Operation Zulu Redemption: Out of Nowhere - Part 2

Stay connected with the action at
www.teamzulu.com

© 2014 by Ronie Kendig

eBook Editions:

Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1- 63058-290-6

Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1- 63058-291-3

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

Published by Shiloh Run Studios, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683, www.barbourbooks.com

Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

Welcome to Operation Zulu: Redemption—Part 2-Out of Nowhere!

As you now know,
Operation Zulu: Redemption
is a serial novel and a unique reading experience. The story, told in five parts, can be compared to a TV mini-series—complete with cliff-hangers, plot twists, and plenty of action. Be sure to start the mission with
Overkill: The Beginning
and then read each part in order. This way you won’t miss any of the heart-stopping action or important keys to the overall story.

Here’s when to look for each part—

Overkill: The Beginning – Available Now!

Part 1: Collateral Damage – Available Now!

Part 2: Out of Nowhere – Available Now!

Part 3: Hazardous Duty – Coming August 1, 2014

Part 4: Act of Treason – Coming August 8, 2014

We encourage you to pre-order all the parts at your favorite ebook retailer or visit
www.teamzulu.com
and sign up for reminders…plus you’ll discover contests, prizes, and more.

Enjoy!

Zulu One: Annie Palermo

aka Ashland Palmieri

After the tragic mission in Misrata, Annie became Ashland Palmieri, renting a small house on Lake Wapato and working at a sub shop in Manson, Washington. But the intrusion of a handsome former Navy SEAL,
Sam Caliguari,
threatens everything she’s worked to build and protect.

Zulu Two: Téya Reiker

aka Katherine “Katie” Gerig

After Misrata, Téya became Katherine “Katie” Gerig, embracing the quiet life of her Amish grandmother in Bleak Pond, Pennsylvania. She’s at peace for the first time in her life and is set to take the faith and start a relationship with
David Augsburger
.

Zulu Three: Jessica “Jessie” Herring

aka Jamie Hendricks

After Misrata, Jessie became Jamie Hendricks and fell into many of the vices of “Sin City”—Las Vegas, Nevada. The tragedy in Misrata fractured her psyche, and she could never pull herself back together. She’s a computer specialist, and despite orders not to, she continued researching what happened in Misrata.

Zulu Four: Candice Reyna

aka Charlotte Reynolds

After Misrata, Candice became a park ranger at Denali National Park in Alaska, who goes by the name Charlotte “Charlie” Reynolds.

Zulu Five: Keeley Shay

aka Kendall Shine

After Misrata, Keeley Shay became Kendall Shine, a dive instructor on Little Cayman Island.

Zulu Six: Nuala King

aka Nyah Kesebi

After Misrata, Nuala King became Nyah Kesebi, who works at a lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina.

LTC Trace Weston

Lieutenant Colonel
Trace Weston was a Special Forces operator and team leader who assembled the Zulu team. He is now a colonel working for U.S. Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM).

CWO2 Boone Ramage

Chief Warrant Officer Boone Ramage
is Trace Weston’s former right-hand man. He helped train the Zulu team.

SFC Rusty Gray

Sergeant First Class Rusty Gray is former Special Forces operator, who helped train the Zulu team.

Lieutenant Francesca “Frankie” Solomon

Frankie Solomon, daughter of
Brigadier General Haym Solomon,
works for U.S. Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM).

Houston Plunkett
is an Information Systems Specialist working with Trace and Boone to protect and vindicate Zulu.

Kellie Hollister
and
Mercy Chandler
are cofounders of the organization HOMe—Hope of Mercy, International—which had a branch located in Misrata, Libya.

Berg Ballenger
worked with HOMe. His wife and child died in the tragedy at Misrata.

Otto
is a cyber-genius and friend of Sam Caliguari. He helps Sam try to locate Ashland Palmieri.

ACU
– Army combat uniform

Airsoft M4 –
tactical Airsoft (paint pellet) assault rifle

BUD/S
–
Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training

CQC
– close quarters combat

DOD
– Department of Defense

Glock 17
– a semiautomatic handgun

HK USP Compact
– a compact semiautomatic handgun

INSCOM
– U.S. Intelligence and Security Command

JAG
– Judge Advocate General

JBER
– Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

M4A1
– an assault rifle

NVGs
– night vision goggles

PIT
– pursuit intervention technique/tactic

RPG
– rocket-propelled grenade

RTB
– return to base

SAIC
– Special Agent in Charge

SOP
– standard operating procedure

SOCOM
– Special Operations Command

Sure
Fire
– a tactical flashlight

A fist flew at her face. Téya swung out of the way, but not fast enough. The meaty paw connected with her chin. Snapped her head up. Made her stumble backward. Even as she stumbled, she swung out with a front round kick. Aimed for the vague shape of the body that had taken form in the building whose only inhabitants were spiders, the shadows, and the musty stench.

That is, until she smelled
him.

As she came down from the kick, she leaned in and threw a hard right into his side.
Crack!
The move would’ve shut down a lesser man. But this guy had as much training as, if not more than, she did.
He growled through the obvious pain from the broken rib, then lifted his elbow and rammed it down against her shoulder.

Téya grabbed his arm, yanked it behind him, and shoved him against the wall.

With a head butt, he freed himself.

The bloody warmth that signaled a serious nosebleed and one, if not two black eyes by morning, slid down her lip and chin. She bounced back a couple of steps in the narrow hall to regroup. If she let a nosebleed and wracking pain stop her, this guy would kill her.

Light pushed through narrow slats of boards barring a window and darkening the shape of her attacker. As she started to weigh her options, his possible moves, she detected a slight change in his posture.

