Page 124 of The 9th Man

“Going where?” Talley asked.

“Among the buildings, both main and the smaller ones.”

He smiled. Smart boy Daniels. Create confusion.

Team West added, “The entry into Building Two is about ten meters away. I think I can make it.”

“Negative. Stay put. Do you copy?”

Talley received static and a few clipped words in reply. He repeated, “Do not proceed. I say again, do not proceed.”

More static.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

No choice.

“All units, this is Bravo One. Engage target.”

62

LUKE WATCHED AS THE MAN LEFT HIS SPOT AT THE CORNEROFtheshed and moved across open ground toward the headframe. Clearly the hole in the wall had been too tempting to ignore.

“Aren’t we a little go-getter?” he whispered to himself.

The helicopter was gone, the spotlight and flashbangs designed to elicit a reaction. That bait they’d not taken.

No way.

He trotted back through the millhouse, turned right down the headframe walkway, then slowed his pace until he was creeping. He pressed himself flat against the wall beside the hole, the shotgun barrel hovering a few inches above it. From the other side came the soft scrape of cloth on snow. A shadow passed before the hole, followed by a head, then a torso. When the man was halfway through, Luke rolled him onto his back and pressed the rifle’s muzzle into an eye socket.

“Not a word. Not a twitch. Nod if you understand me.”

The man complied.

“Are you on comms with someone?” Luke whispered.

Another nod.

“Blink once for voice-activated, twice for press-to-talk.”

The man blinked twice.

He ordered him to cross his hands on his chest, then he grasped the collar and dragged the man the rest of the way inside. He rolled his captive onto his belly spread-eagle, frisked him, and tossed the weapons aside.

“How many are you?”

The man said nothing.

“Answer my question or my partner will drop your friend. Is it just the two of you?”

Nothing.

“Is this how it’s gonna be? I ask questions and you play the strong silent type?”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s what I figured.”

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