Page 44 of Silk Shadow

It was time to deal with these guys.

"I'll go left," whispered Phoenix, pointing ahead.

Viper nodded and moved right. They'd fan out and eventually come into contact with the men following them, taking them out quietly. They didn't need to discuss it; they'd done this maneuver countless times on ops, though never on the same team.

It wasn't long before Viper spotted one of their pursuers. Dressed head to toe in black with a Kevlar vest, the guy moved expertly through the undergrowth, rifle ready.

Viper waited for him to pass, then approached silently from behind. A branch cracked.

The guy stopped and spun around.

Viper froze.

The guy peered into the darkness for a long moment, then slowly began to inch forward again.

Viper mirrored his movements, closing the gap a little more each time. Then, when the guy finally stopped, Viper sprang from the shadows and stabbed him in the neck. The mercenary's hand flew up to stem the bleeding, but Viper had hit the jugular. There was no coming back from this.

Slowly, the man sank to his knees, then dropped his hands to his sides and toppled forward. He'd hardly made a sound, other than the soft gargling as the life drained out of him. He'd never even seen his attacker.

"I'll take that," murmured Viper, picking up the guy's rifle. The CIA had only given them handguns, not semi-automatics. This would come in handy.

He covered the dead man with branches and continued forward, zigzagging to cover more ground. It wasn’t long before he spotted another mercenary. This guy was big. Barrel-chested and thick-thighed, it would take more than one pounce to take him down.

He moved parallel to the merc, tracking him silently through the leaves. Despite being massive, the guy moved with a practiced grace. He was no stranger to jungle maneuvers.

He was fast too, pushing branches and foliage out of the way, but he wasn't particularly quiet. You could hear him coming a mile away. That was the downside of size.

When they were within fifty yards from where Izzy was hiding, Viper pounced. He jumped on the guy's back and tried to wrestle him to the ground. The big guy fell over, but not before he'd compressed the trigger and let out a short, but deafeningly loud, burst of fire.

Shit.

Now the rest of the tangos would come running.

He figured there was no point in being quiet now and shot the big guy in the head. He died instantly.

Viper pushed him away and got to his feet. There was blood spatter on his shirt. He had to get out of there. Even now, the jungle was being torn apart as men came crashing toward the sound of gunfire.

He knew Phoenix would come too. For the hunter always followed the hunted.

If used to their advantage, this could provide the diversion they needed to take out the pack.

He melted into the undergrowth and waited. Sure enough, three others appeared, crouching low, weapons drawn.

"Damn, Diego's down," one of them hissed in a low voice. He had a thick, rolling accent. Not Argentinian, but local. A lot of mercs working in Mexico were ex-military or cartel enforcers. They'd probably told Emily they were Argentinian as a cover, and she'd believed them. She had no reason not to.

"Was it them?" asked another.

"Yeah, I guess so. Be careful, man."

More grunts and the men spread out from Diego's position.

There was another short burst of fire from the other side and one of the men fell.

Phoenix.

Viper took out the one closest to him, then dived into the undergrowth for cover as the remaining merc opened fire. Bullets slammed into the trees above him.

More shooting and a yell as the third guy went down.

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