Page 70 of Spyder
The SUVs roll inexorably onward but seem to be moving at a crawl. I know it’s just my impatience, as well as my desire to see this whole thing done, but they really do seem to be moving in slow motion.
“Get ready,” I tell Nitro.
“Copy that.”
“Five…”
Through the binoculars, I focus in on the SUVs, trying to see if I can figure out which one Zavala is riding in.
“Four…”
“Standing by,” Nitro says.
“Three…”
The SUVs roll into the blast zone but not all of them. Given how they’re spaced out, I estimate the last two in the convoy aren’t going to be touched by the IEDs.
“Two…”
I grip my binoculars tighter, staring at the vehicles intently. It’s just as I thought, the last two SUVs are outside the blast zone. But there’s nothing for it.
“Do it,” I say.
I hear the click as Nitro engages the trigger and I draw in a breath, holding it as I watch. There’s a moment of absolute silence, then the world erupts into fire and chaos. The chain of explosions from Nitro’s bombs shakes the ground beneath us and columns of flame light up the nighttime sky as the air around us reverberates with the concussive explosions that sound like the world is being torn open.
“Jesus,” I say. “Remind me to never doubt your skills again.”
“Damn right,” Nitro replies with a grin.
“All teams, move in. Move in, now,” Prophet’s voice crackles over the comm.
Shadowy figures rise from the scrubby landscape and pour down toward the burning vehicles. Doc and Cosmo’s teams are already firing on those who’ve survived the initial blast when I notice the gates to the compound are swinging open.
“Stay sharp,” I tell Nitro. “Party crashers.”
“On it.”
Laying side by side on the rise, Nitro and I adjust our scopes and start popping off shots, dropping the soldiers pouring out to join the fight. Explosions rip through the night air at the rear of the compound as Prophet and his men start lighting it up, drawing the attention of some of the fighters. The men at the gates hesitate, torn between defending the compound and rushing out to defend Zavala. The survivors of the blasts had fled the burning wreckage of the SUVs and rallied.
The two teams on the ground disabled the rear cars, so if Zavala’s among them, he’s not going anywhere. The remaining soldiers have taken what shelter they were able to find and started returning fire, halting the advance of Cosmo’s and Doc’s teams. All the while, Nitro and I, while not the snipers Domino is, do a passable job and have dropped about a dozen guys between us.
The majority of those who were coming out turn back and rush toward the rear of the compound to fend off the team coming in. Nitro and I keep firing and continue dropping bodies, thinning out the force Prophet’s going to have to deal with. I switch my attention back to the battle raging around the cars.
The firefight is fierce with the cartel men stonewalling Cosmo’s and Doc’s teams, pinning them down under a barrage of heavy fire. I have to think Zavala’s somewhere in the mix. The soldiers firing back are too organized and are fighting too hard for it to be anything else. It tells me they’re protecting something. Or rather, somebody. Zavala. It has to be.
Looking through my scope, I survey the faces of the cartel soldiers who are holding off Doc and Cosmo’s teams. I take a shot and drop one of the cartel soldiers. I get up on a knee, take aim at the soldiers down below, and squeeze off another shot. My bullet tears into the car, making the soldier duck back down.
“Dammit,” I grunt.
“Get down,” Nitro growls.
His warning comes too late, though. The impact spins me around and drops me, driving the breath from my lungs. My shoulder feels like it’s been injected with fire and pain radiates through my entire body. I grimace and try to catch my breath as I struggle back into position on the rise, trying to push the agony away as I pick up my weapon again.
“You good?” Nitro asks.
“That’s not the word I’d use,” I wheeze with a grimace. “I can function.”
“That’ll do.”
