Foster father

12

Just as he was advancing cautiously, a sudden explosion sounded from behind. Carter Vaughan turned around and saw the direction of the vehicles engulfed in flames, and the light from the fire illuminated everything around him. The night vision goggles stung his eyes, and he shouted, "Get down!"

He jumped to the side, rolling heavily on the ground. Bullets whizzed past the spot where he had just been standing, and he could even hear the sound of bullets tearing through the air.

He quickly unslung his submachine gun and began firing rapidly at the moving figures in the distance. Gunfire erupted throughout the forest, accompanied by screams of pain. The MP5 submachine gun he was using, standard issue for the U.S. Navy SEALs, had moderate power but a low recoil and fast rate of fire, making it ideal for such close-quarter chaos. Within moments, the enemy was riddled with bullets, resembling a hornet's nest.

Unfortunately, his 30-round magazine ran out quickly. He had only brought two spare magazines, and after swapping to the next one, he rolled into the bushes to conceal himself. The first round of gunfire died down quickly; they had successfully intimidated the enemy, who, not knowing their ammunition situation, would likely hesitate to advance.

He was down to his last two magazines and couldn't afford to waste any shots. As he breathed slowly in the cover of the bushes, he began thinking of the next step.

The area where they had parked was still ablaze, and gunfire continued in the distance—no doubt, they had been ambushed there too. Carter Vaughan couldn't help but worry about the child, thinking that they had to end this fight quickly and get back to help.

Suddenly, he heard faint rustling in the grass. Carter Vaughan turned his head to see Kosti creeping toward him.

He raised his hand above his head, palm facing inward, signaling Kosti to cover him. Kosti dropped to the ground and aimed his rifle at the enemy.

Carter Vaughan began to move forward slowly, with Kosti following two paces behind. He knew that Jim must have already circled around to the enemy's closest position—this was Jim's specialty. He could blend into the darkness and silently approach the enemy's rear. Once Carter Vaughan made his move, with Jim attacking from the rear, the enemy wouldn't know where to turn. They could break the enemy into pieces and eliminate them one by one.

Holding his breath, Carter Vaughan finally spotted an enemy soldier kneeling on the ground, aiming a submachine gun in their direction.

Carter Vaughan didn't dare act rashly. If he fired, even if he hit that soldier, the enemies nearby would immediately open fire on him. There was nowhere to hide. He scanned his surroundings for cover and finally found a small rock. He carefully rolled behind it, aimed, and shot the first enemy he saw, piercing his skull.

The enemy shouted something and opened fire in his direction, while two grenades were thrown at him.

Kosti quickly rolled to the side of a tree and began to return fire. At the same time, gunfire came from the enemy's rear, which Carter Vaughan knew must have been Jim or another team member.

Carter Vaughan rolled on the ground to dodge the bullets and grenades. After the smoke cleared, he shouted and jumped to his feet, firing wildly at the enemy. The remaining 30 rounds didn't go to waste—his chaotic shots turned the enemy's formation into a mess, with each bullet hitting its target.

While firing, he sprinted, reloading as he went, and hid behind a tree to catch his breath.

He had only one magazine left—30 rounds of ammo for his MP5, and only nine rounds left in his Browning handgun. Once those were gone, he would only have his knife. He regretted not bringing grenades earlier.

Though he didn't know Jim and the others' status, he was fairly certain that the enemy had been surrounded. He guessed they had only about seven or eight left, and the situation was close to being settled. After the gunfire died down, Carter Vaughan expected that Ai Er would send reinforcements. However, he wasn't sure if Ai Er was still busy, so it was better not to rely on him.

Only twenty seconds passed before the gunfire resumed, and Carter Vaughan could tell that the shots were coming from the enemy. The concentrated fire was aimed at Jim’s position.

This was their perfect opportunity. Carter Vaughan pulled out his handgun, aiming in the dark, and took precise shots, eliminating two enemies.

After a round of intense shooting, Kosti appeared to have run out of ammo. He drew his bayonet and gestured for Carter Vaughan to cover him. Carter Vaughan knew it was still too early for hand-to-hand combat and disagreed with Kosti's decision. But Kosti, bold and reckless, wasn't afraid of anything in battle.

