Page 110 of Over the Edge

“No, Mr. Ken. Nobody looks after me.”

“Someday, Farhad, somehow, I’ll pay you back.”

* * *

Cal crouchedin the shadow of the mountain just shy of three kilometers north of the coordinates Ronan Sturlison had texted him for Haddad’s compound.

The Reapers had gotten lucky and found a crude track that led to an abandoned homestead in a valley just north of the one Haddad was hiding in. They’d had to practically run to get here, but they’d made it. And, he hadn’t passed out from pain or the thin air.

Tersely, he asked, Jojo, who was on the spotter’s scope tonight, “What’s down there?”

“Good sized compound at the bottom of a valley. A dozen buildings. Solid-looking wall around it.”

“Distance to target?”

“1.7 mikes.”

A little over a mile-and-a-half. He could handle hiking that far without his back crashing out on him. He hoped.

Aloud, he asked, “Any sign of Haddad?”

“Nope. Just a cluster of dwellings in the middle of abso-fucking-lutely nowhere,” Jojo commented. “The lights are going out. Everyone’s going down for the night.”

“Let’s move in. Get visual on it. See if we can I.D. the occupants.” His back was quiet at the moment. But he’d been able to lay flat with his knees propped up for most of the day in the back of the truck. No telling how it would feel in a few hours.

He was aware that everyone in the platoon had taken bits and pieces of his gear out of his pack to lighten the load. They said nothing about it, and neither did he. He was embarrassed as hell at needing the help and grateful as hell that they were looking out for him.

Walking a couple of kilometers downhill might sound easy. But in this rocky, steep terrain, with patches of ice in the lee of big rocks and gravel waiting to turn the unwary ankle, it was a bitch. On top of that, they needed to move without being seen. They had to take their time, stick to the shadows, and keep quiet. In mountains like these, sound traveled forever. A single rock rolling down a mountain could be audible for a mile or more.

It took over an hour to move south to a position about a thousand feet above the compound on its north side. The slope between here and the compound was steep enough that the only way to down it would be sitting on their butts and sliding. A stealthy approach would be nigh unto impossible from here.

He eyed the surrounding valley. About a quarter-mile east of here, there were enough rocks to make a covert approach to within about three-hundred feet of the compound’s high walls. But between here and the east face of the valley, no cover whatsoever was available. That would be a long crawl if it came to it.

He didn’t even want to think about how he was getting back up the mountain behind him. He might have to do it on his hands and knees. But for now, he was going to focus on the target in front of him.

Are you there, Kenny? Are you alive? Are you close, Trevor and Anna?He ordered under his breath, “Let’s set up surveillance and see what we see.”

Trevor feltsomething cold and stinging briefly touch his cheek. Were those ice crystals lifted by the light breeze blowing up the slope, or was that snow falling from the sky? At the moment, the moon was hidden behind cloud cover so there was no light to see which it was.

A snow shower would delay the imminent attack on the compound. Their only real hope to get Kenny out of here was to do it right as the chaos and distraction of an attack hit.

If the snow came down too hard there would be no air assault, tonight. He and Anna would be out here with their asses hanging in the wind. No back-up. No diversion. No potential ride out of here. Just the two of them trying to break into a heavily armed compound and steal a valuable prisoner. A prisoner who was likely debilitated physically and possibly unable to move on his own.

Trevor was a strong guy, but the prospect of carrying Ken for miles in these steep mountains and thin air was daunting, even to him. And it wasn’t like he could expect Anna to take half the hauling duty. She was strong, but she had her limits. She could pull maybe a third of the carrying duty if it came to that.

When Will had told him about the air attack, he’d been relieved to hear that a helo would be dropping guys to hold the perimeter. Maybe he could put Kenny on the chopper that would be those guys’ outbound ride. Maybe.

First, he and Anna had to get inside the compound, find Ken, free him, and pull him out without all of them getting killed.

The cold seemed to have driven Haddad and his men indoors, tonight. During his and Anna’s entire approach to the compound, he hadn’t seen a single guard do anything resembling a patrol. Haddad had gotten lazy being up here, so far off the beaten track. The guy obviously thought no one knew where he was.

Trevor’ s foot slipped and his attention snapped back to where he was and what he was doing.Focus, you idiot.

He paused, checking inside the compound one last time before the interior went out of sight behind the wall as they came down the hill and drew close. Still no movement.

He glided forward a few steps and realized Anna had not followed him. Instead, she was frozen behind him, utterly still. What had she seen? She was still far enough back to see into the compound.

He waited in an agony of impatience. He was right out in the open, with no cover at all between him and the wall, a hundred feet or so away.

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