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Risen To The Top CHAPTER 47
The four men with her in the vehicle seemed relaxed enough once they passed through the final military checkpoint in their journey, but Joanne’s stomach was in knots as they drove deeper into the northern part of the infamous Cuban Village. Alex had come to her room late last night to give her a brief rundown of emergency and safety procedures for the site. He’d listed them quickly and calmly, stressed he was only reviewing them all with her as standard procedure, and when she didn’t have any questions for him, he’d left. Surprisingly, knowing the procedures ahead of time actually made her feel more secure and she’d managed to sleep until her alarm woke her well before dawn.Once known as the Switzerland of the region, it was easy to see why. If she hadn’t known it was Cuba, she’d half expect to see Julie Andrews come running over the hill at any moment, dressed in a nun’s habit and singing her heart out. The high mountain peaks soared skyward, yet untouched by the coming Mists, and lu
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 48
The head manager and her two other managers called the men inside to begin work. Joanne and Michelle split up. She stopped in each ware room and lingered as the men gathered into the smallest of the three rooms to begin their first lesson. This was so different from most of the primary ware rooms she’d been in back home. Here the room had a hushed, almost reverent atmosphere. Ranging from about five through nine or so, each man sat behind a small computer, watching the manager intently as she began to write down the plans on the blackboard. Their rapt attention blew her away.She spent most of the morning observing the work and passing out simple supplies. In the upper intermediate ware room she walked in on a long division lesson. During a lull, with Zach’s help Joanne asked permission to assist, and when the manager learned Joanne was a nuclear developer from America, her eyes lit up.Joanne went around the room to help some of the men. After they overcame their initial shyness about
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 49
Through his high-powered binoculars, Alex tracked the men's steady progress across the grassy plain. Joanne was bringing up the rear, carrying a little boy. When she at last reached the emergency bunker and disappeared inside it, some of the tension in his shoulders eased. Good girl.“They’re secure,” he said in a low voice to Marshall over the squad radio. “Let’s move.” Grabbing his rifle, he climbed to his feet and prepared to make the fifty yard run across the open space to a clump of bushes he’d chosen for his next cover.Currently making their way down the hillsides on two sides of the valley wall, the attackers seemed to be converging. So far Alex’s team had spotted fourteen in total. That didn’t account for any others hidden from view or possible reinforcements coming in from other areas.Charging over the grass to his new position, he dropped to one knee and took another look around. “I’m in position. Duke, give me status.”The spotter’s steady voice ca
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 50
The enemy bore down on them in a suicidal rush, yelling their war cry. They began shooting in that weird haphazard way they had, from the hip, spraying rounds all over the place in the hopes of hitting something. A few rounds plowed into the cinderblock wall at the front of the school, sending up tiny sprays of white. He stayed off the radio, letting his men do their jobs. They’d gone over this plan before and each man knew what to do.His finger tightened on the trigger. Another ounce of pressure was all he needed to fire. His gaze locked on the man at the front of the center column. He was running flat out toward the school, mouth wide open in his bearded face as he hollered, his AK spewing rounds. Some of the shots thudded into the ground yards ahead of where Alex lay.He held his fire, waiting for the enemy to come into the kill zone. Five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One.He squeezed the trigger, firing two shots that hit the man’s chest.
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 51
Hernandez left work that evening in a cheerful mood and opted to walk over to one of his favorite cafés for a hot cup of tea before catching the bus home. The entire day had gone by without a single call from the boss and he’d made good headway on the next project in his queue. On top of that, he was looking forward to finding out if there’d been an attack on the site today.He took a shortcut down some side streets on the way from his office to avoid the crowds. The sun was just starting to set, casting a rosy glow over everything its rays touched. calls for customers to purchase the wares rang out from the traders in the market. Being near the end of the year, everyone was in high spirits about the approach of the new year celebration and looking to fill up on a good meal before the holiday price hike of goods began after the holiday. When he arrived, his favorite coffee shop was much busier than usual.After standing in line for almost fiftee
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 52
The sound of the gunfire was terrifying, but it was the sudden silence that filled Joanne’s veins with ice. A deathly stillness now engulfed the underground shelter as everyone held their breath. Only a single dim emergency light shone in the far corner, casting shadows on the rear walls. The front half of the enclosure was swallowed in blackness, increasing the sense of claustrophobia.Joanne clutched the little boy, Pablo, to her chest, struggling to stay calm in the suffocating tension. Everyone was totally still, afraid to move. She cut a glance ahead at Ray, who stared up at the trap door that led to the emergency shelter that had been built at her father’s insistence. The end of the firefight meant one of two things. Either Alex and the others had eradicated the threat, or the attackers had overwhelmed them and were coming to kill them next.Joanne swallowed hard. There was no place for them to go. Nowhere to hide but here.Hold it tog
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 53
She was panting by the time they reached the roadblock, her back and face soaked in sweat despite the cool air. Someone screamed Pablo’s name. The boy’s head snapped up and Joanne spun around. A young woman was racing toward them, her face crumpled with fear and grief. Pablo shoved at Joanne so she let him go and watched the little boy run into the woman’s waiting arms. Joanne swallowed back tears when the woman caught her son and fell to her knees there on the dirt road, sobbing as she rocked him.“We’ve gotta go,” Alex said impatiently, dragging her forward.Joanne resisted, reluctant to leave them until she was sure they would be okay. “How will they get home? How do we know they’ll be safe?”“The military and police will handle it. We have to go,” he repeated. This time he jerked her forward hard enough that she had no choice but to follow. The sound of Pablo and his mother crying followed them down the hill to where a familiar black SUV was roaring toward them.
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 54
He shifted his attention back to his sidearm as though uncomfortable with the idea of her singing his praises to her boss. “That’s not necessary.”“I think it is.”This time when he glanced up his eyes strayed from her face down the length of her robe-covered body and suddenly the room felt way too small. Every place his eyes touched, her skin started to tingle, her body coming to life as if waking from a long sleep. Since that could go nowhere, she turned away and pulled the robe over her head, leaving her in her pants and T-shirt. When she continued to feel Alex’s gaze on her, she told herself she was imagining things.Marshall showed up a few minutes later with some takeout and their bags and left, saying he had things to take care of. Without pause, Alex grabbed a small kit from his duffel and glanced at her over his shoulder. “Mind if I grab a shower first?”“No, go ahead.” When he disappeared behind the bathroom