Over and over he visualized exactly what he would do and how it would play out. He used this technique often in Ops to prepare for and optimize success. Combined with endless varying simulations with the virtual reality programs, it gave him confidence and an edge in most situations.
He had practiced what he was about to do with a backpack on his back, but not with someone who could get hurt. His headache had lessened slightly, but it still made it harder to feel sharp.
Raindrops hit his face before he heard them pattering against the ground. It turned into a drizzle, which would disguise some sounds and provide a better excuse for his intended plan.
Behind him, Adam said softly, “Make a run for it, Al. I’ll give you a ten-second head start.”
Dev swore in Arabic and Adam didn’t say anything else.
After an hour of walking Bender began to worry that he wouldn’t find the right topography for what he needed. The forest floor was mostly level, with a few small inclines. He would have to give some excuse to Elias to change direction. He tried to think of a reason but came up empty.
And then the ideal terrain appeared.
He paused on the top of a long, steep hill that led down to a narrow gully at the bottom. The small ravine ran north-south as far as he could see. A shorter hill framed the opposite side. Trees covered both hills and were scattered across the narrow bottom.
As he started down he turned slightly sideways, as if he was exercising caution on the wet ground to prevent a fall down the hill. He wanted to make sure Elias and Kaysan crested the opposing hill before he reached the bottom, but he didn’t want the two terrorists taking a break at the top to wait for him. Dev and Adam didn’t complain about his actions. That gave him some measure of hope.
Elias and Kaysan were striding up the opposing hill at an angle to avoid a massive vertical slab of rock directly opposite him.
Bender moved downhill at the same angle. It would give him a few seconds longer before he reached the bottom. He also wanted to end up south of the two brothers, to block any potential escape by them should he succeed. That might not be possible given they were already south of him. He couldn’t afford to wait to see if a better opportunity presented itself.
He also couldn’t prepare Lydia for what was going to happen. But if she cried out it would bring Elias and Kaysan back fast. The only solution was to risk telling her. He did it while stepping on a branch to make some noise, his head turned downhill away from Adam and Dev.
“Don’t cry out when I fall,” he whispered. “Close your eyes.”
Her eyes widened, but she blinked back at him and then closed her eyes, gripping him firmly. She understood. She might end up badly injured, but he couldn’t help it. They were both going to die if he couldn’t escape. Thus he disregarded any concerns for her and focused.
Kaysan had already disappeared over the crest of the opposing hill. Elias was at the top, moving steadily. Bender prayed he kept going.
Two-thirds of the way down the hill, he glanced up again. Elias was no longer visible. Making sure he had a decent stretch below him that was clear of trees, he pretended to catch his right, downhill foot on something. Teetering, he fell down onto his right side, creating some momentum by deliberately rolling.
Lydia gripped him tightly as he rolled down the rest of the hill, faster and faster. He hoped the speed made it easier on Lydia who had to bear his weight momentarily during each revolution.
Near the bottom he slammed into a tree with his shoulder and chest. He grunted.
He had ended up on his left side so he immediately rolled to his right side to hide his back from Adam and Dev. The two men were a dozen strides behind him. He didn’t know if Elias was watching from the hill behind him.
Now or never.
He pulled up the back of his shirt, grabbed the OTF knife from its sheath, and cut his zip tie in a few quick motions.
Lydia was quiet. Either stunned, unconscious, or just acting.
Keeping his arms behind his back, he worked to get to his knees, still facing the men. Adam held the Rattler in his left hand, the carry strap looped over his head, Dev held the P90 in his right hand.
Bender hoped Adam would grab one of his arms to help him up. He made sure the knife was out of sight. Dev reached the bottom a few yards north of Adam, pausing there.
“Idiot.” Adam stopped near Bender’s head.
Dev spoke sharply to Adam again.
For a moment Bender thought Adam wouldn’t help him up or would kick him. He prepared himself.
But Adam let the Rattler hang on its strap as he leaned over and gripped Bender beneath his left armpit with both hands.
