Page 127 of Deadly Strain

“She’s good and keeping up with Smoke and me just fine. Sir, we think Akbar is going to attack the base with grenades containing spores.”

“We came under attack, small arms, about thirty minutes ago. I’m preparing to send out units. One to you and one to deal with whoever is shooting at us.”

“Don’t. I think this is all a distraction to make it easier for Akbar to get his anthrax grenade where he wants it.”

There was a two-second pause. “Your dead?”

“Inside the cave. I don’t think anyone is going to bother them while we find the fucker responsible for killing them.”

“Agreed. Get your asses back here.”

“Yes, sir.”

With Smoke on his right and Grace behind him, Sharp crested the hill. He took a good look around with binoculars. The base was visible to the northwest, about two miles away, and nothing much between them and it but rocks, brush, and a landscape that could easily hide a few men with a grenade launcher.

“What are we doing?” Grace asked.

“Going back to the base. Up for a run?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Nope.”

She shook her head, the picture of female exasperation, but followed him readily enough when he started out.

Smoke took rear guard.

Sharp kept the pace steady as he watched for anything out of place.

A weakly waving arm qualified.

Sharp brought Grace and Smoke to a stop and a crouch with a hand signal. He pulled out his binoculars and scanned the area. The hand wavered like the owner of it didn’t have enough strength to keep waving all the time. He could see little else, his view blocked by brush and terrain.

“There’s someone ahead with a hand in the air, like they’ve been wounded,” Sharp reported.

“What are the chances they’re American?”

“Not very good.”

“Another distraction?” Grace asked.

“Or a decoy.” Sharp scanned the area again with his binoculars, then went out wider. Could this be another attempt to draw help away from the base or remove defenders from it?

“We can’t leave him like that,” Grace hissed.

She was right, but probably not for the reason she was thinking.

They couldn’t leave a possible hostile in a position where he could approach from behind.

“Smoke,” Sharp said. He didn’t have to say anything else. The big man moved out, fast and quiet.

“How does he do that?” Grace muttered.

“What?”

“Disappear. I didn’t even hear him move.”

Sharp shrugged. “We don’t call him Smoke just because it’s his name.”