The wei shouted something in Chinese. She wasn't sure if he was scolding them or gave them orders to find another way down as the men pulled away from the ledge and disappeared from sight. The wei certainly acted as if they were obeying orders.
Either way they were down to eight.
Not the number she wanted going into this chase.
Although that did mean fewer to clean up after their victory.
That truly was Aunush's gift.
To always see the silver lining in situations.
Brandt fired at the advancing snowmobiles. This certainly was easier going straight. Or at least straight-ish. And they'd lost almost a third of their pursuers. Today? That was a freaking win.
However, no matter how much they kept the enemy at bay, this was a game of attrition. The enemy couldn't miss the Bombardier. A blind man with Parkinson's couldn't miss the vehicle. And with the glistening snow spreading out in all directions, exactly how could they ever get away from those fleet, silent snowmobiles?
As a bullet ricocheted off the side of the car and embedded itself in the roof, Brandt looked to the path ahead.
"Rebecca?" he asked.
She put up a hand. Not rude, just letting him know she understood his urgency, but pestering her was not going to help. He glanced to the topographical map they'd found at Nikolay's. The man had charted the area down to the last crevice.
The architect better have been accurate or they were dead.
"Inch us to the left," Brandt told Harvish, "but make it look accidental."
The Bombardier sluggishly drifted left, snow flying into their windshield from the broken strut. Brandt watched as their trail of snowmobiles followed suit, shifting to the left. He noticed they didn't send any chase vehicles in front of them, at least not after that last jump.
That was okay. He just needed them close.
"Talli," Brandt instructed, "act like your gun jammed." He turned to his point man. "Harvish, really make a show trying to get the controls back."
Brandt kept firing from the right side of the vehicle. They had to make a show of it. The enemy had to believe this pursuit was still in the bag.
"Rebecca?"
"I'd say even a little more west," she suggested.
Harvish faked a little right like they'd hit a hidden bump before skidding them to the left another few meters.
Brandt paused to reload even though his clip wasn't exhausted just to tempt his pursuers even closer. They really needed them to take the bait. The contingent behind them surged forward.
"Now!" Rebecca yelled. Harvish made a hard left, nearly tilting them on their side. One of the snowmobiles hit them square in the side. The Bombardier came out of that scrape the better. However, it was the three snowmobiles on the right that got the biggest surprise.
Instead of driving onto sleek snow, they plowed into a rocky outcropping. Two of them crashed into the stone, shattering their vehicles. The other, hanging slightly back, was able to gun in and go up the embankment, flying over the outcropping and landing on top of the fucking Bombardier.
Well, that was not part of the goddamned plan.
A bullet came through the roof, narrowly missing Rebecca's torso. Bunny flew back, hitting the side of the vehicle to avoid another spray of bullets. Brandt and Talli fired back, but the damned snowmobile must have been blocking their shots.
"What do I do?" Harvish yelled above the barrage of gunfire.
"Stick to the plan!" Brandt yelled back. He paused in firing as the bullets stopped.
Had they gotten the assailant?
Then automatic weapon sprayed down. Pain shot up Rebecca's calf as Bunny screamed, slapping her hand over a neck wound.
"Stop!" Brandt cried out.
Harvish slammed on the brakes, flinging the snowmobile out in front of them. The Bombardier chugged right over it, smashing the weaker metal into the snow. Only there wasn't a body. Rebecca raised her head above the backseat to be sure. Only the snowmobile was gone.
"He's still up there."
"Well, motherfucker," Brandt said as he cocked his gun. "Start dancing."
Without the snowmobile to shield their assailant, Rebecca could hear the man jumping from foot to foot, trying to avoid the team's gunfire. Still the assailant fired, making every square inch inside the Bombardier a death trap.
"Fuck this," Brandt said. Rebecca tried to grab him before he did what she feared he would do.
Heaving his upper body out of the vehicle, Brandt twisted, bringing his weapon to bear. The assailant must have heard him because he tried to turn to meet the threat, only he was a dime short and a day late.