Reluctantly, Carter Vaughan provided cover as Kosti crawled quickly through the darkness. Then Kosti leapt up, landing on an enemy, stabbing his bayonet into his neck while simultaneously taking the enemy's loaded submachine gun and mowing down the remaining soldiers.

Once the enemy was down, Kosti threw the gun aside and used the corpse as cover, rolling to the side. Carter Vaughan sprang up and emptied his last magazine at the enemies who turned to shoot at him.

Then he discarded the submachine gun and drew his curved knife, leaping into the fray. With one swift motion, he severed the nearest enemy’s neck.

Kosti also went all out, swinging his bayonet with abandon, turning the hidden forest into a slaughterhouse.

Carter Vaughan could clearly feel that these enemies were still lacking in combat experience. Although their equipment was top-notch, they were no match for him and his team. The entire battle lasted less than ten minutes, and victory was already secured.

The four of them suffered only a few injuries—Kosti had a leg wound from a grenade, while the other three had minor injuries.

They quickly counted the bodies of the fallen enemies—only one remained. They didn't have time to investigate further and quickly turned back toward the vehicles to regroup and provide support.

Upon arriving, Carter Vaughan saw that Ai Er and the others had already handled the enemy. The destroyed vehicle near his own had caused his vehicle to tip over, but fortunately, no one was trapped inside.

Everyone was still engaged in the battle, but Carter Vaughan remembered the child he had rescued earlier. He rushed to the overturned vehicle, banging on the glass, "Oliver!"

After a brief pause, a small voice came from inside, "Daddy..."

Carter Vaughan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly jumped onto the vehicle. Luckily, the door wasn't locked, and he entered without hesitation.

The child was stuck between the seats, looking up at him with a pale face. Carter Vaughan adjusted the seat to create space, then pulled the child out. The child hadn’t been injured but was shaking violently, his face white with fear. He clung tightly to Carter Vaughan's neck, burying his face in his shoulder.

Carter Vaughan frowned, "You're such an i***t. Why couldn't you move the seat yourself? The seat wasn’t even broken."

The child mumbled, "I... I was too scared to go out."

Carter Vaughan finally realized the child wasn't physically trapped, but too frightened by the gunfire and explosions to leave. He scoffed, "What a coward."

He scooped the child into his arms and jumped out of the car. Ai Er and the others were already handling the aftermath.

Dead bodies lay all around, and the ground was soaked with blood.

The child only glanced at the c*****e briefly before burying his face in Carter Vaughan's arms, trembling violently.

Per, wearing white gloves, was bandaging Kosti’s leg. He glanced at Carter Vaughan and chuckled, "Little darling's scared."

Carter Vaughan scoffed, "He's too timid. He needs some serious training."

"No problem," Per replied, "I was just about to let him assist with the dissection."

The battle had lasted no more than half an hour, and they had killed 17 enemies and captured three. Ai Er took the prisoners into the forest for interrogation while the rest of the team gathered up the enemy’s equipment—mostly high-quality gear.

Another hour later, gunshots echoed from the forest. Ai Er emerged with a cold smile on his face, signaling that the interrogation had been completed.

They had cleaned up most of the site, and the overturned vehicle had been righted. Apart from one completely destroyed vehicle, two team members had sustained minor injuries, and the rest had only light wounds.

Ai Er called Carter Vaughan into his vehicle and briefed him on the results of the interrogation.

From their analysis, they had confirmed that the employer had used them as bait, intending to send the real cargo through other channels to the Mexicans.

Carter Vaughan proposed returning to the Golden Triangle to confront their employer, but Ai Er believed they should first check the designated meeting point. If no one arrived for the trade, they could then head back, and the employer wouldn’t escape. This way, they would have irrefutable evidence, whether for money or retribution.

As the leader, Ai Er’s decision was final, and Carter Vaughan reluctantly agreed. After they decided on the course of action, he returned to his vehicle to rest for a while.

The sky soon brightened, and, miraculously, the rain stopped.

The convoy moved slowly towards the designated border point, and after an entire day’s journey, they finally arrived.