Page 117 of The 9th Man

***

“BRAVO TWO, THIS IS BRAVO ONE,” TALLEY SAID OVER THE RADIO.“Status.”

He’d ordered the pilot to back off and hold position away from the cabin, but still capable of observing. Eyes in the sky were always appreciated. Despite the Sikorsky’s auto-hover feature the storm’s crosswinds wildly buffeted the craft, making it hard to hold steady.

“Positive strike,” came the reply. “But there is a casualty on the ground. One of ours.”

He stood about a hundred yards from the burning building and had heard the gunfire and grenades. “What about the targets?”

“One is down, condition unknown. The other two exited the barn and are heading north into a draw.”

“Cut them off,” he ordered. “Pin them down.”

If Daniels made it to the open Talley and his team would have a devil of a time finding him. Then again, the man was a Ranger, who always had a backup plan, and it wouldn’t be something as foolhardy as running headlong into a blizzard. With the temperature plummeting Daniels would be searching for shelter and a defensible position.

So where might that be?

58

LUKE, HALF STUMBLING HALF SLIDING, STARTED DOWN THE SADDLEinto calf-deep snow. The wind had blown the surface into frozen wave crests. He lost his footing and pitched face-first into the fresh powder. A gust of wind knocked him sideways and, burdened by his pack and the shotgun, he began barrel-rolling. Jillian tried to sidestep him, but he cut her off at the knees. She landed atop him with their legs intertwined. Their slide gained momentum, burying their heads and torsos.

Finally, they lurched to a stop.

To the south the helicopter’s navigation lights strobed the sky. They burrowed further into a snow drift and went still. The thump of the rotors intensified, passing overhead, then fading off.

“Come on,” he said. “We’re halfway down.”

The closer they crept to the bottom, the narrower the ravine became. Rock walls towered above them and slackened the wind. Beneath their feet the snow thinned until they were no longer trudging, but jogging. The ravine veered left, narrowed more, and leveled out. The helicopter returned and slowed to a hover over the saddle.

A spotlight popped on.

The aircraft slid sideways, the beam tracking toward the ravine.

“They’re on us,” he said.

***

TALLEY STEPPED INTO THE BARN. THE AGITATED HORSES STOMPED ANDneighed. One of his men stood beside the body on the ground. He approached and crouched down to see an old man with a bullet wound to the chest.

Had to be Eckstein.

He’d told his people to not engage. Rowland had made it clear that Eckstein was to be taken alive. That was critical. Now the old man lay dead. One of his men had gone trigger-happy.

“Bravo One, this is Bravo Two.”

He found his radio and stood.“Go ahead.”

“We’ve picked up tracks at the bottom of the draw. Looks like they’ve slipped into a slot ravine heading north. They can’t be more than a couple minutes ahead of us. We’re searching it now. So far no joy.”

“Stay on it. Our targets are headed somewhere. I want to know where.”

“Roger. Beginning search. How large a grid do you want?”

“Whatever it takes.”

With snow piling up fast and the thermometer in the single digits Daniels could not cover much ground. One of Talley’s men in the helicopter was injured, not seriously, another lay dead outside. More were standing a few feet away.

Ready.

---