Page 74 of Stand Fast

Zaid whipped around in time to see Granger spot the cliff too late and hit the brakes, his boots sliding over the gravel. Zaid’s heart lurched as his teammate skidded toward the edge of the cliff.

Forgetting Nasar, he wheeled around, slinging his weapon across his back. The blast of a gunshot rang out behind him as he took a few running strides and launched himself at Granger. More shots cracked through the darkness in rapid succession, ricocheting off the rock next to him.

Zaid hit Granger in the side in a flying tackle, stopping his momentum toward the cliff’s edge. Both of them grunted as they hit the ground, Zaid on top, and skidded into the wall of rock with a bone-jarring thud.

“Fuck,” Granger breathed, scrambling up as Zaid rolled off him.

Zaid had barely gotten to his hands and knees when three more rounds peppered the rock beside his head.

Nasar, trying to pick them off with his pistol.

Son of a…

“I got him,” Granger said, settling on one knee as he took aim, his NVGs in place.

Zaid reached back for his own weapon and swiveled to face Nasar, who appeared to be edging his way up the goat trail, his pistol in hand.

Nuh-uh.

“Tag him,” Zaid growled.

Granger fired. A roar of pain split the air. Nasar fell to one knee and braced himself against the mountain to keep from pitching over the edge.

“Drop yourweapon!” Zaid yelled, beyond pissed off.

“He lost it,” Granger said from behind him.

Zaid set his jaw as he stared hard at Nasar.You’re mine, asshole.“Stay where you are,” he commanded, and began creeping his way forward once more.

Granger hit Nasar with the high-powered beam from his tactical flashlight, lighting him up like he was in a spotlight. Nasar turned his head away and threw up a hand to shield his eyes. Blood dripped from it.

Hope that hurts, you son of a bitch.

“Where’d you hit him?” Zaid asked, transitioning into medic mode. Whatever hole Granger had put in him, Zaid would have to plug before they transported him out of here and back to base.

“Lower leg,” Granger answered, staring down the barrel of his weapon at Nasar.

Too bad it wasn’t his ass.

Zaid slung his rifle across his back and drew his sidearm before picking his way toward their target, now bleeding and trapped on the cliff’s edge. “Come this way,” he ordered gruffly. Man, he wanted to plow his fist into Nasar’s face when he reached the bastard.

Granger was moving in behind him, staying close to provide backup if necessary, the brilliant beam from his flashlight cutting through the darkness like a laser. Nasar didn’t move, still crouched against the rock, just stared back at them with utter loathing as his blood pooled into the dirt.

Zaid set his jaw. They were going to have to go grab Nasar and drag him back to the cave. The idea of a wrestling match on such a narrow ledge didn’t thrill him, even with Granger here to back him up. He’d rather put another bullet in Nasar in a more vital place and haul his unconscious ass back to the cave to await the others.

“Target acquired,” Granger said behind him over the comms, alerting the others, and gave their position.

“Copy that. Moving to you now, ETA whenever the fuck we get out of this tunnel,” Hamilton replied through Zaid’s earpiece.

Even though Nasar was wounded and unmoving, Zaid approached him with the utmost caution. The guy had been trained by U.S. SOF guys and knew all the same dirty tricks Zaid did. Zaid wasn’t taking any risks up here.

“Put your hands behind your back,” he bit out, pistol trained on his quarry. He was still using Dari because it felt more personal that way. This was between him and Nasar.

Nasar glared up at him for a moment longer, then let go of his wounded leg and slowly moved his hands behind him.

Zaid reached into a pouch on his vest for a pair of flex cuffs. “Stay right there. You move so much as an inch, and I’ll put more holes in you.”

Even while squinting in the intense beam of the flashlight, Nasar’s expression managed to convey utter loathing and defiance. But Zaid didn’t care, his attention riveted to Nasar’s hands and body. The prisoner reluctantly brought both hands behind his back and waited there, but the tension in his body set off all kinds of warning bells in Zaid’s head.

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