Right To Kill - Right to Kill Part 32
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Right to Kill Part 32

"Copy. I'm down to my last five rounds."

"Look for a landmark above and beyond your target. After you change magazines, wait for my signal and open fire on the same landmark, copy?"

"Copy. I'm reloaded and good to go."

"Stand by, LG. Now!"

When her handgun began booming again, he darted to the rear of his sedan, popped the trunk, and forced the lid open.

He grabbed the rifle case and maneuvered around to the front of the vehicle again.

A crack whipped by his position. The sniper's fifth attempt.

No doubt, the shooter had initially ducked for cover, then realized he had little chance of being hit.

Nathan flipped the latches, pulled the Remington from its foam slot, and powered on the scope. He set it for a combination of night vision and thermal imaging.

Since his optic was zeroed for three hundred yards, he'd hold low a few inches.

He cycled the bolt and came up. The long axis of his Lincoln was aligned about thirty degrees off the axis of the shooter's position. At least the open trunk didn't block his view.

"LG, hold your fire. I want our shooter to reappear."

She clicked her radio in response.

An eerie silence fell over the area and he thought he knew why. The box magazine capacity for most hunting rifles was five rounds. The shooter was likely reloading, one bullet at a time. Using a five-round stripper clip, an experienced marksman could get it done inside of three seconds, but he doubted this sniper was so equipped. If so, he should've taken more fire by now.

Calming his body and mind, he began taking a series of deep breaths. Being in a sniper's crosshairs had kicked his adrenal glands into high gear. He wasn't worried about a cold-barrel first shot. At this distance, it would be a negligible adjustment. Plus he kept his barrel clean and dry-no oil in the rifling.

He overruled the desire to rush things and settled into a comfortable shooting position.

Several handgun reports popped from the north.

Not wanting to distract Harv, he didn't ask about it. Besides, if Harv had taken a bullet, he'd say something.

As if on cue, Harv said, "I'm okay. He just tried to use his cell phone. I convinced him otherwise."

"Keep after him."

Nathan now had to wonder whether the shooter was relocating. Patience, he told himself. Wait him out . . .

Five seconds passed. Then ten.

Where are you?

He took his scope off the ski-lift mound and did a quick TI scan of the immediate area. No bright objects.

Twenty seconds, now. The shooter had to be relocating. It was also possible that LG had scored a hit, but he gave that low odds.

Time to be aggressive. He couldn't allow a sniper to remain on the loose.

"LG, I want you to support Harv. I'm on the sniper. If I have to kill him, Harv's rabbit will be the only live body we've got left to tell us where the twins are holed up."

"Remember, Nate," Harv said. "I like my world with you in it."

"I second that," LG added.

"I'll be fine. Get going. If Harv takes his man alive, we're going to need your skills if he doesn't cooperate. Do whatever it takes to find out where they came from."

"Count on it," she said.

Nathan slung his rifle across his shoulder, grabbed a handful of stripper clips, and stuffed them into his coat pockets. They were heavy, so he wasn't worried about them falling out. He ran through a quick mental checklist and made a beeline for the employee parking area. A huge medical cross was painted on a building to his left, probably the ski patrol's office. He'd head for that. From there, he should have a clear view of the quad chairlift and the surrounding area.

Handgun in hand, he changed his mind and diverted to a large covered sign displaying a detailed map of the resort and ski runs. Some kind of small building sat to the right of the map, probably a ticket office.

He ran straight toward the map kiosk, keeping it between himself and the last known location of the shooter.

The ski lodge showed no signs of activity at all. He began to believe the only employees on site were the two snow cat operators, and since they hadn't stopped, they couldn't have heard the gunfire down here. The building across the highway was a different matter.

Before moving out of the cover of the map kiosk, he used his thermal imager to scan the area again. No bright objects appeared, except for the snow cats. The TI easily picked up their engines' heat signatures.

Nathan had a native ability to memorize maps quickly. He didn't know how or why his brain worked that way, it just did. He burned the ski resort's layout into his mind, not bothering to learn all the names of the different ski runs, but making a mental note of their routes and the chairlifts supporting them.

He took a final look and saw a single bright signature appear from behind a tree to the left of the quad chairlift line. This was clearly the shooter; his rifle barrel glowed like a Star Wars lightsaber.

Nathan could've shouldered his weapon and dropped the man from here, but if Harv had to kill the rabbit, he'd need the sniper alive. His .308 delivered a lot of energy; even an extremity wound could cause a bleed-out. He'd seen it before. As long as he kept track of his prey, he had the option. Plus, he could keep Harv and LG from landing in the crosshairs.

"I've got eyes on the shooter," he said. "He's heading upslope."

Harv asked, "LG, where are you?"

"I'm just entering the trees north of the parking lot."

"Keep going north and cross ACH."

"I didn't have time to put my rifle case away," Nathan said. "It's sitting next to my car. When you collar the rabbit, make sure someone gets back there ASAP. Also pick up the dropped AK, don't leave it there. We're only a few miles from Wrightwood. If there's a sheriff's substation, response time could be fairly quick."

"I've got this guy," Harv said. "He's not getting away. Let's send LG back for your car. She can meet me on ACH once I've collared him."

"Sounds good," Nathan said. "LG, you copy that?"

"On my way back."

"My shooter's heading up the slope in a big hurry. Seems to know where he's going. Unless he tries to double back and line up on you guys, I'm going to keep following and try to intercept him."

"Do you want me to do anything with the dead guy next to the SUV?" LG asked.

Harv said, "Leave him there."

Nathan stayed in the trees to the left side of the chairlift. Every so often, the shooter stopped for a breather and looked downslope, but there was no way he'd see Nathan. Not without night vision or a TI.

Nathan was a ghost.

