All Chapters of Iron Bonds: The Brotherhood of Echo Unit : Chapter 61
- Chapter 70
95 chapters
Chapter 61: Lines That Hold
The road unfurled ahead of Echo Unit like a scar pulled tight across the valley—patched, cracked, and unforgiving. Dust hung low in the air, turning the early light into a dull bronze haze that clung to everything it touched. Engines rumbled in a disciplined rhythm, each vehicle spaced just far enough to breathe, just close enough to cover.Captain Daniel Mercer rode in the lead MRAP, eyes forward, jaw set. Chapter 59 had ended with the convoy rolling out under uneasy skies; Chapter 60 had tested them with near-misses and warning signs that never quite crossed the line into contact. Now, in the quiet that followed, Mercer felt the tension settle deeper. This was the stretch where mistakes were born—not in chaos, but in routine.“Spacing looks good,” Sergeant Lucas Hale said over the intercom. “No chatter on the net.”“Keep it that way,” Mercer replied. “Quiet roads lie.”The convoy crested a low rise. To the right, the river glinted between reeds. To the left, mud-brick homes squatted
Chapter 62: Fire on the Corridor
The convoy rolled out just after first light, engines growling low and steady as Echo Unit took its places around the civilian trucks. Dust rose in pale clouds behind the tires, catching the early sun and turning the air hazy gold. To anyone watching from the hills, it might have looked almost peaceful—a line of vehicles moving with purpose, soldiers alert but calm.Captain Daniel Mercer sat in the lead MRAP, headset snug against his ears, eyes fixed on the narrow road ahead. Chapter 61 still weighed on him—the uneasy night, the intercepted chatter Pike had translated, the sense that someone out there knew exactly where they were going. This wasn’t just an escort anymore. It was a test.“Spacing looks good,” Sergeant Lucas Hale said from the gunner’s seat above. “No movement on the ridges so far.”“So far,” Mercer replied. He glanced at the tablet mounted beside him, the map glowing faintly. The river corridor curved ahead, flanked by low stone walls and clusters of scrub. Plenty of p
Chapter 63: What We Don't Leave Behind
The night settled over the valley like a held breath.Echo Unit reached the temporary staging area well after dusk, engines cutting one by one until the only sounds left were cicadas and the low murmur of men moving on instinct. Headlights snapped off. Red-lensed lamps flickered to life. The convoy formed a loose horseshoe around a cluster of ruined buildings—old stone walls and a half-collapsed warehouse that offered just enough cover to matter.Captain Daniel Mercer climbed down from the lead MRAP, boots crunching on gravel. His body hummed with the aftershock of the day—adrenaline ebbing, exhaustion pressing in. Two attacks. One wounded man. A message sent loud and clear: they were being watched.“Perimeter first,” Mercer said quietly. “Then med checks. No shortcuts.”Sergeant Lucas Hale was already moving, assigning sectors with brief hand signals. No raised voices. No wasted motion. Echo Unit spread out, rifles up, eyes scanning the darkness. The valley felt different at night—cl
Chapter 64: Lines Drawn in Dust
Morning did not bring relief. It brought clarity.The valley woke under a thin veil of dust and smoke, the sun climbing fast, already promising heat that would sap strength and patience alike. Echo Unit broke camp with practiced efficiency, engines rumbling low as the aid convoy re-formed. The rescued driver was loaded into a medical vehicle, unconscious but breathing, an IV taped to his arm like a fragile lifeline.Captain Daniel Mercer stood beside the lead MRAP, helmet under his arm, eyes scanning the horizon. Chapter 63 lingered in every movement—the weight of the night rescue, the near miss, the reminder that principles weren’t abstract things. They were choices made under pressure, paid for in sweat and blood.Lieutenant Aaron Pike approached, tablet in hand. “Intercepted more chatter at first light,” he said. “Same voices as last night. They know we pulled someone out. That changed the tone.”“From harassment to intent,” Mercer said.Pike nodded. “Looks that way.”Sergeant Luca
Chapter 65: The Long Watch
Night settled over the village like a held breath.Lanterns glowed behind canvas walls, casting soft halos on packed earth as Echo Unit took up positions along the perimeter. The aid convoy slept in shifts—drivers curled in their cabs, doctors on cots between patients, the rescued man from the night before monitored closely by a medic who refused to leave his side. Beyond the village lights, the hills loomed dark and watchful.Captain Daniel Mercer moved quietly along the line, checking on his men without ceremony. A nod here. A hand on a shoulder there. He listened more than he spoke. The night had a language of its own—distant dogs barking, the river’s low murmur, the faint scrape of boots as a sentry adjusted his stance.At the northern approach, Sergeant Lucas Hale crouched behind a low wall, optics trained on the ridgeline.“Any movement?” Mercer asked softly.“Nothing solid,” Hale replied. “But I don’t like the gaps. Too clean.”Mercer followed Hale’s gaze. The enemy had withdra
