and searching suspected insurgent safe houses. The truth was the enemy counted a captured US soldier as a prized trophy, one that could be sold by the local insurgent leader to al-Qaeda. The clock was ticking and with every minute that passed, the chances of finding those men alive diminished exponentially.

Chapter 8
    John came awake clutching the Blazer’s steering wheel. Beside him, Brandon was staring at him, worried. It took a minute and a handful of deep breaths for John to catch his bearings.
    “You all right ?” the boy asked.
    B eads of sweat rolled down John’s face. “I’m fine.”
    “You were talking.”
    “Was I?” The camo netting was still draped over the front and sides of the truck, although the doors could be opened if done carefully.
    “Who’s Davis?”
    “ Davis?”
    “Yeah, you kept saying the name.”
    John didn’t want to talk about it. “We should get going.”
    “You said he was missing.”
    “Did I?” A pause, then: “He was someone I knew from the war.”
    “ Vietnam?”
    John smiled. “ You watched too many movies. I knew him from Iraq. He and another soldier went missing and I promised I’d find them.”
    “Oh.” Brandon seemed to be contemplating this. “And did you?”
    “I did. Listen, we should probably eat something before we head out.” In the back of the truck , the goose sat in his cage, not making a sound. John threw a thumb over his shoulder. “You know, I forgot he was here.”
    The boy laughed. “ Who, George? Me too.”
    John frowned. “I’m not sure naming him is such a great idea. Might not be long before George ends up on a spit over a fire, and it’s so much harder to eat something you’ve named, don’t you think? That was one of the reasons we got rid of the rabbits. Had a pen in the backyard and Emma named each and every one of those little buggers. Whenever we tried to grab the fattest one for dinner she’d raise a real ruckus. You’d think we were trying to cook her best friend.”
    The smile on Brandon’s face betrayed a hint