Luke settled comfortably into his firing position, preparing to shoot at the retreating men if they came into view again. He scoped the area slowly, focused intently on where he had last seen the fleeing men. There they were. There must be a swale in the field beyond the overpass and that’s why they had disappeared into thin air. Luke slowed his breathing. His position didn’t feel quite right—he slid forward six inches and reacquired his target. He aligned the crosshairs of his scope on the broad back of one of the enemy and laid his index finger on the trigger. A severe pain in his shoulder made him roll quickly behind the Grand Am. He knew he’d been shot before hearing the repercussion of the sniper’s rifle.
“Oww!” he yelled in pain. The round had struck his shoulder, passing through the meat of the left trapezius muscle. With his right hand, he inspected his wound, gauging the extent of the damage. A warm flow of blood seeped onto his back and into his armpit.
“Luke!” called Reggie softly from behind the car. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not fucking okay! I’m hit in the shoulder. Scope the field between the overpass and the woods and see if you can spot anyone. Watch out for that sniper, but shoot those runnin’ bastards if you see ’em.”
Luke lifted the radio with his good arm. “Phoenix, they’re breaking cover beyond the overpass. Slipped right passed the men doing the end-around. We need to watch out for a timed explosion—maybe something on a fuse. Now would be the time. Over.”
“Understood, Luke. I’ve sent the two teams to converge a hundred yards beyond the overpass to avoid any explosion. That’s based on your recommendations. Over.”
Luke considered the recent departure of the men. His uneasiness continued. This particular foe was too devious. “Reggie, I’m gonna go search that overpass area. I’m gonna find out if it’s booby trapped.”
“You’ll be blown to pieces,” whispered Reggie.
“Maybe. But something don’t feel right, you know?”
“No.”
“Something’s not right and I’m gonna find out what it is. Wish me luck.”
“Well, okay, Luke… good luck.”
Without another word, Luke made a mad dash toward the overpass, expecting to be shot at any moment. After running in the open for ten seconds, he was sure the sniper was in the process of retreating. When he was beneath the overpass, he assessed the area for an immediate threat. He was sure he was alone and he began to study the underside of the span for structural integrity. He heard the army passing on either side of the overpass, following their orders to converge a hundred yards further south.
He discovered nothing under the bridge and climbed the hillside on the south side of the span. When he gained the roadway, he discovered a thin wire placed across the width of the road. He dropped back down under and swiftly inspected the abutment where he discovered five grenades, their pins connected cleverly to the thin wire across the roadway.
“Luke here,” he said into his radio. “The overpass is set to blow. There’s a trip wire rigged with five grenades. Repeat. The overpass is rigged with a trip wire connected to five grenades. Over.”
“I read you, Luke,” answered Phoenix. “Nice job. Can you disarm it? Over.” The vehicles had begun moving slowly toward the overpass. He was anxious to secure his prey, but he didn’t want to overplay his hand.
“Yeah, I can disarm it—it’ll take me a few minutes. Over.”
“Let me know when you’re clear. Over and out.” Phoenix turned to Larry who was driving. “Stop about fifty yards short of the overpass until we have the go ahead from Luke.” Larry nodded and eased slowly south on Route 51.
Beyond the overpass, Phoenix’s two teams had nearly hit their convergence mark.
“Phoenix, we’ve spotted a group of men ahead and they’re running hard for the woods,” said Kaiden over the radio. “Over.”
“Give me more info! Over.”
“There’s ten or twelve men about 200 yards ahead. Over.”
Luke heard this information over the radio and did a quick count. He knew there were at least six more men running much closer to them. He wondered how they had disappeared. “Kaiden? This is Luke. Where’s the team that just ran from the overpass? Over.”
“We didn’t see ’em, Luke. Over.”
“Shit,” said Luke, thinking furiously. He calculated the explosive power of the five grenades and realized they would’ve only done minimal damage. His anxiety increased. “Phoenix, do you copy? Over.”
“Go ahead, Luke. Are we clear? Over.”
“I think the grenades here were only a diversion. I think they’re settin’ us up for something else. Over.”
Phoenix tossed the flaming match out the window and drew deeply on his freshly lit cigar. He grinned at Larry Reed. “Whatta ya think, Larry?”
“I think I’d listen to the man, Phoenix.”
“Yeah, I guess you would,” said Phoenix, offering his uncle a derogatory sneer. The blood scent of the enemy filled his nostrils and he grabbed his radio. “Disarm the grenades, Luke, and let me know the minute you’re done. The trucks will be passing through there in a few minutes. Over.”
“Understood, sir, I’ll disarm them. But we need to be careful tracking these guys. I have a funny feeling about this. If this overpass is a decoy, there’s a bigger problem ahead we’ll need to deal with. Over.”
“Just disarm the fucking grenades and let me worry about the strategy, Luke! Over.”
“Yes, sir, working on it. I saw a half dozen guys running away in the wheat field beyond the overpass. They’ve disappeared. The sniper’s unaccounted for. Over.”
“Luke, they got nothin’ left—they’re buggin’ out ’cause they can’t stop my army. Thanks for the advice, but just let me know when you’re done disarming those grenades. Over and out.”
Phoenix tossed the radio on the seat of the pickup and confidently waved the remainder of his army forward. He used his binoculars to study the convergence of his men beyond the overpass and spotted Kaiden arguing with several other officers about fifty yards before the bunch of eighteen-wheelers. Their discussion was heated and he saw Kaiden raise his radio and heard the squelch of his own.
“Phoenix, this is Kaiden. Over.”
“Go ahead Kaiden,” he said into the radio without losing sight of him through his binoculars.
“I recommend we send twenty-five men on point from here on. We’re too congested right now—we need to fan out and cover a larger area. Over.”
“Don’t worry, Kaiden. We’re keeping a close eye on the skies—we don’t want to get caught in the bitch’s fire again. Over.”
“Yes, sir, I understand. But I’m more concerned with the team we’re chasing. Something don’t feel right—I agree with Luke. I don’t think we should bunch everyone up. It’s too big a target. Over.”
“Kaiden, those bastards are running scared—they’re running as fast as they can to get the hell away from here. They don’t have anything that can hurt us now. All we have to do is mop up. Over.”
“I understand, sir, but can we at least break off a brigade to run ahead of the main force? Over.”
“Oh, we’re gonna get them,” grumbled Phoenix. “We’re gonna get them soon, you can count on it.” He had neglected to speak into the radio. His anger rose and he lifted the radio to berate Kaiden, but caught the furrowed brow of his uncle. “What?” he asked defensively.
“I dunno, Phoenix.” Reed drove and studied the road, feeling connected to Kaiden and Luke, sensing somehow that Phoenix wasn’t seeing everything. He nursed a sense of unease.
“C’mon!” screamed Phoenix at his uncle. “You sound just like those—“