“See the store with a sign in the shape of a boot? You two are going to hide in the open entryway directly underneath it and wait for me. Kiss!”
I take my gaze off our enemy’s window for a moment and look at him. He’s still gray from the falling debris, at least those parts of him that don’t have rivulets of blood flowing down them.
“I love you, Xzavic.” I look into his blue eyes, the blue of the hottest part of a butane flame. My heart squeezes at the tender feelings welling up in me. I squash them down. Snipers do not perform well with tears in their eyes.
He bends to kiss my lips. It’s not a passion-filled expression of lust. No, it’s full of unspoken affection. No promise, though. What could he possibly promise me?
“Aye. And I love you, Blaze. Red and I will meet you under the boot.”
I should get back to my task, but I allow my gaze to follow him until he passes the threshold, then I focus on getting the job done.
Waiting is the sniper’s stock in trade. As a kid, I think I had a touch of ADD. Sniper school pounded that out of me. I get my body as comfortable as possible in this kneeling crouch, keep my gaze glued on the building where two of our enemies are hiding, and settle in for a long day.
The last time I was in this position was right before I blew my enemy’s head off his shoulders when I fought for the United States government. I thought I handled it well until the wheels literally fell off the bus. I couldn’t force myself out of bed. I lost ten pounds and went from height and weight proportionate to gaunt. I wasn’t performing, and eventually got called into a meeting with my superior officer.
After ten psychotherapy sessions, and my next meeting with my CO resulted in the mutual decision to change my MOS from sniper to systems analyst. I never got to the training because aliens abducted me shortly after.
Can I kill the four males who won’t hesitate to kill not only me, but the male I love? And little Red?
This is different from the Middle East. This is personal. I will do whatever it takes.