Chapter 66: The Measure of Resolve
The road opened into a wide plain that shimmered under the late-morning sun, a deceptive calm stretching in all directions. Low scrub dotted the land like punctuation marks, and beyond it, the hills pulled back just enough to make the convoy feel exposed. Captain Daniel Mercer didn’t trust open ground any more than narrow passes. Each demanded a different kind of vigilance.“Spacing to one hundred meters,” Mercer ordered over comms. “No bunching.”Engines adjusted. The convoy lengthened, becoming a deliberate line instead of a tempting cluster. Drones continued their lazy circles overhead, optics feeding quiet reassurance and constant warning in equal measure.Inside the lead MRAP, Lieutenant Aaron Pike tracked the feeds, fingers tapping the tablet’s edge. “Thermals are clean for now,” he said. “But there’s intermittent signal noise. Someone’s trying to listen.”Mercer nodded. “Let them hear discipline.”Behind them, Corporal Ben Ortiz checked on Private Jonah Reed, who rode with his
Chapter 67: What We Refuse to Become
Night came down gently, almost kindly, but no one in Echo Unit mistook it for mercy.The temporary bivouac sat just off the road, vehicles angled outward in a loose defensive ring. No fires. No unnecessary light. Only the muted glow of red-lensed lamps and the quiet efficiency of men who had learned how to exist in the dark without letting it seep inside them.Captain Daniel Mercer walked the perimeter again, boots crunching softly over gravel and dry earth. The day’s restraint still hummed through him like a held note. They had been tested—not with overwhelming violence, but with pressure designed to provoke mistakes. That kind of war left deeper marks.Sergeant Lucas Hale leaned against an MRAP, helmet off, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.“You should sleep,” Mercer said.Hale snorted quietly. “So should you.”Mercer didn’t argue. He scanned the horizon instead, where the last trace of sunset bled into black. “They wanted us angry today.”“They didn’t get it,” Hale replied.“No,”
Chapter 68: When The Ground Gives Way
The relay point vanished behind Echo Unit in a haze of dust and engine noise, replaced by a stretch of broken terrain that looked harmless from a distance and treacherous up close. The road fractured into shallow gullies and dry channels, scars carved by seasons of flash floods. It was the kind of ground that punished complacency.Captain Daniel Mercer rode in the lead vehicle, eyes moving constantly—mirrors, horizon, instruments, then back to the land. The rules had shifted again. Higher command’s message still echoed in his head: increased latitude for force. A loosened leash could be as dangerous as a tight one.“Spacing tightens here,” Mercer ordered. “Seventy-five meters. No faster than we can see.”The convoy complied, engines settling into a measured pace. Drones were back in the air, their quiet hum barely audible beneath the wind.Sergeant Lucas Hale’s voice came through calm but edged. “Terrain’s bad for wheels. Worse for reaction time.”“Then we slow,” Mercer said. “We don’
Chapter 69: The Price of Standing
The checkpoint rose out of the hills like a scar that refused to heal.Concrete barriers leaned at uneven angles, chipped and blackened by old blasts. A watchtower stood to one side, its windows dark, its silhouette more symbolic than functional. The road narrowed as it approached, forcing vehicles to slow, to commit. Captain Daniel Mercer didn’t like places like this. They invited judgment from above and danger from every direction at once.“Eyes open,” Mercer ordered as Echo Unit approached. “This place remembers violence.”They rolled through at a crawl. A different unit manned the checkpoint—faces unfamiliar, posture rigid, weapons carried with an edge that spoke of nerves stretched thin. Their commander, a major with sunburned skin and a clipped tone, waved Mercer forward.“Echo Actual,” the major said once Mercer dismounted. “You’re late.”“We adapted,” Mercer replied evenly. “Terrain issues.”The major’s eyes flicked briefly to the battered MRAP in Echo Unit’s formation. “Comma
Chapter 70: Where Trust is Tested
The valley disappeared behind Echo Unit as darkness claimed the road, replaced by a stretch of high ground that forced the convoy to climb in long, grinding pulls. Engines strained, headlights cut narrow tunnels through the night, and the air grew cooler with every meter gained. The silence inside the vehicles was heavier now—not fear, but the kind of focus that followed too many near misses in too short a span of time.Captain Daniel Mercer rode with his helmet off, resting against the seat, eyes open and alert. The last engagement replayed in fragments—the civilians’ panic, the probing fire, the way the enemy slipped away as soon as Echo Unit refused to overextend. It was becoming a pattern. And patterns, Mercer knew, always evolved.“Terrain levels out in two klicks,” Lieutenant Aaron Pike reported quietly. “Satellite shows an abandoned quarry up ahead. Hard ground. Good sightlines.”Mercer nodded. “We stop there. Short rest. Reset.”The quarry emerged gradually from the dark, a sh