Harvey's runner seemed to be in pretty good shape. Fortunately, he was equally fit and had no trouble keeping up.

He wasn't overly worried about Nate. His friend had plenty of experience. Together, they'd chased adversaries through deserts, jungles, beaches, valleys, mountains, and cityscapes-with and without snow.

Harvey knew it was critical to not lose sight of his man for more than a few seconds at a time, but in this forest environment, it wouldn't be possible to keep his prey in continuous visual contact. The trees weren't terribly dense, but big enough to hide behind. In his favor, the twelve inches of fresh snow made trailing his mark easy.

He estimated the distance between them at 150 feet; an easy shot, but Harvey didn't want to shoot him if he didn't have to. The fact that the guy had dropped his weapon and fled meant he probably didn't have much stomach for fighting. But then again he'd been willing to gun down everyone in that taxi.

Harvey lost sight of his mark again and ducked behind a tree. If the guy had a handgun, he could find himself taking fire.

Putting himself into his prey's shoes, he knew the guy was running for his life with no wheels and no place to get shelter. He hadn't anticipated being chased on foot, so he was ill prepared for a prolonged exposure to the cold.

Harvey had given up issuing verbal commands to stop. The guy had ignored all of them. He hadn't seen the guy try to make another call, but he could be doing that right now. Harvey aimed at the man's last known location and popped off three rounds.

That did the trick. The guy came out from behind a tree and began running east, nothing in his hands. If he possessed a handgun, it ought to be visible.

Harvey changed direction, moving laterally toward the building on the north side of the highway. If his man intended to double back, Harvey planned to intercept him before he got there.

"Harv, my shooter just cut to the left. I think he's heading for the East Base of the ski resort. I'm closing on his position. Right now, he's no threat to you and LG. I'll make sure that doesn't change."

"My rabbit's also running east. Have you seen your man try to make a call?"

"Not yet. He seems more concerned about putting some distance between us. For now, he doesn't know he's being tailed but that will change soon enough if he tries to use his phone, if he hasn't already. LG, the keys should still be in the ignition."

"I've got your rifle case and the AK secured in the trunk and I'm about to pull out of the parking lot. Do you want me to stage somewhere? Sooner or later, employees are going to start showing up for work and there could be a deputy on the way."

LG had just voiced what he was thinking. The sooner LG got his vehicle out of there, the better. "Find a place to park on the west loop. Leave the headlights off when you drive out."

"Will do."

Nathan looked up the slope and marveled at the technology in his hand. The shooter looked like a yellowish ghost against a deep blue and purple background. Thermal devices don't register ambient light, only temperature variances. A thermal imager worked just as well in pitch blackness as it did in broad daylight.

"My runner's doubling back toward the building on the north side of ACH," Harv said. "LG, stop about halfway to the highway. I want him to keep going in the same direction."

"I'm the only car around. Nobody else is parked on the shoulder down here."

"If any deputies arrive from Wrightwood, they should turn into the east loop of the parking lot. Stay put for now and wait for Harv's signal to pick him up. I doubt they'll come in silent. We'll hear sirens."

"Copy. Standing by."

"Harv, if you have to shoot your man to keep him from making a phone call, do it. We need him alive, but don't risk your life over it. I'll do the same with my shooter."

"I've got an idea," LG said. "The SUV might have an address on its registration. I think it's worth risking a look. I can be back at your sedan inside of a minute."

"Harv?"

"The SUV could be registered anywhere or it might be a rental, but yeah, I think it's worth a look. LG, get the license plate as well. Cantrell can run it."

"Don't spend more than thirty seconds at the SUV."

"I won't."

"Harv, even if LG comes up with an address, we should still take our men alive if possible."

"Agreed. I don't think my runner has a weapon. He's been empty-handed since he bolted from the SUV."

"My man's still heading toward the East Base. It's possible they've got a second vehicle over there."

"If that's where you end up, we'll pick you up," Harv said.

Nathan clicked his radio. He half wished he could just shoot this guy and be done with it. An icy thought, he knew, but this clown had tried to snipe them and come within an eyelash of succeeding.

Acutely aware of time, Nathan knew they couldn't afford prolonged foot chases. If Bustamonte sent these guys to kill whoever showed up in the taxi, he'd be expecting a call or text soon. Nathan believed less than five minutes had passed since Bustamonte's men had shot up the taxi. Once they collared one of these guys, they'd force him to call Tomas with an update. Nathan would have the guy tell Bustamonte they'd been forced to chase one of the taxi's occupants into the trees, hence the delay.

He gradually closed the distance by angling up the slope to his left. Every time the guy looked back, Nathan froze and heard only the low rumble of the snow cats' diesel engines. So far, he didn't detect any sirens. If gunfire had been reported, any deputies stationed in Wrightwood should've been dispatched by now. The more likely possibility was that someone had heard the gunfire, reported it, but there weren't any deputies or CHP cruisers in the area. There was no way to know how much time they had unless he called Cantrell, and for the time being, he couldn't afford the distraction.

He looked upslope with the thermal and saw his man standing still. The guy appeared to be listening for sound.

Nathan pivoted his NV down.

And saw a bright glow illuminating the man's chest and face.

Shit!

Nathan brought his Sig up and activated its laser. A bright star of death blossomed on the man's chest.

The laser startled the guy and he dropped the phone. When he reached down to pick it up, Nathan fired.

CHAPTER 27.

Nathan's bullet flew true and landed in the hole the cell phone had made. The snow erupted in the guy's face.

"Don't make me kill you!" he shouted. "All we want is information. Drop your rifle and put your hands on top of your head."

"No hablo ingles!"

"No problema, hablo espanol." He repeated his previous command in Spanish as he moved upslope.

The man cursed in response.