“Captain,” Mercer said, his eyes scanning my face, reading the violence there. “What’s the situation?”
“We have a hostage situation in Building 32,” I said, my voice cold, professional, dead. “Halcyon.”
Hayes swore under his breath. “I’ll scramble the Quick Reaction Force.”
“No,” I said. “They see a team coming, they put a bullet in his brain. It’s just me and my father.”
Ryan pushed past Mercer, his face flushed. He had heard the last part. “The hell it is. I’m coming with you.”
“You’re a liability, Ryan,” I snapped.
“I’m a SEAL,” he shot back, tapping the Trident. “You’re not doing this alone.”
I didn’t have time to argue. I unscrewed the backplate of my watch with a micro-tool from Mercer’s kit. Inside, etched microscopically into the steel, was an alphanumeric sequence. The key to burning Halcyon to the ground.
We moved toward Building 32. Hayes coordinated a silent perimeter. Mercer flanked me, his weapon drawn. Ryan stayed close behind. My father walked in front, a dead man walking.
