Chapter 23 - Blood in the Snow
The sub-zero wind howled through the skeletal pine trees as I scrambled down the rocky ravine, my boots sliding perilously over sheets of black ice hidden beneath the fresh snow. Behind me, the sharp, rhythmic pops of suppressed submachine gun fire chewed through the bark of the trees, sending showers of splintered wood and frozen snow cascading down my neck.
I ducked behind a massive granite boulder, gasping for breath as my tactical vest absorbed the jarring impact of the descent. My shoulder throbbed where a grazing round had clipped my parka, but adrenaline kept the pain locked away.
They were right behind me—three highly trained corporate security operatives, closing the distance with terrifying speed and disciplined military bounding tactics. They didn't want to kill me outright; they wanted the perimeter secured and any potential witnesses eliminated before federal backup could mobilize.
I pulled two tactical flash-bang grenades from my belt, pulled the pins with my teeth, and hurled them blindly around the edge of the boulder down the slope.
Flash! Crack!
The blinding white magnesium detonation echoed like rolling thunder through the narrow canyon, accompanied by a concussive shockwave that instantly scrambled the operatives' night-vision optics and communications headsets.
"Contact left! My eyes! I'm blind!" a voice screamed out in agony through the swirling snow.
I didn't wait. I surged out from behind the boulder, closing the distance on the lead operative before he could recover his bearings. A swift, brutal sweep of my combat boot knocked his weapon clear, and a precision strike to his collarbone sent him crashing unconscious into the snowdrifts.
I grabbed his abandoned tactical radio, listening to the frantic chatter of the remaining team members attempting to regroup through the blinding whiteout.
"Alpha team is down! He's heading south toward the ridge trail!"
I didn't head south. I cut hard to the east, weaving through a dense thicket of frozen brush toward the extraction point where Jason was scheduled to reach the hidden ATV.
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If I could draw the remaining pursuers away from the ridge trail, Jason would make it to the forestry checkpoint with the cryptographic token. The mission depended entirely on misdirection, endurance, and keeping my footing on a mountain that felt like it was actively trying to kill us both.
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