During the Iraq war, an out-of-shape retired SEAL takes a safe security job protecting VIPS, but gets pulled into the deadly hunt for the Hussein brothers and their cache of chemical weapons of mass destruction.

SYNOPSIS:

The story opens with Uday Hussein, the “Butcher of Baghdad,” showcasing his private zoo to a family. The family’s father is forced in with the lions and killed while his children watch – all because the father said the zoo “was small.”

A few years later, Mike Cates, a retired Navy SEAL, accepts a contract by the CIA to provide security for CIA case agents in the “green zone” during the Iraqi war.

The mission pushes Mike’s wife, Becky, to her limits – she warns Mike that she and the kids may not be there when he returns. But, Mike is a warrior. He doesn’t fit in as a PTA dad.

He meets John Stalwort, a former teammate, and retired SEAL, in the airport. They pick up another former team member, “The Geek,” along the way.

Upon landing in Iraq, they come under small arms fire. The Geek gets fatally shot when he ushers a group to safety. His death triggers Mike’s muscle memory – forget being retired and doing a simple security detail – now he was going to take it to the enemy.

Mike and John join teams in pursuit of High-Value Targets – leaders of the Iraqi military. Saddam is HVT 1; his sons Uday and Qusay are HVT 2 and 3. The team is often distracted from HVTs to run other risky missions, giving Uday and Qusay time to plan an orchestrated chemical attack on the largest cities in the country.

The team becomes known as “Pipehitters Three” after the capture of HVT 10 because John uses a pipe to separate HVT 10 from Mike. The CIA wants them on all the challenging missions.

When the CIA learns of Uday and Qusay’s plans, the Pipehitters are sent in for surveillance. The original goal is to hold Uday and Qusay until “Big Army” can take them down. But, this changes when Iraqi soldiers start arriving at the location. The team must engage the compound. It’s a suicide mission, and once out of ammunition, Mike has to call in an airstrike on the building -- even though it’s likely to kill them, too.

But, when the air raid begins, they dive behind a marble staircase for protection. Afterwards, Mike and John rise from behind the stairs to confirm Uday’s and Qusay’s deaths. They find both still alive – and have a final gunfight to kill the brothers.

When Mike returns home, Becky puts on a good front for the kids but greets him with divorce papers. Later, Mike is visiting the zoo with his son and daughter. They’re at the lion display when Mike’s phone rings. It’s the CIA. He tries to ignore it but ultimately answers the call.