Again, Sadiq followed the man’s order. As he moved toward them, he began reciting what Trace assumed was a Muslim prayer.
“Bastard had better pray,” Coop muttered. “Although, I don’t think God or Allah, or whatever the fuck this piece of shit calls Him, takes too kindly to men like him.”
Trace watched Sadiq’s body language.
The way he walked toward them with ease. The slight smile on his face as he continued to pray...
“I gotta say, he’s making this a lot easier than I thought he would.
It was easy. Too fucking easy.
“Something’s off,” Trace warned the others.
He wasn’t sure what it was, but his gut was screaming that this whole thing was wrong.
“What do you mean?” Grant looked over at him.
Keeping an eye on Sadiq, Trace asked, “You ever know a known terrorist to give up without so much as a fight? Especially after everything he’s gone through to take us all out?”
The others eyed their target more closely.
“Maybe he knows there’s no way out,” Derek chimed in from the safety of their vehicle.
“Nah, I’m with Winters on this one.” Grant shook his head. “Look at him. The fucker’s practically smiling.”
When Trace focused on Sadiq’s face again, he realized the man wasn’talmostsmiling. The son of a bitch was grinning from ear to fucking ear.
This is wrong. Everything about this is wrong!
The ease with which they took over the building. The almost instant compliance by the man walking toward them now. The bulk beneath his shirt.
Motherfucker!
“Stop right there!” Trace gripped his weapon tightly.
Trevor looked over at him. “Talk to me, Winters.”
“He has a bomb,” he announced quietly to the group to keep Sadiq from hearing. “That’s why he looks heavier than in the pictures we were shown. That’s why he has that goddamn look on his face. He’s wearing a fucking suicide vest.”
Sadiq moved faster. The words from his prayers became louder.
“Stop!” Trace ordered.
He didn’t listen.
Fuck!
“We have to shoot him,” Trace told the group as they collectively began moving backward.
Grant disagreed. “We don’t know what kind of explosive he has. Depending on its strength, the blast radius could take us all out!”
Trace spared the explosives expert a quick glance. “Only if we miss.”
I won’t fucking miss.
As the debate continued, Trace thought of what this man had done to Emma and Jake. To Mac.
He thought of what Sadiq had tried to do to the other members of Alpha Team, and what the deaths of the men beside him—and his own death—would mean for the future of R.I.S.C.