Page 95 of Shadow Blind

His short-barreled assault rifle in hand, Wolf took the stairs two at a time. The dog’s frantic barking was audible but muffled now. He reached the bend in the staircase in seconds. There he stopped and crouched, listening. The dog had fallen silent. No sound came from above, but he knew by primal instinct their mark was up there, waiting for him. Sticking his head around the corner was not an option—unless he wished to join Jude in the web of their ancestors. Instead, he thrust his MK18 rifle around the corner.

Crack…crack…crack… came from above. The dog broke into another fit of barking.

The gunshots sounded close—just up the stairs close. The blasts echoed and deafened in the tight space, making it impossible to tell how many weapons were in play.

He compressed his rifle’s trigger. The weapon spit out a dozen rounds, for distraction more than anything. He needed to see what awaited him at the top of the stairs. One man? Two? More? Spraying the stairs with bullets would force the mark or marks to drop and cover.

Surrounded by the acrid smell of spent ammunition and hot metal, he leaned around, taking a quick peek up the stairs. A blur of green straightened from its crouch against the landing wall above. He ducked back around the corner as multiple rounds splintered the wood where his head had once been.

One shooter then, crouched at the top of the stairs.

He was facing a stalemate. Death awaited anyone who climbed those stairs. Time to deploy Shadow labs’ latest gift, or—gifts—in this case.

“Masks on,” he said through the comm and Neealaho simultaneously.

He shifted, presenting his kit to Samuel while firing consistently up the stairs to keep their mark busy. The smell of spent propellant and burning metal grew stronger.

His Caetanee opened Wolf’s kit and handed him a thin rubber gas mask. The mask was new, a recent addition to their war-ware from the Shadow Mountain labs. Still firing up the stairs to keep their shooter engaged, he removed his helmet with one hand and pulled on the mask, then donned his helmet again.

“Release in five,” Wolf said through the neural net and comm as he plucked a silver canister from the front pocket of his equipment belt.

This, too, was developed and produced in the Shadow Mountain labs. A fast acting, quickly dispersing vapor, the gas would render anyone unconscious within seconds of contact, all without harming them. Regular gas masks would not blunt the effects of this vapor, only the masks his warriors currently wore.

If the Shadow Warrior favored them, the gas would knock the ankle biter out, too, and save them from its incessant barking.

He twisted the canister’s cap, which started the five second countdown to the vapor's release, then thrust his arm around the corner, tossing the can up the stairs. More bullets splintered the wall next to him. Pain seared his biceps. He yanked his arm back. Red was already dampening the white fabric of his winter tactical jacket.

He grunted in disgust.

How bad? Samuel asked through their private neural link.

Wolf assessed the wound. It was bleeding, but not bad. He flexed his biceps and hissed in pain. That hurt. But the arm was mobile. Good enough. He sent the assessment through the link. He’d have a healer tend to it once they had their quarry in hand.

He counted the five seconds off in his head. It didn’t matter where the can landed. The dispersal system would propel the gas outward. The colorless and scentless vapor would quickly spread, knocking out every living creature in its path. Except cockroaches. During the testing phase, the vapor had not affected cockroaches.

After five seconds came and went, Wolf stuck his rifle around the corner again and fired off a couple more rounds. No return fire this time. He took a quick look up the stairs. The landing was empty. Time to move. His arm burning, tension gripping his muscles and chilling his gut, Wolf swung around the corner and charged up the stairs. Muffled barking greeted him, but no gunfire.

No shooter either.

The house lights flickered as he reached the top of the stairs. They flickered a second time and stayed on. He flipped his NVDs up and leaped onto the second-floor landing, Samuel right behind him.

The gas canister was on the floor against the wall, opposite from where their adversary had crouched, but no shooter. They advanced forward, rifles up. The barking rose and fell ahead of them, as if someone was having limited success shutting the dog up. They found their mark unconscious and naked, half in/half out of the first door to the left. They rolled him over.

Kuznetsov.

Wolf recognized the bulbous nose, fleshy face, and barrel-chested torso from the pictures and video the Taounaha had provided. They had their arms dealer.

He scanned the room as Samuel secured their naked, unconscious captive’s ankles and cuffed his hands behind his back. That high-pitched, frantic barking was louder than ever, but there was no dog in the room. His gaze slid to the closet in the corner, where the barking and snarls seemed to originate. Had Kuznetsov locked the dog in the closet before converging on the stairs?

Doubtful. The smell of sex hung heavy in the room. Benioko’s source had mentioned Kuznetsov was hiding out with his mistress, a big-breasted and shallow-brained Australian woman. Judging by the condom discarded on the wood floor, the sex this room reeked of hadn’t been one-handed. The mistress must be hiding. Probably with the dog.

He helped Samuel drag their captive across the room. They tossed him on the bed. The gas in the canister was fast-acting but fled quickly. Still, it would be several minutes until their captive was alert enough to answer their questions.

In teams of two, the rest of his warriors from Aggress One advanced down the hall to clear the remaining bedrooms. After which they’d search the rooms for anything weapon-related.

Had the vapor from the canister reached into this room? The dog was still alert, which meant the woman probably was too. There was no room beneath the bedframe for the woman to hide. She must be in the closet with the dog.

Their mark was unconscious and cuffed. Time to find the woman.

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