Advance

“Acknowledge, ma’am,” came back over the radio as I went to the rear of the SUV and retrieved both one of the M4s and a plate carrier, which I buckled on and I slid in the ballistic plates. I handed the other to Maria and she put it on, though it hung oddly over her chest. Then, David’s group had driven forward and it was time for us to move into position.

Katja laid down in the back, completely concealed by what I hoped were armored door panels. I drove us forward, approaching the target building. As I came around the corner and saw it, I began to doubt that anyone remained inside.

Maria and I got out and moved to the wall of the building. Pointing our rifles at the likely exit points from which someone might leave, Maria called for the guys to advance. And, as Carter and David led the way into the courtyard, Maria and I fell in behind them.

The sight that greeted us made it obvious that we were too late.

Lying against the back wall of the courtyard, the bodies of six men were lined up. All but the center had bloodstains across their bodies and each, even the center man, also had a bullet hole in the forehead, placed precisely enough that I thought most must have been done after the men had already been incapacitated or killed by their other wounds.

Above the dead bodies were the spray painted words, “Observa como tu dominio cae.”

“Gather up, we’ll sweep the buildings,” Maria said.

It was as expected, nothing else was left. We found blood marks where fighting had occurred and the bodies obviously moved to the courtyard. We also found obvious signs that the place had been ransacked after the attack. But, we didn’t find any sign of Gracie or any other women who might have been there, which one of Gracie’s messages indicated to be the case.

On the way back to the vehicles, Maria screamed, “Fuck!” at the top of her lungs, giving voice to the emotion that we all felt.