MEGA-AX1 The Inferno
MEGA-AX1 The Inferno
By
LaShawn Vasser
Published by LaShawn Vasser
Copyright © by LaShawn Vasser
All Rights Reserved.
Cover images by Shutterstock and BPS Photography
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents, and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual persons (living or deceased) and/or actual events is entirely coincidental.
Explicit Adult Content
This book is for mature audiences only
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Acknowledgments
Thanks to my personal fan club for inspiring me to dream big. Your influence and constructive feedback has been invaluable. This includes but is not limited to my fellow Chicago authors Lolah Lace and H.Vaughn. My editor, Tajaré Taylor—thank you so much for your time, talent, and flexibility.
Dedications
For JB, ALuv, JB3, and Kenny. You are the reason my heart beats.
Chapter 1
The AX1-Hawk was waiting for them at the entrance to the cave. Once they reached it, everyone quickly climbed inside.
As soon as they got out of range, Téa pulled out the detonator and blew the mountain-based compound to rubble and ash.
Jessie looked confused, “I thought you said we had six minutes.”
Téa sat back, closed her eyes, and replied with a smirk, “That was only if it took you guys too long to take care of business.”
Two hours earlier
It was almost midnight and the AX1 Hawk helicopter had been flying for hours, above radar detection, as it made its way across the Atlantic en route to the terrorist hideout. For more than five years, the Council had been working to gain access to the terrorists’ headquarters. That mystery was eventually solved with the creation of the AX1 Hawk. This aircraft was designed specifically for this mission and the MEGA-AX1 team. It was a helicopter with the functions of a fighter jet and the first of its kind. This aircraft was the only one that would get them close enough to the entrance of the militant’s headquarters without being detected. It used a smart technology that even the most sophisticated governments weren’t privy to.
The AX1 Hawk had the ability to fly within yards of a target and not show up on radar, in fact, a person on the ground could be looking at it directly and the radar would still be unable to detect it. But that wasn’t the best part. The most unique feature of this aircraft was that it could literally read minds. Each Mega-AX1 team member’s cerebral cortex was tied to this technology and once activated the program would only recognize the thoughts of the individuals on the team. Subsequently, it could then assess their needs and take action accordingly. So, to simply call the AX1 Hawk a “smart” plane would be more of an insult than a compliment.
Mega-AX1, nicknamed M-AX1 was a group of elite Black-Ops operatives who weren’t beholden to any country or ideology. Max (Beast) Jacobs, Téa (Stealth) Carlisle, Jake (Night Hawk) Freeman, Gray (Big G) Esposito, and Tony (Ghost) Li were all led by Jessica (Jessie) Ramsey, also known by her codename, Command. When commissioned, their sole mission was to prevent rogue nations or people from inflicting tragedy and tribulation around the world—and they were paid handsomely to do so.
Tonight M-AX1 was set to destroy the leaders of a group that had been trying to reconstitute the powerful and deadly Amuruhana agency. This Militant group was well trained and well-funded. Intel provided M-AX1 information regarding a rare meeting where most, if not all, of the leaders would be present, which made this the perfect time to strike as they may never get another chance to seize such an opportunity. M-AX1 could finally determine just how close the Militant group was to reconstituting Amuruhana and bring down the head in one mighty blow.
The night sky was blanketed by complete darkness. Even the moon and stars hid from the events that were about to unfold over the next few hours. There was only one way into the cave and one way out so Jessie and her team needed this divine cover of darkness to get inside. No one would have ever imagined that the little country of Namibia, located on the South-West corner of Africa, would be home to such a plot of destruction that the militant group was hatching.
Getting closer to their target, M-AX1 neared the drop off point delineated by the Brandberg Mountains. Although the mountain stood more than eighty-five hundred feet high, it was surrounded by a rocky yet flat desert. AX1 could keep them invisible to radar, but there was nothing to keep Jessie’s team from being detected once security could physically see them—except for the cover of darkness. In an effort to have just a few moments with the element of surprise on their side, the team was forced to enter on the steep and most dangerous side of the mountain as it was riddled with sharp rocks. If it weren’t for their night vision eyewear, the mission would seem almost impossible to execute undetected.
