Bravo Team was still on assignment in Africa, the details of which were, of course, classified. Jason Hayes had only vaguely hinted at meeting up for a barbecue in Virginia Beach in three days.
After spending two days with Hannah, Jack drove his Firebird to Virginia Beach as planned. But something was amiss—he waited at the hotel all day without hearing from Jason. A sense of unease crept over him. This was supposed to be Clay's final mission, and the situation felt ominously like a setup for a bad outcome. Had Bravo Team run into serious trouble?
Jack called all of Bravo Team's external contact numbers but received no response. Finally, he dialed Jason's wife, Alana.
Half an hour later, he arrived at Jason's house, where he found Alana, Clay's six-months-pregnant girlfriend Stella, Ray Perry's wife Naima, and Bravo Team logistics officer Lisa Davis. The somber atmosphere in the room was palpable.
"Tell me what you can share," Jack said, cutting straight to the point. The fact that the women weren't in tears gave him some hope—it couldn't be the worst-case scenario yet.
Lisa Davis pulled Jack aside into the hallway. In a low voice, she explained, "I can't give you all the details. The mission is classified. But Clay's injuries are severe, and the rest of the team isn't in great shape either."
"Where are they now?" Jack asked directly, skipping the questions he knew wouldn't get answers.
"They were just flown to Ramstein," Lisa said, her tone grim. "I'm sorry, but that's all I can tell you."
"Thanks. Look after Stella. I'm heading there now," Jack replied. He understood her position and wasn't about to press her further.
Ramstein, in Germany, is NATO's largest airbase in Europe. Jack knew exactly who to contact in this situation.
As they spoke, several cars pulled up outside Jason's house. The other Bravo Team members' families began arriving, most of whom Jack recognized from previous gatherings. Despite their worry, they mustered faint smiles and greeted him politely before heading inside.
Jack spent a few moments comforting Stella, reassuring her that she should stay hopeful. Then he left, jumping into his car and immediately calling a certain CIA operative.
Fortunately, Mandy Ellis, though uninvolved in Bravo Team's mission, was able to arrange for Jack to catch the next available military transport to Ramstein. She didn't question Jack's urgency—after all, she'd witnessed firsthand his bond with Bravo Team during their last operation in Mexico. If anything, she was curious about the team's current status herself.
Six hours later, a C-17 Globemaster III touched down at Ramstein Air Base, and Jack wasted no time heading straight to the military hospital.
As he walked down a hospital corridor, he ran directly into Jason Hayes.
"Hell, what are you doing here…" Jason, clad in hospital scrubs, his right arm in a sling and his gait unsteady, looked completely taken aback.
"Someone promised me beer and stood me up. I had to come check on you myself," Jack said with a grin, pulling Jason into a quick embrace. Then, in a quieter tone, he asked, "Ambushed?"
"Hit by an RPG. Didn't see it coming," Jason muttered, his eyes darting around the corridor. He led Jack into a nearby lounge, away from prying ears.
Inside the lounge were four other members of Bravo Team. Despite various injuries—burns, fractures, and bruises—they were all conscious and mobile.
"If anyone should've taken that RPG, it's me," Sonny Quinn said, his voice thick with regret. "I promised Clay we'd throw him a bachelor party, and I never made good on it." His words trailed off as he noticed Jack standing in the doorway.
"This doesn't sound like the Sonny I know. When did the Texas tough guy turn into a whining little girl?" Jack said, pulling the shorter, stockier man into a hearty hug before shaking hands with the others.
"Everyone holding up okay?" he asked.
Ray Perry raised his bandaged left hand. "Nothing major—burns, fractures, the usual. What we're really worried about is Clay. He's been in surgery for six hours now. You know the longer it takes, the worse it is. Sonny's about to lose it."
Jack felt a pang of dread. "What happened exactly?" he asked cautiously.
The last thing he wanted was for Clay to suffer severe injuries like losing a limb. While Jack's healing ability could handle most injuries, anything that crossed into the realm of permanent disability would be problematic. His powers had to remain a secret, no matter the cost.
Jason gave Sonny a look, and the latter moved to stand by the lounge door, keeping an eye on the corridor outside.
Jason began explaining, "It was supposed to be a low-intensity operation. We were tasked with moving from Burkina Faso to Mali to capture a high-ranking leader of a terrorist group operating in the Sahel region…"
By the time Jason finished recounting the ambush, Jack had pieced together the grim scenario.
Mali, a landlocked country in West Africa, borders Burkina Faso, the nation where the legendary African revolutionary Thomas Sankara once rose to prominence. The Sahel region, stretching over 3,800 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean to the Horn of Africa, is a volatile strip of land plagued by poverty, terrorism, and international meddling.
Bravo Team's mission had been to travel in two disguised armored pickups to rendezvous with two other task forces before launching a decapitation strike on their target. But they never made it to the rendezvous point.
Halfway there, they were ambushed.
The attackers had laid IEDs (improvised explosive devices) along the route, which blew out the lead vehicle. Immediately afterward, 30-40 insurgents descended from the ridges above, opening up with automatic weapons and occasional RPG fire. The ambush caught Bravo Team completely off guard.
With limited ammo and no immediate air support—the nearest MQ-9 Reaper drone took 20 minutes to arrive—Bravo Team was left to fend for themselves.
Jason, in a desperate bid to turn the tide, single-handedly assaulted the enemy's RPG position. Using the captured rocket launchers, he destroyed two enemy strongholds, preventing what could have been a total annihilation of the team.
Clay's luck had run out that day. While the lead vehicle bore the brunt of the initial blast, sparing the second vehicle's occupants from immediate harm, subsequent RPG strikes were less forgiving. One rocket exploded near Clay, sending him flying. He lost consciousness for five minutes and awoke to find his left leg mangled by shrapnel. The open fracture caused severe blood loss, and if Sonny hadn't quickly applied a tourniquet, Clay might not have made it off the battlefield alive.
"Clay's tough. He'll pull through," Jack said, trying to inject some optimism. But deep down, he knew the recovery road ahead would be long and arduous for the young SEAL.
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Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
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