“It’s a trap,” Trent said in a flat voice.
Jake pulled out his radio. Keyed it. “Squirrel, you copy?”
Static, then: “Copy, Wild.”
Omar raised his eyebrows and mouthed ‘Wild?’ Trent shook his head. Don’t ask me.
“Can you do a flyby? Visual on the fourth-floor windows?”
“Stand by.”
They waited in the stairwell, listening to the hum of the building’s HVAC system and the distant sound of traffic. Omar counted his heartbeats. Thirty seconds. Forty-five.
Then Squirrel’s voice crackled through the handset, “Got eyes on the flat. Windows are dark. I’m not seeing any movement. No heat signatures. It’s empty.”
Omar’s stomach dropped.
“Say again?” Jake’s voice was tight.
“The apartment is empty, Wild. Nobody’s home.”
Trent swore under his breath.
Jake keyed the radio again. “What about on the ground?”
“Two-man team in front of the building, visible. The other three sides are unsecured, but there’s a team concealed in the park behind the building. Six, maybe eight men. Tactical gear. They’re set up for an ambush.”
“Stand by, Squirrel.”
“Copy.”
Jake shook his head. “We walked into a trap like a bunch of mice looking for cheese.”
“We can go back down,” Trent said slowly, “and shoot our way past U.S. agents on French soil …”
“Or we can live to fight another day,” Jake finished.
Omar pointed overhead. “So, roof?”
“Roof,” Jake said.
“Run,” Trent added.
They ran.
They passed the fourth floor. Fifth. Sixth. The stairwell door at the top was locked, but Trent had it open in seconds. They burst onto the roof, the morning air cold and sharp.
Omar scanned the skyline. “Squirrel, we need extraction. Roof of the target building.”
“On approach. Thirty seconds.”
Heard the helicopter before they saw it—a distant thump of rotors growing louder. Then it appeared, banking hard, coming in low and fast.
Below, Omar heard faint, frantic shouting. The team in the park had spotted them.
The helicopter touched down, skids scraping concrete. Jake yanked the door open and they piled in. Trent was last, diving through the door as Squirrel pulled up and away.
The building dropped away beneath them. Omar looked down and saw men spilling out of the park, pointing up at them. Too late.