night’s mission,” he said, looking at her shaking hands. “Looks like someone on the inside tipped off Major Moore and he was able to plan an attack, hoping to take out our entire unit.”
Her eyes flickered over to Gomez before asking, “Who?”
Dean shrugged his shoulders. “Operation Triton is top secret. Very few people know about it.”
Gomez eyed Cara suspiciously. “What can you tell us about the sniper in the hills?” he said.
“Not much,” said Cara. “He was a long way away.”
Dean rested his arms on the table and leaned in her direction. “What was he wearing?”
“Looked like regular clothes—jeans, sweater.” She cast her mind back. “And a red bandanna around his head. But no ghillie suit, no camouflage, no real attempt to hide properly.”
“Not a trained sniper, then?” Dean offered.
Cara shook her head. “No trained sniper would be so sloppy.”
Dean put his arms behind his head, his muscles flexing. “But his shot was good. He hit the ground right next to me. Another couple of feet and I’d be dead. It was certainly someone who can handle a rifle.” He lowered his voice before adding, “Someone like Chris Moore.”
He rose from the table and stood by the window. “Major Moore would like to see us all dead, I’m afraid. He’s fighting a war against America and all military personnel are targets.”
“With all due respect, sir,” said Gomez. “We haven’t been told anything about the terrorist organization that Moore is working for. Isn’t that a bit odd?”
“It’s highly classified,” Dean said, turning to face them. “The military wants to keep it all under wraps.”
Cara watched his face intently as it darkened. “We’re in deep now,” she said. “We need to know what we’re dealing with.”
Gomez shot her a sideways glance. “She’s right,” he said. “Whatever happens from here, we should know what we’re fighting for.”
Dean leaned back on the counter and looked between them for a few moments before speaking. “Do you remember the explosion that happened last year at Fort Bragg?”
Yeah,” Cara said, “it was a faulty munitions batch. I read the memo about it.”
Dean shook his head. “It wasn’t faulty munitions that caused the explosion. It was a bomb, planted by someone who knew the base well. It totally blindsided us. A group called the United Free Army claimed responsibility shortly afterward. That’s when we decided to put Moore undercover, infiltrate the UFA and shut it down from the inside.”
“And they managed to turn him?” said Gomez, shaking his head. “If they can turn a man like Moore they gotta be strong. He’s not a man who’d break easily.”
“That’s what I thought,” said Dean, lowering his voice. “But they got to him somehow. Maybe he saw something in their ideology. Maybe he’d had enough of fighting in wars thousands of miles from home, wars that never seem to end....” His voice trailed off.
Cara looked up into his face, sensing the rawness of his pain. Just what had stolen his friend from him and left this wide, empty void? She voiced her thoughts.
“What exactly is their ideology, sir?”
Dean cleared his throat. “Their aim is to get the military to pull out of all overseas wars. They think the government is neglecting its own people to look after foreigners abroad. Until we withdraw troops from all overseas conflicts, the UFA says that every military installation and every serving soldier is a legitimate target. The bomb at Fort Bragg is just the first.”
“How on earth did they infiltrate Fort Bragg?” Cara said. She’d only been there once, but it was the most heavily fortified base she’d seen in her life.
“Good question, Hanson,” Dean said, raising his eyebrows. “They had a man on the inside but we don’t know who. Truth is, we have no idea how many personnel they’ve turned. They actively target disgruntled and angry soldiers, usually ones fresh back from tours of Afghanistan, where they’d seen American soldiers caught up in roadside or suicide bombs.” He closed his eyes. “Or worse.”
Cara also closed her eyes, images flashing of things she had seen fitting this description. It was a subject that she knew bonded her and Dean together without question. Their experiences may not be shared, but they had a shared understanding, and no further words were needed.
“We don’t know who the inside man at Fort Bragg was,” Dean continued, “but we know he was angry enough to target his own colleagues. Four men died that day. We’re fighting a war being waged by our own men and, what’s worse, we don’t even know who they are.”
The three soldiers sat around the table in momentary silence as the enormity of Dean’s words sank in. Cara knew all about fighting in far-off places, in hot, dusty lands miles away from her beloved home soil. She never imagined she would have to defend herself against her own countrymen. The news hit her like a brick, and she renewed her conviction to do all she could to prevent any more lives being lost.
Dean sat at the head of the table, his face solemn and still. “We must remain vigilant at all times because all of us are targets. Anything suspicious needs to be reported to me immediately, any time of the day or night. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.
“I reckon we’d all like a hot shower,” he said, breaking into an unconvincing smile. “I’ll check the cabin is secure while you two take advantage of the hot water.”
Cara drained her coffee cup, noticing Gomez watching her from the corner of his eye. She stared at him defiantly, pulling her chin up high. He looked away and headed out the door, leaving her alone with Dean.
“How do you feel?” he asked, sitting in a chair next to her. He put his hand on top of hers. “Your swelling has subsided, but you’re shaking a little.”
“I’m fine,” she said, moving her hand and placing it in her lap. “Thank you for everything you did for me, sir. I appreciate it.”
“We have to trust each other, Hanson. And help each other.”
“Gomez doesn’t trust me.”
Dean laughed. “Don’t take it personally. Gomez trusts no one. He’s a lone wolf.”
She looked at her hands, clasped together on her knees. “I’m sorry that you feel it necessary to look after me. It’s disappointing to find out I’m not accepted as one of the team.”
A confused look fell over his face. He had grown more stubble since the start of the mission, and his face looked broader and darker.
She brought her face up to meet his. “I don’t want to be a problem.”
He narrowed his eyes as realization dawned.
“You were listening to my conversation with Gomez?”
“Yes.”