Bender allowed Adam to help lift him until he had his right foot firmly planted on the ground. Then he pushed up. Grabbing Adam’s left arm with his left hand while rising, he jabbed the knife. Adam’s right arm blocked his heart, thus he aimed low, scoring the lower part of Adam’s arm and plunging the knife into his stomach.
Adam’s mouth opened, his eyes wide. He slumped against Bender.
Dev stepped forward, raising the P90.
Bender shoved Adam’s head down with his left hand, twisted toward Dev, and slashed his left carotid. Dev gaped, firing the P90 wide as he staggered back several steps and fell.
Using his left hand, Bender reached for the Glock in Adam’s belt, but the man had somehow pulled his knife and jabbed at him.
Bender tried to twist away, but Lydia’s weight slowed him. A searing pain erupted in his left side.
Adam pushed himself away, falling to his side and fumbling with the Glock with his left hand.
“Dev! Adam!”
Elias.
Bender’s actions were frenzied. He kicked Adam in the groin and the man convulsed over onto the Glock, groaning. Bender ripped the Rattler carry strap off Adam’s head, and then straddled the man, pushing him over to his back. He grabbed the Glock with his left hand, the Rattler with his right—still holding the knife.
Adam feebly grabbed the Glock, and Bender squeezed the trigger, shooting him in the chest. The man released the gun and collapsed.
“Dev! Adam!”
Elias was closer. Kaysan would try to box him in from the south.
Bender bolted.
Chapter 6
Bender sprinted south along the gully, his side on fire.
Through it all, Lydia had remained quiet. Maybe she had been injured in the fall. But she still gripped him tightly with her legs and arms. He glanced over his right shoulder at the hill.
Elias was aiming the assault rifle at him.
Bender lurched behind a tree as shots were fired. Elias called to his brother.
Bender shoved the Glock into his belt, dropped the Rattler, and cut Lydia’s ankle and wrist zip ties. Quickly he lowered her to the ground, gently pushing her back against the tree trunk. Rain dripped down her face and her eyes were still squeezed shut.
He sheathed the OTF knife, slung the Rattler carry strap over his head, and peered around the tree.
Elias was working his way down the hill north of him, the HK416 aimed in their direction. Bender didn’t have a clear shot past the trees between them so he fired a burst from the Rattler to slow the man down and make him think twice about rushing him.
Elias disappeared behind a tree.
Bender glanced at Lydia. Her eyes were open and she stared up at him.
Colonel Danker’s words flashed through him; civilians are expendable, too much is at stake, the mission comes first. But there was nowhere Lydia could run to for safety. If he left her, Elias would shoot her within a minute. Worse, Elias might torture her to try to get him to give himself up. Which he wouldn’t do.
Without Lydia, he would be a corpse in the cabin now. Rachel’s image flashed through him. No choice.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, lifted her up, and backed away, keeping the tree between him and Elias. “Hang on,” he murmured.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his nec
k, pressing the side of her head against his shoulder.
He couldn’t afford to let the two brothers get him in a crossfire in the bottom of the gully.
Another bullet from Elias bit the ground to the right of his feet. He moved slightly left, to see past the tree. Elias was running down the hill. Bender fired another burst from the Rattler, forcing the terrorist to stop again for cover.
Immediately he turned and ran west, straight up the hill. They wouldn’t expect it.
A shot chipped the bark of a tree trunk inches from his face. He paused behind it and fired a longer burst in Elias’ direction.
Carrying both guns, he kept going, past more trees that partially hid him. His goal was to get to the top of the hill north of Kaysan, and hopefully have Elias below him.
A bullet chewed the dirt ahead of him.
Then Elias was yelling to his brother—Bender guessed to tell him to return north.
He leaned forward, knowing one false step could send him slipping into a fall. Even though Lydia was light, he was starting to tire with her weight. A survival run.
He could hear Danker in his mind again, telling him to dump the girl. He couldn’t do it. He would want someone to save Rachel in this situation. His conditioning and adrenaline allowed him to keep going.