Normally Brandt would have a problem shooting a man in the back, however a man on top of his vehicle firing an automatic weapon at his team? Yeah, he had no problem shooting this guy. The force of his shots threw the man over the side of the Bombardier.
Ducking back inside the vehicle, before the men on the snowmobiles got any ideas about taking their target practice on him, Brandt clutched the seat in front of him. The Bombardier skidded to the right. Clearly whatever steering control Harvish had was minimal.
"Almost there," the point man yelled as they approached a narrowing of the snowfield. Rebecca looked behind them. The remaining snowmobiles crowded tighter to fit.
"Everyone down!" Brandt yelled.
Just before his head dipped behind the seat, Brandt witnessed two figures rising from the snow.
Davidson flung the snow-covered blanket from his shoulders as the Bombardier flew past them. Davidson didn't waste any time, firing at the trailing snowmobiles. They tried to scatter, but the narrow gap held them in the kill zone.
Lopez shot as well, taking out a snowmobile on his side.
This had been the linchpin of the corporal's plan. They'd known they were grossly outnumbered and that the enemy must have had far superior equipment, as much as it pained Lopez to admit.
So the corporal had devised a plan to take advantage of their strengths. Apparently their team's greatest strength was its ability to agree to do some really insane stuff. Even Rebecca and Bunny had signed off on it.
Twisting at the hip, Davidson continued to fire as the last of the snowmobiles passed them. Another enemy fell from his vehicle. A third careened wildly out of control, smashing into the rocks that flanked them.
They hadn't gotten them all, but now the assailants numbered only three and even those didn't follow the Bombardier. Instead, they took the first slope heading away from the narrow passage.
"Was that a plan or was that a plan?" Lopez asked as he dug his shield out from the snow.
"Yes it was," Davidson agreed following suit, claiming his shield. "But we've got one more phase before we can call it a success."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Lopez said, running, bent over, pushing his shield in front of him until he got enough speed, and then he hopped onto the metal. "Last one to the bottom buys the brews!"
With a lingering glance over his shoulder in the direction the enemy had fled, Davidson joined the corporal.
The Disciples did not seem quite the type to give it up so easily.
CHAPTER 18.
Alps, Slovenia 5:27 a.m. GMT Rebecca let Bunny hug her, hard. Harvish and Talli were busy doing high fives. They'd done it. Somehow they'd navigated the maze of a plan, threaded the needle, escaped by a hair-whatever you called it, the sensation felt pretty damned good.
The Bombardier also seemed to be getting its second wind. The glorious machine ran smoother, actually going in a straight line. The broken strut sticking out like a proud scar. It was the luxury SUV snowmobile that could.
The only one not in full celebration mode was Brandt. A frown still etched his face as he looked in the direction those three had fled. It worried Rebecca as well, not knowing if that stupid sniper was one of them. But for this fleeting moment she shoved all concern aside and simply enjoyed a moment of pure victory.
Adding to the exuberance of the moment was the sight of Lopez and Davidson snowboarding toward them. Wait. Not snowboarding.
Lopez was in the lead, waving like a maniac. Through the broken windows he yelled, "Shield boarding! The X Games are going to eat it up!"
Of course he almost bit it, having to drop down to his knees, grabbing the leather straps to right his course. Even Davidson seemed bit by the shield boarding bug, weaving back and forth and showing off just a little.
The horror of the past day were chased away by the bright morning sun and the knowledge that they'd done it. Actually done it.
Then the sound of a shot filled the alpine air. Rebecca and Bunny dropped to the floor of the Bombardier, which had become almost a second home. But there was no return fire. Cautiously Rebecca lifted her head to find the men searching the surrounding area.
Which meant it must be the sniper. Somehow he'd found them again and set up far from them.
