A few speculative rounds whizzed past, glancing off rocks and kicking up mud before he waded into the icy water, the current trying to drag him downstream. He turned into it, pushing off boulders, dodging branches and logs tumbling along the surface as he inched his way toward the beams.
More gunfire echoed behind him, the answering shots punching fear in his gut. If he got her killed trying to protect his ass…
He shoved the thought aside. Tierney could more than handle herself. He’d put his faith in her — trust her to have his back without sacrificing everything.
The water raged around him, every stroke, every push off the bottom, barely moving him forward as he battled his way to the remaining structure. Long metal struts stabbed at the gray sky, half the wood splintered and rotted.
Buck wedged himself against the support beam as he stopped next to the first victim, using his legs to keep from getting washed away. The young man coughed and gagged, eyes overly white, lips already tinged blue. He mumbled something Buck couldn’t make out, eyelids drooping slightly.
Buck rubbed his knuckles along the kid’s sternum, got his eyes focused on him. “Easy. I’m not going to hurt you. I just need to see if you’re wired before I get this collar off, okay?”
The guy nodded, looked as if he’d drifted off as Buck ran his hands along the kid’s back before ducking beneath the surface, searching for hidden wires. He popped up, cursing when a round hit the metal strut inches from his ear, sparks flying across his face. Tierney returned fire, the pop muffled by the roar of the river.
A deep chill settled in his chest, his hands shaking from the cold as he pulled his multitool — started dismantling the collar. He stopped with the panel still attached, tracing an outlying wire around to the other side of the unit.
Pressure switch.
He bit back another curse, fingers so numb he nearly dropped the tool in the water. He switched gears, worked on bypassing that switch before finally opening the small hatch, picking through the spiderweb of wires.
More bullets cracked his way, striking the surface, exploding in pops of silver water as he worked on the device, finally slipping it free. It dropped, tumbling along the current before disappearing beneath the white water.
Dread settled in his gut, but he could worry about the collar later. Instead, he fisted the kid’s hoodie, tucked him behind an iron piling before tripping his way through the water to the next guy. Slightly older, but still insanely young. Maybe twenty-five.
The guy thrashed against the restraints, rocking the beam until Buck thought it might simply crack.
He shouldered up to the guy, looked him in the eyes. “Easy. I’ll get you free, but I need you to hold still or I might cut the wrong wire. Which would be extremely bad.”
The kid stilled, eyes like saucers, his breath misting around his head. Buck checked for other charges, then went to work, his brain already fogging over from the extreme cold. Time slowed, his vision fraying at the side when footsteps pounded one of the few ties still strung across the girders.
He glanced up, one hand dropping to his holster when Tierney ghosted into view, mud smeared along her jaw, a cut dripping blood down one cheek.
She laid down more cover fire, the casings clicking off the wood before hitting the water, a curl of smoke rising up off the surface. “Two minutes. Get the lead out, Buck.”
He blinked, stared at the wires for a few moments before his brain caught up to him. He sorted through the various colors, working his way back to the timer before isolating the black line — snipping it in half.
The lights flickered once then died, the unit releasing a moment later. He let it fall, his fingers too numb to catch it. The smoke thinned, more rounds sparking off the bridge, each one closer than the last.
Buck grabbed the man by the hood, pushed him toward the first guy. “Move!”
They scrambled under the bridge, fighting the current as they trudged toward the bank, water dragging them backward every other step. Tierney raced along the broken bridge, drawing the snipers’ focus, tripping onto one knee when she caught a round in the vest.
She rolled, rising with her carbine barking out rounds, chewing through the magazine before switching to another. She kept firing, slowly backpedaling until she reached the edge of the water, physically hauling one of the men out as Buck shoved the other guy from behind.
Half the bank sloughed off, nearly taking them back into the river, as they crawled up the side, the mud beneath Buck’s boot exploding from another round. He returned a spray of brass, buying them enough time to trip through the ferns, take cover behind a massive tree trunk.
Tierney dropped in beside him, chest heaving, that mushroomed slug glaring up at him. She waved off his hand, grabbed the two men, then urged them forward.
They staggered through the underbrush, picking up a bit of speed as they found a trail, took off running until they crested a small rise, descended into a secondary gully. Tierney continued for another couple minutes before stopping at a natural lean-to made of downed branches and shrubs.
She motioned the men inside, before rummaging through her kit — handing over a couple survival blankets and a spare jacket. “Any of you firearm trained?”
The first kid nodded, teeth chattering, hands shaking. “Cadet.”
“Well, cadet, today, you’re a full-fledged soldier.” She pulled her Beretta from her ankle holster. “This is for emergencies only. You don’t shoot unless one of those assholes finds you, understand?” She handed him the weapon, went through the safety a few times until he looked reasonably comfortable with it. “Remember what I said. And for god’s sake, don’t shoot us or our teammates when we come back to get you.”
The kid frowned. “How will we know the difference.”
“Easy. We won’t try to kill you.” She backed up as Buck handed the other guy his spare jacket. “Now, stay here. Don’t talk, don’t move, don’t even breathe loudly. We’ve got two more people to help, then, we’ll get you both out of here.”