At the top of the hill he stopped behind a big red pine, breathing hard, his side aching. He didn’t see any good hiding places so the tree would have to do. He lowered Lydia to the ground.
“Sit down,” he whispered, squatting. “Keep your back against the tree and don’t move.”
She obeyed, staring up at him, her lips trembling.
He straightened and stepped slightly to the right of the tree trunk. Elias was running between trees in the gully, making himself a difficult target. Bender fired a longer burst from the Rattler, but Elias dove behind a log.
Bender let the Rattler hang from the strap and fired several shots from the Glock into the log. He wanted to give Elias second thoughts about moving anytime soon.
He pulled up his shirt to look at his side. The cut bled and probably needed stitches.
Squatting beside Lydia, he whispered, “Don’t move. No noise. Can you do that?”
She crossed her arms as if hugging herself and nodded.
“My name is Jerome and I’m coming back for you.”
She looked up at him, a forlorn look in her eyes.
Bender swore to himself that he wouldn’t fail her. “I promise.”
He ran away from her, west, looking for any sign of Kaysan along the hilltop to the south. Danker’s voice echoed in his ears again; You’re jeopardizing the whole mission because of one girl whose life doesn’t matter—you’re being weak. He ignored those thoughts.
Elias called out in Arabic to Kaysan.
Bender heard enough to understand Elias was giving his brother his position. He had to kill one of the brothers now while they were separated. Elias would be wary of coming up the hill now, not knowing where he was.
He ran farther west. After fifty yards he glimpsed a figure to the southeast. Carefully he circled back from tree to tree, wanting to come up behind Kaysan from the south. If Elias or Kaysan found Lydia they would hurt her and he didn’t want to be a spectator to her torture.
He advanced slowly, making sure he didn’t step on broken branches and give away his position. He would never be able to approach Kaysan then. From behind a tree he slid to one side, peeking out.
Kaysan had stopped behind a large boulder, fifty feet south of Lydia and just as far from the top of the hill. Bender couldn’t see him.
Kaysan called out to his brother.
Bender heard the words for girl and trap. Kaysan assumed Lydia was a trap to lure them out into the open. That would make both brothers cautious about advancing and worked to his advantage.
He ran southeast, fifty feet south of the boulder. Just past the rock Kaysan’s back came into view. Bender stopped behind a tree, raising the Rattler.
Kaysan whirled around, firing.
Bender threw himself to the ground on his belly and elbows, firing his gun. Kaysan also cast himself to the ground, firing at the same time. They both missed.
Bender rolled behind a tree, while Kaysan scrambled behind the front of the boulder.
Kaysan called to Elias again.
Elias would come up the hill fast now. Bender put a bullet into the edge of the boulder to keep Kaysan behind it. Rising, he ran forward northeast. Stopping behind a tree, he picked up a stick and threw it high and west of Kaysan’s position, far past the other side of the rock.
Immediately he walked out from behind the tree, striding toward Kaysan’s hiding place, the Rattler stock in his shoulder.
The stick hit the ground.
Kaysan shifted his position to the east side of the rock, crouching and partially in view. Bender fired a burst, hitting him in the shoulder.
Kaysan slumped to his knees and turned, trying to raise his weapon.
Bender emptied the magazine into him, sending the terrorist sprawling to his back.
Elias called out his brother’s name.
Bender ran to the dead man. He searched the body, finding a spare mag for the Rattler—which he loaded into his gun. He also found a compass and phone. He ejected the partially spent magazine in Kaysan’s Rattler and pocketed it. Thinking ahead, he decided to take Kaysan’s Glock.
He quickly went prone and crawled toward the edge of the hill.
Elias was halfway up the slope, running toward Lydia. Taking aim, Bender fired his Glock three times, but Elias threw himself to the ground out of sight. Bender might have hit him—he wasn’t sure. The man was careful and experienced. Maybe ex-military.
Feeling more in control of the situation, Bender decided to wait him out for the moment. He had a clear view of the gully and the upper part of the hill.
