1. Diego

The hot rock threatened to cook me as we tried to lay low in the Afghani mountains. It felt like I was baking in my camo. My boots felt like they were filled with sweat.

It's the middle of the fighting season, and we got some intel that the leader of a terror group was hiding in hidden caves up in these mountains. Another team had flushed them out of their hiding spot in the village where Yates damn near died. We'd evacuated with him, and it felt like failing the mission. The only consolation was that the other team had failed to capture him, too. Now the team had a second opportunity to catch the son of a bitch. Well, all of us minus Yates. He was likely still in surgery in Germany.

There was a new kid with us, Yates' temporary replacement on the team. Temporary, assuming that Yates was medically able to rejoin us. He kept his head down and ears open. This was his first mission out of SF school, so he was very green.

"I'm hearing voices," Guy whispered. He was operating a small drone, taking advantage of the low cloud cover. We had a very small window to operate the drone without being seen, and he was all over it.

Our eyes snapped to Guy, waiting for more information.

"About two clicks below us, southwest side of the mountain. It's hard to tell, but I hear at least five distinct voices."

Wells whispered, "Can you make out what they are discussing?" Most of us could somewhat understand Dari, although we weren't nearly as good at speaking it. We didn't need a translator for this mission, though. It was a simple shoot-to-kill mission.

"Have you found the entrance?" Mendez whispered. He shot me a look.

"No, and I'm losing cloud cover. I think I need to pull back or we lose the element of surprise."

"Pull back. We need them to stay in the dark until we're on them," Wells ordered.

Guy nodded. "Roger."

The drone returned to us a minute later. "We go by foot and search it out," Wells added.

We packed up our gear and started a slow trek down the mountain, as quietly as possible. We did our best to remain low, in case there was someone outside the entrance keeping a lookout. The journey was slow and challenging. I found myself looking back to keep an eye out on the new kid. He was holding his own, which was impressive.

"We're half a click out from where the drone picked up the voices. Keep your head on a swivel," Guy whispered.

Our footsteps became even softer, a challenge with the loose rock and heavy boots. It felt like it took hours, but suddenly we were upon the disguised entrance to a cave, hidden behind a large boulder. It only left us with a twelve-inch gap to try to squeeze into. We'd have to enter one at a time, and we'd have very little room to operate in the entrance. If we ran into trouble, we were damn near guaranteed an injury or two. Whoever went in first and last were the most at risk of ambush.

"What if we don't enter, but flush them out?" New Kid asked.

Wells and Jones shook their heads. "No, we don't know if they have an exit in there. We can't chance giving them time to escape. We go in this way," Wells answers.

The new kid visibly swallowed.

I nudged his arm with mine. "Don't worry, kid. Wells knows what he's doing, and he's right. The element of surprise is major. You don't ever give it up if you don't have to. We all walk into missions that make us want to shit a brick. What makes us true soldiers is taking the leap and keeping our heads in the game."

His eyes bore into mine, as if he were absorbing every word. "Got it."

I clasped his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Around us, the rest of the group had done a full sweep of the area surrounding the outside of the cave entrance and gave the all-clear. If we were going to be ambushed, it would certainly be delayed. I felt confident putting the new kid in the back with me, where I could keep an eye out for him.

We lined up, with the new kid behind me in the back. Wells was second, right behind Strong. It put the mission leader close to the front but gave him the protection he needed to give as much direction as possible. He gave the signal, and we all moved forward.

I missed having Yates at my back. His quick-witted humor would have lightened the atmosphere as we quietly crept into the unknown. The dark tunnel was eerie. The only thing that helped was the night-vision goggles.

Up ahead, Strong breached through the main chamber of the cave. I could make out several lights inside, lighting up the space just enough to allow the enemy to see and to blind us dueto our goggles. I lifted mine but kept the gas mask on. I knew what would happen next.

Jones tossed the smoke grenade, and the room quickly filled up with smoke. The light made the smoke visible as it danced around.

"Go, go, go!" Wells shouted.

We all moved into position around the room, neutralizing each threat as we came to them in the smoke. I felt someone grab my wrist, trying to redirect the direction I aimed my weapon. I quickly kicked out and felt my foot connect with their gut. They grunted and then bounced off the stone wall and hit the ground. I confirmed he was an enemy and then neutralized him.

"Man down! Man down!" Guy shouted.

I immediately moved in the direction of the call—behind me. Mendez and I were both the best with medical, and I wasn't sure who was hit. If it was Mendez, I was his best shot at making it out of here.

When I found my team member on the ground, I knelt down beside him.

New Kid.

I swallowed hard when I realized he went down in the spot I just cleared. There was no time for guilt now. I pulled out my first aid kit as Mendez dropped to his knees beside me. The rest of the squad moved furniture one-handed to create a barrier in front of us. Once cover was up, Mendez and I got to work with complete and total chaos surrounding us.

Our normal weekday night.