SEAL Team Six: Hunt the Fox Read Online Free Page B

kidnap him. There was a struggle. Someone pushed him in front of a bus. He fell. Crushed his head on the street.”
    Anders shook his head as if he couldn’t quite comprehend. “What the hell are you saying? This is awful. Who attacked him?”
    “Don’t know. At least four, maybe five young punks. Middle Eastern–looking. I checked the pockets of one of them. Found no ID. It was a planned op. Orchestrated.”
    “Where?”
    “On Torun, just around the corner from the Arasta Bazaar. A crowded street, broad daylight. They attacked Jared, then came after me.” Crocker pointed to his back. “Help me pull off this shirt.”
    The bloody fabric on the back stuck to his skin. Anders helped him peel it up slowly.
    “Broad daylight…”
    “Yeah, with people everywhere. Bold motherfuckers.”
    “Jared was one of our best operatives,” Anders said sadly. “You sure he’s dead?”
    When the hem reached his neck, Crocker pulled it over his head. “He’s dead, Anders. He’s dead. Yes.”
    Anders looked as if he was tearing up. “It’s hard to believe. Poor Jared. I…I…That’s a real nasty gash.”
    “I was lucky.”
    Anders shook his head. “Don’t say anything to Janice. Please don’t. She and Jared were close. They trained together at the Farm; maybe they dated, hooked up, whatever. I’d better notify the Station.”
    Anders retreated to the bedroom, spoke in a low voice on the phone, and returned ten minutes later and closed the bathroom door.
    “They follow you here? Were you able to ID them? They say anything to you? They identify themselves in any way?”
    “No. No. No. No,” Crocker answered. “I told you that already.”
    “So you saw nothing that could help us identify them?”
    “I saw four of them. Two on a motorcycle; two in a van. All young guys, trained, tough.”
    The front door buzzer sounded.
    “Who’s that?” Crocker asked, getting ready to defend himself.
    Janice answered it. A minute later she knocked on the bathroom door cradling towels, a bottle of peroxide, bandages, medical tape.
    “You absolutely sure you don’t need a doctor?” she asked.
    “No, I can handle this myself. Thanks.” She was pretty, with straight hair to her shoulders.
    “Are we still doing this?” he asked Anders.
    “What?”
    “The meeting. The meeting you called us to. My colleague Akil is supposed to be here, too.”
    An alarm sounded in a far corner of his brain.
    “That…uh, I don’t know.” Anders quickly looked at his watch. The news had clearly thrown him off his game.
    Crocker said, “Maybe we should do it later.”
    Anders frowned and shook his head. “No, no, can’t. Our source is bringing us critical information. Important evidence. My understanding is that he returns to Damascus right after this.”
    “Okay, then. I’ll get ready.”
    “This is so goddamn disturbing,” Anders continued. “I just spoke to Jared this morning. He was scheduled to go on R&R after the mission.” His face was beet red, and he looked like he wanted to scream.
    “What mission?”
    “You’ll soon find out.”
    “Seemed like a great guy.”
    “Dynamic, yeah. Smart, fun. A huge, huge loss.”
    As Anders was heating up, Crocker started to calm down.
    “All right,” he said. “If we’re going through with the meeting, I’m going to have to borrow a shirt.”
    “The timing sucks, I know. But I’ve been led to believe that our source is bringing intelligence that needs to be acted on immediately.”
    “The darker the better. The shirt, I mean.” Crocker’s wardrobe leaned toward black, but this time he had a reason that went beyond convenience. A dark color would hide the blood from his back if it leaked through.
    “Right.”
    Anders finished helping Crocker clean his back and secure the bandages. He looked at his watch again when they were done. “They’re scheduled to arrive in fifteen minutes. I’d better tell Janice to order the drinks and snacks.”
    “They?”
    “A Syrian businessman