Undeclared War Read Online Free Page A

question that there wouldn’t be a second place finisher in this race. The winner would be the only one who lived.
    Reaper noted the thick, bushy black beard of the man who was trying to kill him. There were broad black eyebrows above eyes that were widely open. As the man opened his mouth, Reaper could see teeth stained from years of neglect and tobacco use. Then the face dissolved in a mask of red as Reaper won the race and the SIG in his hand bucked and roared.
    With the immediate threat neutralized, the passage of time went back to its normal rate of flow. There was the sharp report of another M4 being fired as Bear took down one of the other armed men who had come to wreak havoc among the unarmed villagers. Then Reaper heard the slow knocking, spaced-out, thunk…thunk…thunk…of a Mark 19 being fired. It took a moment for the fist-sized 40mm grenades to travel from the muzzle of the weapon to the target. Just a second or two after the sound of firing rang out, the spaces between the trees bloomed with the flowers of high-explosive grenade detonations.
    Back at the Humvee, Ward fired the Mark 19 grenade launcher in a long burst, tracking the grenades so that they would explode in the woods beyond where his Teammates were fighting. The blasts would convince the raiders that rapidly goingsomeplace else would be a very good idea.
    Thousands of ripping steel fragments from the exploding grenades slashed through the trees and brush of the woods. As the razor-sharp steel cleared the area, Reaper quickly picked himself up from the ground and shook off the effects of the blow to his chest. His M4 carbine, dangling across his chest on its sling, was not going to be of much help to him. Even without the night-vision device strapped to his head, Reaper would have seen the large dent and hole in the receiver where the weapon had stopped the first round from that AK-47.
    â€œWell, fuck me,” he said quietly to himself.
    His SIG pistol had served him well enough and would have to continue to do so. As Bear ran up to his chief, neither SEAL could see any sign of more activity on the part of the raiders. Whoever they had been, they had cut and run, leaving their dead behind. They didn’t have the stomach for a protracted fight when what they had thought would be a soft target had suddenly turned very hard.
    The open door of the schoolhouse was behind the two SEALs. As Bear maintained watch, Reaper went up to the door and looked inside. Light was pouring out of the door, bathing the two SEALs in a golden glow, as fires started from the broken lamps in the building spread their flames.
    Reaper pushed his AN/PVS-14 NVD up on his forehead. The light from the fire was more than enough for him to see the scattered bodies of nearlytwenty villagers—men, women, and children—scattered around the room. The torn and limp bodies told Reaper all that he needed to know. There would be no refugees accepting the offer of a safe haven by the SEALs, the JSSF, or anyone else.

Chapter Two
    A subdued Humvee full of SEALs returned to the “train,” the radio code name for their headquarters established in a house near the city of Rastosnica. The large house was isolated enough from other buildings for security’s sake, and large enough to comfortably hold all of the JSSF detachment.
    The unit’s two officers, Captain Paxtun and Lieutenant Franklin, had their quarters on the upper floor of the house, but only Paxtun was waiting when Reaper returned with his men. Two of the unit’s other Humvees were missing when the men pulled up to the house. Their vehicle was still parked where they had left it.
    The results of the night’s actions weighed heavily on the SEALs. They had gone out with the intention of simply supporting a “hearts and minds” campaign to help win over some of the locals who had suffered so much. A show of strength and solidarity to show the refugees that they were finally safe