Another loud shot rang out, but no bullet materialized. She lifted herself up to look out the window, checking on Lopez and Davidson. They were far more vulnerable out there. While both were crouched down, hugging the metal, neither seemed injured.
The sniper was too damned good to miss both men and the Bombardier. So what was he up to?
The next loud shot was answered by a bone-chilling crack.
Bunny's eyes dilated. "No!"
Rebecca looked to Brandt, whose head whipped to the right.
"What's going on?" she asked as the sniper fired again, and another crack filled the air. Then, reluctantly Rebecca figured it out.
Farther up the steep slope, a huge sheet of snow slid down the hill, putting pressure on the other loose snow, dislodging it. At first the snow's movement was slow, almost like a lazy yoga move, but with each passing moment the snow slide rapidly developed into a full-on avalanche.
"Get in!" Brandt yelled to Lopez and Davidson, throwing the passenger side door open. Davidson, being the closest, maneuvered his shield over. Brandt grabbed him by the back of the jacket and hauled the younger man inside.
Lopez though was much farther away. "Go!" he yelled, waving them off. "To the trees!"
Rebecca followed Lopez's finger. A stand of pines wasn't far off. That might be able to break the avalanche's momentum.
Brandt looked like he wanted to argue with the corporal, however Lopez had already turned to the right, increasing the distance between them. The sergeant turned to Harvish and said, "Floor it."
Beneath her feet, Rebecca could feel the Bombardier's engines rev, but the thing had been put through snowmobile hell. It strained, you could hear it in every cycle of the pistons, however they didn't go any faster. The rogue snow picked up speed, filling the air with the sound of a brewing storm. At first a quiet whooshing that built to a menacing rumble that reached a crescendo.
That sonic quake more than anything told Rebecca they'd never make it to the trees in time.
Davidson watched in silent horror as the avalanche advanced on Lopez. He should have stayed out there with him. The snow tumbled upon itself, building force and speed. Just as it was about to overtake Lopez, the Bombardier's engines kicked in.
The vehicle surged forward, clearing the trees. The sound of branches torn from their trunks reverberated. The snow chewed through the small patch of forest more efficiently than a buzz saw, but not so efficient that it could catch them.
Harvish gunned the engine, getting them around the edge of the trees and back toward Lopez. Davidson searched the area as the avalanche poured down the slope not a few feet from them.
Then a whoop filled the air as Lopez crested the roiling snow. He held his leather strap in one hand and held his other high above his head. "Avalanche riding!" he yelled as he streaked past them. "Tell me when my eight seconds are up!"
Davidson didn't want to tell him, but the only way he was able to stay upright was that the avalanche was losing steam. The slope had leveled out, presenting less downward trajectory for the snow.
They had dodged not just a bullet, but a snowy death as well.
Then another shot rang out.
No.
The snow, which had seemed content to stop its descent, shifted again.
Another shot hit halfway up the mountainside, dislodging a large drift of fresh snow. It let loose almost with glee, barreling down the slope. This avalanche's sheer volume crushed the trees, leveling them within moments, leaving nothing between its fury and the Bombardier.
Brandt didn't get pissed off at God for much, but seriously. Two avalanches? He could only pray that the thick metal of the vehicle could take the brunt of the blow. They were fresh out of tricks.
Lopez veered off to the right, dropping out of sight. Whether taken by the avalanche or performing some stunt, Brandt wasn't sure.
Then the first wall of snow hit them, picking the back of the Bombardier up and forcing them onto their front struts. Only there weren't two struts, so the force of snow crashed them over onto their right side, then flipped them end over end.
The front windshield, already riddled with bullet holes, shattered. Talli was thrown free. Harvish wasn't far behind as the backseat's bolts sheared off, slamming the seat through the dented metal of the Bombardier's roof. Inside was no longer the safer option.
"Evac!" Brandt said, grabbing Rebecca's elbow. Davidson urged Bunny to the other side of the vehicle. As the metal ripped open revealing a pinkish sky, they got the hell out of there.