To the north, Lydia still sat against the tree, watching him. He motioned her to run west. She scrambled to her feet and ran.
Relieved, he surveyed the gully, debating on what to do next. He glanced west to track Lydia.
She was running hard but stopped abruptly. She didn’t move again or make a sound.
He didn’t understand why. He looked carefully. Not far ahead of her the two bear cubs he had spotted on his arrival were sniffing the ground. The mother wouldn’t be far behind.
Chapter 7
At first Bender couldn’t understand why the mother bear didn’t sense Lydia’s presence.
A slight breeze was blowing from the west so the bear must not have picked up her scent. The continuing drizzle probably helped too. The adult bear was probably on the opposite side of the tree.
If he went south or north the cubs would see him. Then the mother might circle the tree and see Lydia. Ditto if he went to her. He didn’t move.
Lydia backed up. One step at a time.
Bender caught glimpses of the cubs moving through the forest, but the mother was still hidden. Lydia reached a large pine. Once she was behind it she pressed her back to it and stopped. Her eyes wide, she stared at Bender.
He held up a palm for her to stay and pressed a finger to his lips. She didn’t need the last reminder, but he gave it anyway. He glanced down the hill again. No sign of Elias.
The cubs changed course, heading in Lydia’s direction. Sniffing the ground, they were probably looking for food. Horrified, he hurriedly waved her toward him. After taking another quick look at the gully, he rose and sprinted toward her.
Lydia ran flat out, her face white and her gait stiff. What amazed him was her ability to remain quiet in the face of danger.
Elias called out Kaysan’s name again.
Bender wondered what the man would do when he figured out his brother was dead.
Lydia was thirty feet from him, still running hard, when a black blur bolted around the tree behind her. Immediately Bender stopped and raised the Rattler.
The charging mother bear was directly behind Lydia. He didn’t have a shot. He strode forwa
rd, firing into the air until the ammo ran out. He loaded the last mag.
The bear slid to a stop, its ears pinned back, and slapped the ground with a paw.
To minimize any sense of aggression, Bender stared at the animal’s feet, not its eyes. He knew enough to interpret the bear’s behavior as nervous and apprehensive, but not really interested in attacking.
Lydia ran until she wrapped her arms around his waist, sliding behind him. Tense, Bender didn’t move.
The bear lifted its nose to sniff the air, yawned, and then turned to rejoin her cubs.
Taking a deep breath, Bender pulled Lydia behind a tree. Sobbing, her shoulders shaking, Lydia gripped him tightly. It was probably the first time since her parents and grandfather had died that she had let her emotions loose. He couldn’t imagine what her losses would do to her life.
“You’re safe now, Lydia,” he said quietly. “I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”
She kept crying.
He kept a hand on her shoulder, while scanning for Elias. The terrorist wasn’t visible. It worried him. Elias might be making a run for his primary exit. The VX nerve agent might be taking precedence over concerns for his brother.
The thought of VX nerve agent ending up in U.S. water supplies set his teeth on edge. He had jeopardized the mission by taking care of Lydia. Without her, he would have approached things differently. Without her he would also be dead.
His hope was that Elias was injured, but he couldn’t wait any longer to find out. Kneeling, he held Lydia by her arms.
She looked at him, sniffling.
He hated what he had to say. “I need you to be brave one more time.”
She was quiet, but he saw fear in her eyes.
“I’ll take you to a safer place, but then I have to leave you for a while. We have to go now.” Unwilling to wait any longer, he stood, wincing at the thought of Rachel in this position. “When I wave, you run after me as fast as you can. Just follow me. Run from tree to tree but stay a good distance behind me. Alright?”
She nodded.
“Good.” He peered through the drizzle. Not seeing anything of concern, he said, “Come on.”
He hurried back to Kaysan and took the sling bag off him. He handed the bag to Lydia, held up a hand for her to stay put, and ran south along the top of the hill. All the while he inspected the gully below. No sign of Elias.
Balance of Trust Page 4