He surveyed the team and made the easiest decision he would have that day. “Hyori,” he said, pointing to Klaus, “put on his hoodie. Gunther, switch to that windbreaker by the door.”
“The two of us going to separate?” Hyori inquired.
“Divide and conquer.”
Clark explained his plan to the others. Hyori was roughly Klaus’s height and build, and their khaki pants matched. The Russians had gotten a distant look at Klaus, and they knew how he was dressed. Klaus had no objections. He removed his hoodieand handed it to Hyori, although he retained his cheap sunglasses. Then he shrugged on the windbreaker.
Clark didn’t like splitting his force, but it was their best chance. Once the enemy got eyes on them again, and they would, the numbers could quickly get out of hand. Getting Fulcrum clear was the priority.
He said, “Ding, you, Wu, and Klaus hold here. Hyori and I will go out the back and engage. After we get past the first two, we’ll move south and try to draw the attention of whoever else shows up. Once the coast is clear, head north. We’ll rally at Foxtrot.”
“How long do we wait for you?” Ding asked.
“I’ll let you know over the net.”
“And if we lose comms?”
“Then don’t wait, go straight to the airfield and launch. Hyori and I can catch up later.”
Clark read in Ding’s expression that he didn’t like this part of the plan. But he didn’t argue.
“Gamer,” Clark said over the net, “what’s the status in the alley?”
“Unknown,” Katie replied. “Two hostiles went into the alley, but we’ve got no feeds there. We also don’t have eyes on the alley’s north entrance.”
Clark wasn’t surprised. Even the best intel had its limits. “Okay,” he said, “let’s hit it.”
He eased out the back door, Hyori right behind him. Both had their weapons poised. Hyori stayed particularly low, and Clark knew what he was thinking. By donning the gray hoodie, he was making himself target number one.
The alley was closer to a junkyard than a delivery route. Crates, trash bins, a wrecked motor scooter. The stench of rotting food was heavy. Clark kept close to the right-hand wall, going for concealment behind a small dumpster. He spotted the two menapproaching, guns leveled in front of them. They were checking back doors one by one, and at the moment were three entrances away. Using hand signals, he directed Hyori to take up a supporting position on his left.
As soon as he was in place, Clark gave another signal and stood.
Everyone was mortal, but sometimes the difference on the battlefield came down to those who’d accepted that fact and those who hadn’t. John Clark had committed to his fate long ago.
The man on the right had not. He sensed Clark’s presence and took the time to think. Instead of simply raising his weapon and firing, he glanced at a discarded refrigerator, probably wondering whether it would suffice for cover. Without hesitation, Clark sighted on the man and fired two rounds. His target spun from a hit, but didn’t go down. Staggering against the refrigerator, the man unleashed two wild shots. Clark didn’t miss with his next round, the man’s head jerking back in a hail of red vapor.
The second man made a similar mistake, lunging toward a parked car. Two rounds from Hyori dropped him before he reached it.
Clark and Hyori rushed toward them, confirmed both were dead, then continued toward the mouth of the alley. There they paused. Clark heard footsteps shuffling behind them. Ding and the others were exiting the grocery store and moving in the opposite direction.
“Gamer, this is One. We’re about to exit the alley south. I need a picture.”
“We’ve got two inbounds one hundred yards to your left, closing. A second group dead ahead, twice that range.”
Clark looked at Hyori. “We need to give them one look at you. After that, let’s turn right and lead them on a chase. Five minutes in the wrong direction, then we double back toward Foxtrot.”
“Copy that, boss.”
They bolted into the street like they were on fire—the best way to draw the attention of the nearest Russians. Clark glanced left and saw them. One was pointing toward them, the other talking—no doubt giving a SITREP on their own comm net.
Clark and Hyori sprinted up a busy sidewalk, stealth no longer a concern. It forced the Russians to run to keep up. Which, in turn, would make it easier for CC6 to track them. Katie chimed in with threat updates, but soon they hit another blind spot in her coverage. Clark bolted up a curving road, then turned right into a maze of low apartment buildings. Orientation became impossible, the tangle of streets and alleys having been conceived a thousand years ago. After five minutes he saw no sign of the hostiles behind them. He also had no idea where they were. Clark stopped to reference the map on his phone when a barrage of gunfire crackled from the right.
He threw himself behind a cobblestone wall, stone chips stinging his face. His shoulder smacked the ground, and when he looked back, he saw Hyori down. His face was masked in blood and he was struggling to move. Clark popped up from behind the wall and spotted a single gunman. He engaged, firing three rounds that dropped the man. He then saw a second man who had backed against a wall to swap out a magazine. Clark fired twice as he was racking a round into the chamber, both hitting center of mass. The man crumpled to the ground. Clark saw no other clear threats, but couldn’t be sure. He dropped back in cover, performed his own mag change, and crawled toward Hyori.
“What have we got, Lee?”
Hyori was trying to gather himself. His face was a crimson mess.
