Episode 4: The Compound

By Leigh Barker

Season 1, Episode 4. The Hellfire Legacy: The Compound

A Bitesize Read - the forth 1-hour read.

Kelsey’s daughter has been kidnapped. Ethan knows it’s a ruse to get him off the investigation. But Tessa is just a kid.

He and Kelsey think there’s a mole in the FBI, so he reforms his old unit from Afghanistan and heads out to save the girl.

Faraj has set a deadly trap for them. They have no idea they’re walking into hell.

But they've been to hell before, many times.

Not like this.

This time it looks like they won’t be coming home alive!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leigh Barker
• Release date: Jul 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311850959

Leigh Barker

Leigh was born in Dudley in the middle of England. He has been a merchant seaman, a (useless) electronics salesman, a programmer, and a business analyst. And now he is a full-time writer, but that doesn't make him a bad person.He is presently writing 4 series:Clan, following the adventures of Calum Maclean as he tries to avoid the Bonnie Prince but still protect his beloved Highlands.The Hellfire Legacy Series follows US Marine Master Sergeant Ethan Gill and his team as they take on the jobs too hot for other special forces. They go where they're sent; South America, Middle East, Korea, but their most dangerous missions are on US soil.Volume #1: A Whisper of ArmageddonVolume #2: The Hellfire LegacyVolume #3: The Orpheus DirectiveEden, a three-volume series -Trinity is at war with Lucid, the son of Lucifer, and he will do whatever it takes to win. The Archangel Gabriel has an army but he needs more. He needs heroes, but they are few and far between. Which is why he gets Dylan and co. Not too much luck in Heaven then.Volume #1: Eden's Last HeroVolume #2: WinterwoodVolume #3: Requiem for Eden.Soldiers is set in 1914 and follows John Regret and his 12-man squad on their suicidal mission to find and destroy the German howitzer nicknamed Big Bertha. Find it before it drops it's thousand-pound shells on the allied army retreating across France. A seemingly hopeless mission that just cannot fail.Other occasional series include:Anarchy, the 'completely true' stories of men doing what men do when there's nobody to keep them in check. Create mayhem and behave like monkeys on speed.Coffee Break Reads - each issue has 5 stories short enough to read while taking a break from life. A mix of adventure, love, disaster, and fun. All with one thing in common; for a moment they transport the reader to another world.Episode 1 of each Season is free and can be picked up with other free books at:https://leighwbarker.com/my-library/Just copy the link above and paste it into your browser and you're there...

Book preview

The Hellfire Legacy

(Episode 4)

The Compound

Copyright 2015 Leigh Barker

Published by Leigh Barker at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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ISBN: 9781311850959

The Compound

It was one of those flukes the gunnery sergeant tells new guys about. Do everything right, but it still comes out with a huge doh! Ethan’s Sig had put two nine mils into the bomber’s T-zone and jellied his medulla oblongata. He should’ve dropped like a stone, his nervous system fried, but he’d pushed the detonator. Maybe the signal had already reached his fingers, maybe he was a freak. Whatever.

Ethan swore and strode over to the dead man sprawled and bloody on the neon-lit concrete. Why’d you do that? You know it makes me look bad. He bent down and pulled the detonator from the dead man’s fingers.

Loco stepped off the bus and tossed a silver pencil blasting cap and a piece of C-4 to Ethan. He grinned and pointed at the terrorist with most of his head missing. Bet his seventy-two virgins are packing their cases and going home to mother.

Where’s Smokey? Ethan asked, ignoring the blasphemous comment.

Loco nodded towards the bus. He said if it was going to blow up, he wanted to toast marshmallows.

Ethan closed his eyes for a moment.

Nah, he’s fiddling about with the rest of the C-4.

They heard the sound of sirens as the whole of New Orleans law descended upon them from all sides.

Figured it wasn’t you who disarmed the thing, Ben said, then lifted his Sig. We should maybe put these someplace safe.

Ethan nodded and looked around as the first blue and white skidded onto the terminal approach road. Everybody be good, he said, and turned to Loco. You hear me, Lance Corporal?

Loud and… the other thing, Top.

Ben opened his go-bag and let them drop their sidearms into it, then zipped it up and put it on the bus just as the police screeched to a halt and the two officers jumped out and pointed their guns at them. And started shouting, as they were prone to do.

Ethan raised his hands, and the others followed. Loco was grinning, but he would be. Smokey stepped off the bus and looked around as if he’d expected a parade or something for saving everybody. Instead he got—

Get on the ground! Now! The police officer’s voice was shaking, either from excitement or fear. Either way, he was a heartbeat away from pulling the trigger. Six men standing around a bloody corpse meant they were bad men in his book. He didn’t read much.

Smokey put his hands on his head and knelt down very slowly, glanced at Ethan and winked.

We’re US Marines, officer, Ethan said as calmly as he could. This guy is… was a terrorist. He was going—

Shut the fuck up! It was the second officer’s turn to get excited.

Ethan could hear his voice shaking like his friend’s. They were young, their uniforms pressed and new. It occurred to him