Part 35 (1/2)

”Yes,” she said. ”Go for it.”

”In and out, as quick as you can. No s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around.”

”Stop fussing.”

”I love you,” he said.

”I love you, too. Now blow up the d.a.m.n truck. Bye.”

He put away his phone.

He grabbed a satchel full of ammunition, spare weapons, and other supplies from the truck. Then he shoved the stick s.h.i.+ft into first gear. The truck rolled off the edge of the cliff, plummeted a hundred feet, and crashed onto the rocks. He was hoping it would explode on its own, but that kind of thing only happened in the movies.

He pressed a b.u.t.ton on a radio trigger on his belt. The explosion was so forceful he felt it through his feet. A huge fireball rose up, and the intense heat forced him to back away. For a moment the entire quarry glowed with orange light.

He ran a hundred yards along the edge of the cliff until he came to a thick clump of bushes. He lay under the foliage so only the top of his camouflaged head was exposed, making him effectively invisible. He extended the legs under his rifle and chambered a round. He took a deep breath to calm himself. As his body relaxed, his heart rate slowed. He looked through the scope. His aim was as steady as a rock.

The burning fuel was creating a thick, heavy cloud of smoke, which was spreading outward across the ground, but his thermal scope saw right through it. He watched the carnival workers run around as they tried to get organized.

Aaron spotted Marina das.h.i.+ng across the floor of the quarry with her head down. The strobe made it easy to pick her out. He adjusted the magnification on the scope.

She approached the carnival but had to stop at the edge of the light. The smoke provided some cover but not enough to guarantee safe pa.s.sage across open ground. He aimed at the flood light that was causing the problem. The target was about the size of a human head. The bore of the rifle was cold, which affected his aim slightly, but the wind was minimal. He held his breath and gently pulled the trigger. The gun kicked his shoulder. A ten inch suppressor kept the muzzle flash and noise to a minimum. An instant later the light went dark.

Marina took off immediately. She ran between the trucks and trailers of the carnival, staying low and moving fast. He briefly lost sight of her a few times, but she always reappeared somewhere else. She left a couple of dead bodies behind as signs of her pa.s.sage. She liked to hold a knife in both hands in situations like this. She was an ambidextrous killer.

She headed towards the ”flying saucer” ride. She managed to run most of the way before two men forced her to stop.

Aaron was preparing to take his shot when Marina abruptly engaged both enemies at once. She spun and slashed like a living food processor.

”f.u.c.k!” he muttered. ”You couldn't wait another two seconds?”

He was reduced to the role of spectator. With the combatants so close together and moving so quickly, he couldn't shoot without risking a hit on Marina.

She killed one man quickly. Then she sliced the Achilles tendons of the other and stood over her fallen opponent. Instead of finis.h.i.+ng him off right away, she appeared to be speaking to him.

”d.a.m.n it, Marina,” Aaron said. ”Stop gloating. This isn't a movie.”

She liked to amuse herself by toying with her enemies at the end. It was a very bad habit, and he had chastised her several times. Apparently, he had wasted his breath.

He couldn't allow this stupidity to continue. It wasn't the safest shot, but he aimed at the face of the man on the ground and pulled the trigger. The resulting splatter was visible even in the night scope.

Marina started moving again and quickly reached the target. The ride was mounted on the back of a trailer truck. The plan was to drive the entire truck out of the quarry, but first she had to get inside. He watched her struggle to open the door, which was obviously locked. She went around to the back of the cab, where the trailer partially concealed her. Aaron lost sight of her, but he expected she was breaking through a rear window. He prayed she didn't get cut by any broken gla.s.s.

A nearby man headed in her direction. Maybe he had heard something. Aaron put a bullet through his brain. Hurry up, Marina, Aaron thought. This is taking too long.

Marina needed to hotwire the truck, a skill she rarely practiced. Stealing cars was his specialty, not hers.

There were five bodies on the ground, too many to go unnoticed, so it was no surprise to Aaron when the Eternals began to scramble. Some of them ran for the nearest cover while others formed search teams. He wanted to draw their attention away from Marina's location, so he sighted on one man who was barking orders to the rest. Aaron took him out with another perfect headshot. Now the Eternals really scrambled. They knew there was a skilled sniper somewhere in the darkness, a prospect that could terrify even the most hardened soldier.

Marina! Get the truck moving now! Aaron thought.

He took out a few more floodlights. The Eternals probably had some night vision gear but not enough for everybody. The darkness and smoke was their enemy. Right now they were likely wis.h.i.+ng it were daytime.

He heard an engine roar to life. The truck with the flying saucer ride rolled forward and turned. Now came the most dangerous part of the operation. The only way out of the quarry was a long, narrow, dirt ramp.

The overloaded vehicle rocked on its suspension as she turned hard towards the exit. Once she had it straightened out, she gunned the engine. Men chased after her. Aaron couldn't make precise shots on moving targets at this range, so he just fired into the crowd. When he emptied one clip, he grabbed another from his satchel. He had plenty of bullets and no reason to save them.

The foot pursuit dissipated by the time she was half-way up the ramp. There was a trail of casualties behind her, thanks to Aaron's quick shooting. This mission was turning into a bloodbath despite Ethel's orders to the contrary, but that fact didn't bother him much. The Eternals celebrated death after all. He was giving them an early Christmas gift.

Two fast cars took over the chase. Aaron fired at the driver of the lead car, but he needed several shots before he finally scored a hit. The car veered off the ramp and crashed onto the rock floor of the quarry. The second car reached the top of the ramp and escaped before he could stop it.

He called Marina on the phone.

”Report,” she said in a breathless voice.

”There is one car in pursuit,” he said.

”I see it.”

”Stay on the planned route. Don't slow down. I'll catch up to you.”

”Hurry!” she said. ”This truck handles like a pig. I'm afraid I'm going to crash into a tree.”

Aaron left his rifle behind because of its awkward bulk, but he took the satchel and walked directly away from the quarry. There was just enough moonlight for him to pick his way through the bushes. He came to a dirt bike that he had placed earlier in the day. He hooked the satchel onto the back, put on a helmet, and started the engine. The single headlight illuminated a dirt path before him.

It only took a couple of minutes for him to reach the road. Once he was on solid pavement, he picked up the pace. The thought of Marina in trouble made him drive at dangerous speeds.

He spotted the truck up ahead. A black sports car was right on her tail, but she kept it from pa.s.sing her by swerving from side to side. A man with a handgun was leaning out the pa.s.senger window. I guess the Eternals decided guns are useful, Aaron thought. Even a zealot can learn.

The open window gave him an idea. He groped around in his satchel until he found a grenade. He cranked the throttle and the bike shot forward. When he reached the car, he pulled the pin with his teeth and tossed the grenade into the window. He hit the brakes to drop back.

A few seconds later an explosion blew out all the windows. The car veered off the road and crashed into a ditch.

Marina stopped swerving the truck. Aaron drove up and nodded to her. She blew a tender kiss to him.

They proceeded three more miles down the road until they came to a small town. Marina parked the truck behind a grocery store, and Aaron got off his bike. He was sweating despite the cold.

A gray van was waiting there. Ethel got out and came over to join them. She wore a heavy, sheepskin coat that went down to her knees.

”It looks like the mission was a success,” she said.

”Pretty much, ma'am,” Aaron said.

”What does that mean?”

”It got a little messy towards the end. The body count went kind of high.”

”But he did a great job of protecting me,” Marina said. ”It was like G.o.d was watching over me.” She kissed him on the lips.

Ethel furrowed her brow. ”I ordered you to avoid excess bloodshed.”