She blocked left just quickly enough and brought the heel of her right hand up and straight into his neck, connecting with a meaty thud. A
whoosh
of air knocked out of him as he went sideways. He dove in and she used his momentum against him, caught his arm and yanked him farther in, bringing her fist into his nose as she did.

His knees wobbled.

With a jump front kick, she drove him backward. His hand flashed out, thumping against the wall as he tried to hold his balance.

Téya jumped and kicked again, her foot snapping his head back. She landed and pivoted, determined to get out—alive.

Her ankle caught.

She face-planted. With a grunt and shaking the momentary brain stun—
what happened?
—she pushed up with both arms.

Pain exploded across the back of her head. She dropped against the floor, hard.

Shouts from somewhere in the building warbled in her head.

The attacker yelled something.

Shots erupted.

There’s two of them!
Her chance of success just plummeted. Time to get out of here. Get out or die. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her attacker look toward the other end of the hall. He took two steps in that direction.

Téya lunged the way she’d come, scrabbling for traction as she ran. She skidded around a corner, hobbling to stop from slamming into the wall. Behind her, she heard the pursuit of her attacker. She wasn’t stopping. Wasn’t giving them the chance to cut her life short. She saw the door she’d come through, the one hanging askew, and bolted for it. The thumping of her feet on the old wood floor echoing the frenetic pace of her pulse.

Heavier thuds gave chase. Closer. . .closer. . .

Téya threw herself at the door. It flapped back. She went sailing over the rail. Down the three-foot drop to the dead grass and dirt. Though she stumbled, her fingers trailing along the scratchy terrain, she kept moving. Aimed for the trees, oddly thriving in the dead neighborhood. She dodged in and around the trunks, expecting to feel a stabbing pain in her back any second. Sprinting, she aimed down the block, regaining her bearings. Her sense of direction.

Gotta find Annie.

Panting, she didn’t slow. They’d catch her. Any second now. She was sure.

She veered left, heading back toward their rendezvous spot. Ahead she saw a blur of red—
Annie!

Téya gauged her location. Remembered the map. If she went east one more block and cut north, she might catch her. Lights.
Please give her red lights.
With renewed hope, Téya bolted in that direction. Defying her rubbery, tired limbs, she ran faster. Pushed harder.

Pain stabbed the bottom of her feet. “Augh!” The fresh injury slowed her.

A glint of red between two buildings warned her the time window she’d figured was closing. If she missed Annie. . .

Unheeding of the pain, she darted down an alley.

A form rose from the side, clumsy—drunk. She pushed around the vagrant and kept moving, knowing she’d have to soak her foot in antibacterial goo for weeks after this venture. She rushed out into the open and stopped, glancing left.

No Annie.

Right.

No Annie.

“No.” Téya turned back in both directions again, frantic. “No no no.” Defeat enticed her to step into its embrace. She wanted to scream. Shout for help. But that would only draw attention she didn’t want or need.

Tires screeched behind her.

She pivoted. Saw nothing. But then—the whirring of a car flooded her ears. The red compact slid backward into view, having bypassed the street. “Annie,” Téya breathed and limp-ran in that direction.

Annie whipped the car onto the street.

Téya jumped in. “Go,” she said, pulling the door closed.

It was difficult to see through the shattered windshield, but Téya didn’t care. She went limp in the car as Annie drove them to safety.

“What happened?” Annie asked, her gaze sliding up and down Téya.

Still panting hard, Téya shook her head. Too hard to talk yet. She pointed to the street. “Go.” That’s all she cared about. Getting away. Living.
Not
dying at the hands of those two lunatics.

“I see you got rid of your heels.” Annie shot her a wry grin and handed her some tissues, nodding to her nose.

Téya had almost forgotten about the blood—but the swelling made it impossible to forget the head-butt. “Two men were waiting for me.” Once her breathing and heart rate stabilized, she lifted her right foot onto her knee to appraise the cut that had almost crippled her, and winced.

“Berg?” Annie cast her a worried look.

Téya shook her head. “Doubt it. This guy was trained, lightning fast, thus”—she motioned to her nose—“this. He was skilled. Do we know anything about Ballenger that says he was skilled like that? I thought he was just a guy working at the orphanage.”

“No, nothing. But we can’t rule him out,” Annie said as she lifted her phone. “I haven’t seen you look like that since your first-go round with Boone.”

Bristling, Téya nodded to the shattered artwork. “And the window?”

“Soon as I pulled into the parking lot looking for you, someone shot at me.”

“I don’t know how I missed a shooter.” As Téya used the vanity mirror to dab away the blood on her face, she realized the wig sat askew on her head. The part running toward the corner of her eyebrow. “Cleared that whole building looking for Ballenger, just in case he was there hiding out.” She bunched her shoulders. “Now that I say that—I realize how stupid it was to walk in there. I was on my way out when the guy came out of the shadows.”

“Trace,” Annie said into her phone. “I’ve got her, we—” She snapped her mouth shut, nodding. “I know. We are—” Her nostrils flared as apparently Trace interrupted her again. “Agreed. We’re heading back to Hollister now. Bye.” The words came tumbling out and she ended the call, dropping the phone on the dash. Dropping? More like
throwing
.

Dare Téya ask? “Did you two—”

“We’re going back to Hollister’s.”

“I kinda figured that out on my own. Thanks.”

Annie’s lips flattened. “Does he really think we can’t take care of ourselves?”

Téya eyed her friend and combat buddy, and knew no matter what she said, it wouldn’t help. “You think Hollister knew—or that she set us up?”

“How could she not?” The sneer was evident in Annie’s voice. “
She
gave us the address.”

“Well,” Téya said, checking the swelling and mess the guy made of her face in the vanity mirror, “then I’m ready to return the favor her handyman delivered.”