Page 70 of Knight's Journey

Brick’s claim he would go off on his own, or cowboy, rankled him almost as much as the man being right.

“Alpha breaching to the west.”

Brick ignored Zane and turned his attention back to the scene below. The gunfire continued, and Zane knew a moment of indecision. Then he saw movement at the back of the garbage.

“Brick, on your 10.”

Brick shifted his sights to the left, following Zane’s instructions like he was following the hands on a clock, just in time to see the target to disappear into the woods.

“Got a rabbit,” Brick announced on the coms. He gazed at Zane. “It’s Singer.”

“In pursuit.” Zane moved before Brick could stop him. He knew Brick wouldn’t leave his sniper’s nest, and the others were occupied. He needed them to secure the hostages, so it was up to him to snare Singer.

“Zane, the heat signature was about 200 yards ahead of you, but I lost it among the trees.”

“Copy,” he relayed to Kat.

His training came into play as he tracked Singer, his rifle at the ready. Starting in the direction Kat sent him on, he paused periodically to study the terrain as he went. His eyes noted the brush and limbs around him, checking for any sign to indicate someone or something had passed by. He could feel he was getting close when he saw something on the ground as he ran through. He backtracked to examine the dried leaf lying in the brush, its rough brown exterior sporting dark, rust spots which seemed suspiciously like blood.

The directional droplets pointed toward another path that wasn’t consistent with the trail he ran on. The blood could be animal, but his gut churned too much for him to ignore it. He shifted his steps, moving slower, ever watchful and on alert. After a few steps, he spotted more blood. Singer suffered an injury during the breach. It explained the blood and gave Zane hope he would catch up to his target.

He reached a strange cluster of trees, their bases surrounding a clearing while their limbs entangled with each other the taller they rose. He’d never seen trees grow this way, forming the perfect hiding place for someone able to climb the bark and reach the perch among the leaves. Zane never dropped his stance nor lowered his weapon, but he turned in a circle to sweep the clearing as he moved to the center. Singer was here. He could feel it.

The coms crackled, and he heard Jay’s voice give the SitRep he wasn’t expecting to hear.

“Targets secured. Hostages in the wind. Repeat. The hostages aren’t here.”

He reached a hand to tap the com in his ear, switching off the voices as he continued to move in a precise circle. “I know you’re here, Singer,” he called, his words bouncing off the tree trucks, seeming to echo in the small clearing. “I know you’re hiding like a little chicken shit. My team is on their way. You can hide from me, but you can’t hide from all of us.”

He heard a rustling from somewhere behind him, and he whirled around to scan the area, keeping one eye on his six in case the noise was a distraction. But the rustling continued until Singer stepped out of the brush. He moved with a noticeable limp, and Zane noted a stain on his pants leg around his calf.

“Hands behind your head. Move toward me. Slowly. Remember I’m a certified sharpshooter who won’t hesitate to light your ass up.”

“You won’t kill me,” the man sneered. “I’m the only one who knows where they are. I’m guessing you’ve heard. They aren’t being held at the house. That would have been too easy.”

“Then it’s good you’re up to talking. You can tell me where to send my team to find them.”

“That would spoil the fun.”

Zane struggled to keep his anger under control. His finger itched to pull the trigger and rid the world of Reggie Singer, but if saving his mother and the kids meant playing this game with Singer, then he’d suffer through it now and kill the SOB later.

“Why take them? They have nothing to do with any of this. Why not kill Armando and Elian yourself?”

Singer started moving to the right, a slow sideways step made awkward by his injury. With his rifle still raised, Zane followed his move.

“Think I’m going to tell you about my plan while we wait for your team to catch up to us? I’m not an amateur. I knew you would try to track us down. I didn’t expect you to actually do it, but just in case, I made alternate plans.”

Zane blinked as the answer occurred to him. “Holy shit.” He took a step closer, and Singer stiffened as if waiting for him to start shooting. Zane smiled, pleased he was able to put Singer off guard. “They figured out who you are. You can’t get close enough to kill them without getting killed first. You even used Thumper to get me out of the way so you could go after the kids. Damn. Nice try, asshole.”

“Did you really think you could hide your girl and her brats? I knew what would draw you out. Getting your mother was just a bonus.”

“But now I have you and Thumper. There’s no one left for you to manipulate into killing Armando and Elian. Your plan failed.”

Singer’s mocking expression fell. He stopped his sideways shuffle, and he seemed poised for flight back into the trees.

“Don’t even think about it,” Zane warned, taking another step closer and aiming his rifle directly at Singer’s chest to let him know he was ready to shoot if Singer pushed him.

“There’s no stopping them.” This time Singer took a step forward. “You spent a year trying to get close enough to do that. You know I’m right. Killing them is the only option.”

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