Chapter 24 #2
He dropped behind a jutting section of rock and changed magazines, keeping his head down while rounds hammered the dirt above him.
His fingers moved automatically, but his mind was already working through their options.
They couldn’t stay here. The wash gave them concealment, but it also gave the enemy a predictable route.
If those vehicles reached the bend ahead, they would be trapped between the men on the ridge and the trucks coming up behind them.
“Zen.” Shaun kept his rifle trained toward the ridge as he glanced across at Zenko. “We keep going until we hit something that gives us better cover.”
Zenko leaned around the rock to check the ground ahead, then looked back toward the bend. “Or we make better cover.” His mouth curled into a grin as his hand dropped toward his kit. “Grenades?”
Shaun couldn’t help the answering grin. “You read my mind.”
“Occupational hazard.” Zenko pulled the grenade from his kit and checked the terrain ahead while Shaun shifted his aim back toward the ridge, ready to cover him. The movement above them changed almost immediately, several shooters shifting position as they realized the two men had stopped. “Ready?”
“Send it.” Shaun settled his rifle against the rock and tracked the nearest muzzle flash, ready to cover Zenko’s throw.
Zenko rose just enough to throw, and Shaun opened fire at the nearest ridgeline, forcing the shooters to duck as the grenade disappeared over the bank. The explosion followed almost immediately, sending dirt cascading into the wash and clearing the ridge of movement for the moment.
“Go.” Zenko was already moving before the word had fully left Shaun’s mouth, and Shaun came up behind him, rifle raised as he covered the ridge.
Then the engine noise reached them, and Shaun’s stomach dropped when he realized the vehicles were already coming around the far side of the bend.
The first pickup appeared with enough speed that Shaun barely had time to register the grille before the driver spotted them.
The vehicle fishtailed across the loose gravel as the man behind the wheel corrected hard, and the gunner in the bed swung his weapon toward the wash.
Shaun dropped behind the rock and dragged Zenko down with him a heartbeat before the first burst tore through the space where they had been standing.
Dirt sprayed across the top of the bank, peppering the back of Shaun’s neck, and he rolled onto his side with his rifle already shouldered.
“They’ve got us boxed.” Zenko kept his rifle trained toward the pickup, tracking the gunner as the vehicle fought its way farther into the wash.
“I noticed.” Shaun fired through the gap between two rocks, forcing the gunner to duck before shifting his aim toward the windshield.
The pickup was moving again, crawling forward along the wash while a second vehicle appeared behind it.
There was no way around them. The banks were too steep to climb quickly under fire, and turning back would put them directly in front of the men they had already passed.
The only route left was forward, which meant getting past the vehicles before the rest of the convoy closed the distance.
Zenko fired over his shoulder toward the ridge. “How many?”
Shaun risked a glance back and saw men moving along both sides of the wash now, using the higher ground to keep them pinned while the vehicles came in from ahead.
“Enough.”
“Helpful.” Zenko shifted his rifle toward the approaching pickup, firing as the gunner leaned out from behind the cab.
“You’re welcome.” Shaun ducked as another burst tore across the wash and struck the bank above them.
A burst ripped across the wash, and Shaun flattened himself behind the rock as bullets chewed chunks from the edge.
He waited until the firing shifted, then leaned out and put two rounds into the front tire of the lead pickup.
The tire blew with a sharp crack, the vehicle slewing sideways as the driver fought to keep control.
The gunner disappeared behind the cab, and Shaun saw his opening.
“Move.” Shaun pushed away from the rock and broke for the disabled pickup, using the vehicle itself to block the line of fire from the men farther up the wash.
Zenko was already moving with him, Shaun keeping his rifle trained ahead as they closed the distance to the disabled pickup while Zenko covered the right side.
A man jumped from behind the vehicle with his weapon coming up, and Shaun dropped him before he could fire.
Another appeared behind him, and Zenko’s rifle cracked almost simultaneously.
The man folded against the side of the truck, leaving them a narrow gap between the wreck and the wash bank.
Shaun ducked through the narrow gap, his shoulder scraping against the vehicle as he passed. Zenko stayed close behind him, and they hit the ground running again before the second pickup could get close enough to block the route completely.
Another burst came from above, and Shaun dropped instinctively before looking up toward the ridge.
A man was moving along the bank, trying to get ahead of them.
The shooter fired once, missed, then ducked behind a rock as Shaun returned fire.
The man disappeared from sight, but Shaun knew better than to assume he was down.
“Keep moving.” Zenko stayed tight behind Shaun, turning long enough to put another burst toward the ridge before following him around the bend.
The ground became rougher beneath their boots as the walls narrowed around them.
Shaun could hear the second vehicle behind them now, its engine growling as it fought over the same terrain they had crossed seconds earlier.
Ahead, the wadi curved again, and for a brief moment he saw nothing beyond the bend.
Then something moved on the ridge. Shaun raised his rifle and tracked the figure as it stepped into view. “Contact left.”
Zenko swung toward the ridge and fired. The figure dropped from sight, but another shooter appeared farther back. Shaun fired until the man disappeared behind the rocks, changed magazines, and kept moving.