“On it.”
One man broke right and Archer hit him before he could reposition. Younger controlled the second threat and the last man’s finger twitched on the trigger.
Rome—bleeding and pissed—put him down with a single shot. Silence followed, broken only by wind and the echo of the last round.
Archer held the position a minute longer, scanning every angle and waiting for more that didn’t come. “Clear.”
“Everyone sound off,” Cannon ordered.
“Good.” Younger.
“Hit,” Rome said, voice tight.
Archer acknowledged the line of heat along his ribs. “Minor.”
More responses came, the guys reporting injuries.
“Bomb located. Back of the sled,” came Rivers’ voice in his ear.
“Confirm,” Cannon said.
Archer watched his teammate drop to a knee beside the sled. The device was strapped tight, wired with a crude but effective housing.
“Device is cold,” Rivers said after a swift inspection.
“They wouldn’t travel with it live. They’d arm it at the destination,” Younger put in.
The man on the ground rolled onto his side, one eye glaring up at Archer.
He aimed his weapon at him. “I advise you to remain still.”
The prisoner’s mouth twisted into a sneer but he stopped moving.
“Rivers,” Cannon ordered.
Rivers started pulling tools. “I’m gonna need a pair of steady hands to help me pull this thing apart.”
“Not Younger. He’s got the tremors of old age.”
Someone laughed, enjoying the banter as they worked to disarm the bomb completely.
“I got it.” Townes, aka Townie, stepped in.
“Someone hold the sled steady. I don’t want this thing shaking,” Rivers directed.
“Can’t be me. I’m too feeble to make the walk,” Younger ribbed even as he took a step to brace the machine.
“Hold it there,” Rivers muttered to Townie.
No one breathed deeper than necessary, though a sharp blast of wind could shift the whole unit and possibly blow them off the face of the mountain.
Rivers clipped a wire. Then another.
“Timer wasn’t live but I just killed it. Working the rest.” A few tense minutes later, Rivers rested back on his heels in the snow. “Clear.”
“What kind of idiots transport a bomb through a blizzard on a mountain?” Townie asked the question they were all thinking.
“Ones who have a lot to gain.” Cannon’s voice was grim. Then he made the call for the chopper to meet them at a new set of coordinates.
