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“Exactly,” Nik breathed, rolling his shoulders. “But he’s not stupid. He’ll know there’s the possibility of an ambush, too. I hope we can locate them before it’s too late…”
“I do too,” Lauren whispered.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
Giving her a brisk nod, Nik swept past her. The AK-47 was in his gloved hand. Lauren put on her NVG’s and waited until the kerosene lamp was turned off. She flicked them on, everything becoming green, grainy and very dark. NVG’s work through ambient light, and there wasn’t much in the cave.
“Nik?”
“Yes?”
“I’m ready.” Lauren heard him approaching her. He found her gloved hand and placed it on his belt. She wrapped her fingers around it.
“Let’s go,” he said.
He had a damn long stride and Lauren had to nearly trot to keep up with him. She wasn’t about to ask him to slow down. They had to save Alex and the Special Forces soldiers. Were they too late? That urgency she’d heard in Nik’s gruff voice filtered through her. Once they were outside, her NVG’s suddenly lit up and she could easily see everything around them.
“Stay close,” Nik growled. “Try to keep my rhythm,” and he took off at a fast trot across the wet, soggy ground outside the cave.
Carrying the AK-47 with her left hand, Lauren clung to the nylon belt with her right. Morozov moved like a shadow, making absolutely no sound as he stretched his stride out, locating the original tracks and trail. She nearly stumbled on an exposed root, and gripped his belt tighter. He slowed down, allowing her to get her feet under her once more.
“How are you doing?” he demanded after switching to a private frequency over the radio.
“Okay,” she huffed, following him up a slight incline before it leveled off and they were once again dodging in and out around tree trunks.
“Your head? Dizzy? Headache?”
“No… I’m fine…” And then, she heard the dark humor in his returning growl.
“Adrenaline works wonders….”
She nearly laughed; nerves taut. It wasn’t funny, but it was typical military black humor. Now on level ground, the medic set a blistering pace. She was running, not jogging. He was jogging easily, like a long-distance marathon runner. The terror of losing Alex fueled her and Lauren maintained the pace, her breath starting to come in gasps, but she didn’t ask Morozov to slow down. They HAD to reach Alex and the Special Forces team in time!
Lauren didn’t want to think about the possible outcome facing them. She would be forever grateful to Nik for believing her. For still having loyalty to Alex.
They moved silently, backtracking, their boots wet, squishiness with each step. Lauren felt the loping stride of Morozov, who was in extraordinarily top shape; a warrior athlete. She, more than most, knew what it took to be in this kind of condition. The longer they jogged, the more she was able to create an in-sync rhythm with him. She felt Morozov slow down. Unable to keep looking around, she kept her gaze fixed on the earth in front of her. She couldn’t risk stumbling or falling. The noise could attract the wrong people.
They breasted a slope forested with the thin trunks of many trees. It hid them. She felt Nik grip her shoulder as she released his belt, panting, mouth wide, trying to lessen the sounds.
“Lay down,” he ordered her over the radio. “Get out the scope.”
Lauren knelt on the spongy ground, her knees instantly becoming wet and muddy. She tore off one glove with her teeth as she pulled out the scope and fumbled, finding where the switch was at to turn it on. It was a Russian scope and she wasn’t familiar with their operation.
“Start left, pan right.”
“Roger.” Lauren grimaced. It was like they were a team. An odd couple, for sure, but they were both military-trained and the jargon came as easy as breathing. She tried to slow down her pounding heart. Heard Morozov sucking on his CamelBak, hydrating himself. Holding the scope up, the green crosshairs in the circle, she found another dial and lowered the intensity of the brightness. Lauren placed the scope against a tree trunk to steady it and began to slowly pan.
As she did, her mind spiraled into doubts. What if Nik was leading her directly to Petrov? Was this a way to get her killed along with the ambush they’d set for the others?
No.She either trusted the medic or she didn’t. And she had no way of knowing the truth. A small voice within told her he would never have given her weapons she could use against him if this was all a trap. Lauren knew that, and steadied her breathing, panning, hoping against hope she’d locate the four heat signatures that would indicate Alex and the soldiers.
“Nothing,” she rasped, lowering the scope.
“We should have run into them by now,” Morozov rasped, concerned.
“Did Petrov create another trail that would have led them toward the ambush?”
