Page 54 of Hollow Code
"The two inside the fence are moving toward the relay tower," Coulter said. "Point man has a rifle with a scope. Looks like he going for a target angle on Gideon's position."
"I've got him in my sights," Neve said.
"He aims that thing at Gideon, you take him," Zadie whispered knowing full well it was loud enough her team leader would hear it. But Neve wouldn’t respond. No one would. It was a statement that wasn’t necessary. They were a team, and Gideon had become part of their family.
And he mattered to Zadie. Protecting him wasn’t just about protecting the mission.
"The second one is using the transformer housing as cover," Coulter said. "Intermittent line of sight. I'll stay with him."
"Second vehicle down the road," Scout broke in. "One man standing by the driver's door, hand to ear."
"Finch?" Neve asked.
"No," Scout said. "Isaac."
"That was fast," Gideon said, calmer than Zadie expected. "He hung back at the diner. That could’ve been because he blew the place up, or for another reason. Either way, someone needs to monitor him."
"Understood," Scout said.
"Gideon," Neve’s voice came over comms in a low rumble. "I need you to move to the right about three inches."
Zadie sucked in a breath and braced herself.
The first shot cracked through the mountain air from Neve’s position in the tree line.
Scanning the area, Zadie saw one man in the dirt, blood pooling on the ground near his head.
Kill shot.
The second man reacted instantly. Not the scramble of someone caught off guard, but the fluid, explosive movement of a body operating beyond normal capacity. He vaulted a three-foot concrete barrier as if it didn’t exist. He covered fifteen meters of open ground in a burst that made Zadie's feet go numb from embarrassment.
"Fucking enhanced," Zadie said. "One coming right for you, Coulter."
"I see him." Shots fired from Coulter’s location roared. Sparks flew off the transformer housing where the man had been a half-second earlier, but he’d moved so fast, it was hard to get a handle on where he’d headed. He’d changed direction mid-stride, cutting laterally at a speed that made tracking impossible.
"Here come the ones outside the fence," Wynn said. "One sprinting for the south gate coming from the east thirty meters from Zadie’s position."
"Wynn, between you and me, we can deal with that one," Scout said. "Zadie, take the one coming directly through gate. Do you see?—"
"Got him." She squinted, held her breath, and pulled the trigger.
The round caught him in the shoulder. He spun, stumbled, and dropped to one knee. He groaned and grabbed the wound, but it was more like he was rubbing it off. He pushed himself up and dodged behind a tree. He moved as if the bullet had been an inconvenience rather than a .223 round through muscle and bone.
"Runner hit, but barely flinched," Zadie said. "He’s hiding behind a tree."
"Copy," Neve said. "Coulter, where's yours?"
"Circling east. He's fast. I’ve hit him twice. Shoulder and thigh," Coulter said. "Waiting for him to materialize again."
Her man bolted from his spot, heading toward the transformer bank. Forty meters. Thirty. Zadie adjusted low. She fired again.
The round caught his thigh and his leg buckled. He went down hard, one knee slamming gravel, but his weapon came up and he fired a burst that tore into the steel housing six inches from her head. The impact rang through the metal, and she felt the vibration in her teeth.
She dropped behind the transformer base and rolled to the opposite side. Her knee cracked against a concrete pad and pain flared up her leg. She pushed through it, came up in a crouch, and fired twice at his planted knee. The first round sparked off gravel. The second connected. He pitched forward and his weapon skidded across the ground. A second later, he was crawling for it.
"My runner is down for now," she said. "Where's the eastern one?"
"He came through the cut section," Wynn said. "He’s hiding in the brush. I’m waiting for him to move so I can take my shot. I’ve got a good angle from here."