All was quiet on the AX1 helicopter. Everyone knew his or her assignment and was focused on carrying it out. Moments later a deep voice came through their earpiece, “Thirty seconds to rendezvous.”
These were the moments that made the blood rush through their veins; however, Jessie took no pleasure in what they were about to do. But, knowing that these missions could literally save millions of lives always made everything worth it. Tonight wasn’t just about extraction it was also about complete termination.
Jessie would be the first of her team of six to jump. At twenty-five thousand feet into the air, she got into position. Her heart raced with exhilaration. Finally, it was time…one…two...three. Then suddenly, she was free-falling into the darkness. Every time she jumped it never ceased to amaze her how much it felt like floating or flying despite the high speed of 120 miles per hour. She felt invincible as she sliced through the darkness and maneuvered her body for optimal speed. At thirty seconds to impact, she begrudgingly pulled her shoot and glided to the top of the mountain. It had only taken two minutes for her to land onto the mountain after making the jump. The thrill of the jump was over way too soon. Seconds later, the other members of the team also landed.
In haste, Jessie and her team anchored their ropes, attached their rappelling devices, and threw their ropes over the side of the mountain. With clocklike precision they began the long descent down.
As soon as they were mere feet from the entrance, Jessie looked at Téa, her technology genius, and gave her the sign. Téa reached into her backpack, pulled out something that looked like a small remote control, and pushed the button. It created an electrical disturbance that would paralyze the militants from being able to use any technology during the time needed to get inside and take out the first set of guards.
They crashed through the cave’s entrance at the same time the electronic disturbance button was pushed. Although it was dark inside, their night vision devices made it seem as if they were in the presence of daylight. There were four men standing guard as the team entered, but the men were caught by surprise when Jessie threw two ninja stars, lodging the first into the throat of one guard and the second into the temple of another. Max followed suit, using precision-throwing knives to take out the other two. The guards immediately dropped to the ground. With guns drawn, Jessie and Max led Téa and Gray to the next area of interest while Jake and Tony verified the guards were dead. Once they had confirmation they caught up with the rest of the team.
Now that the entrance had been neutralized, the team progressed on to the more difficult part of their mission. They made their way down the corridor of the compound, continuing to move in silence. As they approached a fork in the corridor, they noticed that there were three guards standing on one side of a corridor and three guards standing on the other side of another. They had no idea as to which corridor would lead them to the leaders. Téa and Gray needed to strategically place explosives throughout the cave’s entrance and corridors. So, that left only Jessie and Jake to investigate one corridor and Max and Tony for the other. They would try to work in stealth, but it was highly likely someone would return fire, which would bring more guards as well as tip off the leaders and possibly prompt them to destroy any information regarding Amuruhana.
Once they turned the corner, Jessie used her Tec 9 to put a bullet into the skull of the first guard and then the second. And just as expected, the guards were initially unsuspecting but quickly recovered and returned fire. Max, Jake, and Tony then took out the four that remained. An alarm sounded as more guards descended upon them. Jessie and Jake headed down the corridor to the right while Max and Tony went down the corridor to the left. The exchange of gunfire was intense, but they each managed to take out the guards successfully. There were several rooms down each corridor and they investigated every single one. Finally, Jessie and Jake came to the last door on their side. There were no other options; the leaders had to be in there or on the other side. Jake kicked in the door and Jessie took the low position with Jake taking the top. Jackpot! All seven leaders were crouching down behind a long, wooden table. Jessie and Jake slowly entered the room. All of a sudden, one of the leaders pulled out a gun but wasn’t fast enough to fire off one shot. Jessie had put a bullet clean through his hand.
One of the men spoke in Arabic, “What do you want?”