Page 75 of Cole

Right now, he needed to be the operator. The professional. The man who'd executed dozens of successful extractions under worse conditions.

"Approach strategy?" Logan asked.

"We follow the tracker to the camp. I’ve only been there from the other side of the water, from Janice’s cabin. We’ll establish overwatch positions, assess hostiles, and Janice's location." Cole was already mentally mapping the terrain from his earlier flights over the area. "Timothy, Frazier, and Dalton run point on extraction. I go in for Janice."

"You're close to this, Cole. Can you handle primary?"

"With respect, boss, yes." Cole's voice was steel. "I'm getting her back, and I don't care what the rulebook says about emotional compromise."

"Understood. But, Cole, keep your head. You follow Frazier's tactical lead. And you do not, under any circumstances, let revenge override mission success. Janice needs you functional, not dead because you went after Penson with your bare hands."

"I'll keep my head." Cole glanced at the video feed one more time, watching as the miners pulled Janice to her feet. She looked so small between them, so vulnerable. But even through the screen, he could see her strength.

"I'm coming for you," he whispered, too quietly for the phone to pick it up. "Hold on, sweetheart. I'm coming."

On screen, they dragged her from Penson's office and out of camera range. Cole closed the laptop with careful precision, channeling all his rage and fear into cold, focused determination.

"Gear up," he told the others. "We leave in two minutes."

Timothy was already moving toward the weapons case they'd brought. "Full tactical load?"

"Everything." Cole checked his own sidearm, confirmed the magazine was full, and chambered a round. "We go in prepared for a fight. Penson's people are already guilty of kidnapping. If they're willing to cross that line, they're willing to kill to cover it up."

Dalton emerged from the outside where he'd been repacking the rental SUVs with their weapons and equipment. "What about local law enforcement? Do we coordinate with them?"

"FBI is handling that," Frazier said. "We're operating under LSIMT's contract authority and good Samaritan laws. If we witness a crime in progress, which we have, we're legally permitted to intervene, especially when life is in immediate danger."

It was the legal loophole that let private security operate in gray areas. Good enough for now. They'd deal with any jurisdiction issues after Janice was safe.

Cole's phone buzzed again. This time it was a text from Sadie with GPS coordinates and a real-time feed of Janice's tracker movement.

She was on the move again. Heading northeast, just as Logan had predicted. Away from Penson's house and toward the mining camp. Toward isolation and danger and whatever Penson had planned for the witness who threatened his empire.

But Cole and his team were about to show Charles Penson exactly what happens when you touch someone under LSIMT protection.

"Move out," Cole ordered, heading for the door.

Timothy caught his arm as they hit the hallway. "Cole. We’ll get her back."

Cole met his teammate's eyes and saw the same fierce determination he felt burning in his own chest. Offering a nod, he turned and raced from the room.

They took the stairs at a run, climbing into their SUVs, both packed with tactical gear, body armor, weapons, communications equipment, and everything they'd need for a hostile extraction.

Cole drove, his hands steady now, his mind clear. The emotion was still there… all the fear, the rage, and the desperate need to get to Janice. But it was controlled now and focused on the mission.

Frazier rode shotgun, tablet in hand, monitoring both Janice's tracker and the surveillance feeds from Penson's house. "She's still moving northeast. Current speed suggests they're on back roads, probably avoiding main routes."

"ETA to intercept?" Cole asked.

"Thirty minutes if we push it. The mining camp is isolated, which gives us tactical advantage once we're there. Hard to get reinforcements in or out quickly."

That worked both ways, but Cole would take whatever advantages he could get. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Timothy driving the other SUV, with Dalton performing much of the same monitoring as Frazier. Their ear radios allowed them to hear each other even in different vehicles.

His phone rang again. Logan, this time on speaker so the whole team could hear.

"Update from Sadie," Logan said. "The audio feed from Penson's house picked up a radio communication. Penson's ordering his people at the camp to 'secure the asset' and await further instructions."

Cole's jaw clenched, but he kept his voice level. "What kind of manpower are we looking at?"