Part 41 (1/2)

”He's still there!” Jill shouted, pulling away from me. She turned to walk up the embankment again.

”Jill!” I said. ”So help me G.o.d, you're staying here if I have to have Exodus tie you the h.e.l.l up. No one else is going to die here, do you hear me? Enough people have died tonight. What in the h.e.l.l do you think you're going to do, other than put your own life, and Reaper's life, in jeopardy, huh?”

Jill obviously hadn't thought about that. She wasn't even carrying a rifle. She didn't even have body armor. Letting her go would probably be sending her to her death.

”Jill, please . . . We're leaving right now. We'll find him. We're not going to abandon him.”

Tears welled up in Jill's eyes. She was visibly shaking. ”Hurry, please,” she said quietly.

The door of one of the big Russian vans slid open and Reaper began shouting. ”I lost eyes, but Lorenzo's in the river! He's in the river!”

I nodded, then noticed that Shen had a large bolt-action rifle slung across his back. ”What's that?”

”It's Svetlana's rifle,” he said. ”She's a sniper.”

It was a long way down to the river. ”Give it to me,” I said, ”It might come in handy.”

Shen nodded, and unslung the long weapon. It was a Sako TRG-42 wrapped in white webbing for camouflage. I slung my carbine behind my back as he handed me the heavy beast. I worked the bolt to verify that there was a round chambered, and looked through the scope. It was a five-to-twenty power.

”Here,” the woman said. She tossed me a single five-round magazine for the rifle. ”That's all the ammunition I have left for it.”

.338 Lapua. That'll put a hurting on somebody. ”Let's move.”

Ling turned her attention to Antoine and Fajkus as I began jogging away. ”Do not wait for us here. Rendezvous with Katsumoto's group. We will try to stay in contact, but do not linger for our sake. Enough of us have died here already. If we don't make it back, don't come looking for us.”

”I understand,” Antoine said solemnly. ”Go with G.o.d, my friend.”

VALENTINE.

The Mountain Road, above the Canyon The path was narrow and treacherous as we made our way toward where we thought Lorenzo was. Ling was trying to raise him on the radio, but had no luck so far. Without Reaper to guide us in, there was little we could do but hope. I was on edge, exhausted, and afraid. The woods were swarming with Jihan's men. What I really wanted to do was turn around and head back with the others. I just wanted to get as far away from The Crossroads as I possibly could, and never think about it again.

But as much as I disliked Lorenzo, I was determined not to leave anyone else behind. Not now, not after all this. Twice in my life, I'd been left behind, abandoned by the people I was working for. I know what it feels like and I wasn't about to do that to somebody else.

If Lorenzo was alive, I hoped to G.o.d he wasn't bringing a lot of company with him.

”We can get a clear view of the river from there.” Ling pointed.

”Keep your head down. We don't know who's down there.”

Approaching cautiously, we took stock of the canyon before us. The ground just dropped away in a gap between thin evergreen trees. The grade was steep, all the way to the canyon floor and the river. We had a good view of the river from here. Ling lifted a pair of binoculars and started scanning back and forth.

On the valley floor, in a clearing five hundred yards away was the rusting hulk of a big airplane. I recognized it as an old Soviet Tu-95 bomber. One of its wings could be seen, half covered by a snow, some distance behind it. The other wing was nowhere to be found. A faded red star still adorned its tail. It looked as if it had been there for decades, forgotten. ”Looks like they tried to ride it in,” I mused. There was no way the bomber was going to do an emergency landing in a place like this, but it was obvious it hadn't just plowed straight down into the ground, either.

We had concealment from the foliage and cover from the boulders, plus a commanding view of the narrow valley ahead of us. It was as good as we were going to get.

I unfolded its bipod and set up the sniper rifle as Ling tried to raise Lorenzo on the radio. ”Lorenzo, Lorenzo, this is Sword Three X-Ray. Can you hear me, over?”

Nothing.

”Lorenzo, this is Sword Three X-Ray, please respond. What is your status?”

Ling looked over at me and shook her head.

”Well, we can wait here for a little-”

The radio crackled back to life. ”This is Lorenzo. I'm here, I'm still here.”

”Sword Three X-Ray copies, Lorenzo. Where are you?”

”f.u.c.k if I know. I see lots of f.u.c.king trees. I've got a lot of p.i.s.sed off a.s.sholes on my tail. That narrow it down for you?” His breathing was ragged. He sounded horrible. ”I see an . . . airplane?”

”We're waiting for you at the road past that, Lorenzo. As you come out of the trees, there'll be an open area covered with boulders. Past the wreck, there's a steep, rocky grade up to our position. I don't think it'll be an easy climb. Do you copy?”

”I hear you,” Lorenzo replied. ”f.u.c.k. I'm in bad shape here. I've been shot . . . a couple times, and I'm hypothermic and running out of ammo. I hope you got a lot of guys up there.”

Ling and I looked at each other.

”Just make for the plane wreck. We'll cover you as best we can.” Ling said. ”Get ready. I think he's almost here.”

”Take my rifle,” I suggested. ”It's got a scope on it and more range. It'll be better than your carbine.”

I hunkered down behind Svetlana's heavy sniper rifle, scanning the canyon for movement. The tree line we expected Lorenzo to come out of was at least eight hundred yards away, maybe a bit further. The rifle I was using could hit playing cards at that distance, but it had been a long time since I'd done this kind of long-range shooting, and I only had ten rounds. Lorenzo had a lot of open territory to cover past the trees, with only boulders for cover until he got to the wreck of the bomber. And even then, I had no idea how he was going to get up the grade without getting shot to pieces.

Focus, d.a.m.n it. Can't worry about it now. I slowly pivoted the rifle on its bipod, looking for movement.

”There! I have eyes on.”

A lone figure appeared from the trees, slogging through deep snow as fast as he could. Even at twenty power magnification, he was too far off to ID, so I reached for the radio.

”Lorenzo, this is Valentine. I have eyes on one individual that just exited the tree line. Is that you?”

There was a pause before I got a response. ”Valentine? f.u.c.k me. Yeah, yeah that's me. Where are you guys?”

”We're up at the top of the grade. We've got you covered.”

”Get ready. They're right behind me.”

Lorenzo wasn't kidding. Sporadic gunfire erupted from the trees before I could even see anyone else. First, a couple of figures, dressed in brown and green coats, appeared from the trees, hot on Lorenzo's tail. Then a few more, then dozens of them.

”Holy s.h.i.+t.”

LORENZO.

The plane wreck I was in very bad shape. The wound in my side was deep. I had my left hand jammed against it, but blood was pouring between my fingers and leaving a trail in the snow behind me. The ice bath had done something to my mind. Everything was foggy and I was having a hard time thinking straight. My heart was pounding in my chest and my mouth tasted like it was filled with pennies.

The soldiers were all around me, moving between the trees. I could hear them shouting. My legs burned as I had to hoist each foot high enough to clear the snow. There were boulders in the clearing. I could use them for cover, then get to the plane, then- The bullet pierced my left arm. Blood hit the snow in front of me. I let out an incoherent cry, lifted my pistol and cranked off a couple of shots in the direction that it had come from. The snow puckered around me as they fired back.

I made it to the nearest boulder, stumbled, and crashed into it. I slid along it, leaving a smear of blood, then forced myself onward.

The ringing in my ears had gotten worse. I tripped and fell on my face. Not like this . . . And I forced myself back up and headed for the crashed bomber.