The forest, even at night, was a vast, seemingly endless wall, undulating with colors of green, emerald, moss, teal, lime, fern and so many others. Liana, a rainforest creeper, fell to the ground from great heights like dangling ropes. It was a beautiful, alluring world, and one Diego, with his numerous animal traits—especially his cat traits—appreciated.
He leapt from branch to branch until he was beside the tree directly above the heads of the two soldiers. Mordichai was hanging from his chute in the canopy of that tree. Fortunately, the tree was an afrormosia, one of the largest canopy-topping trees in the rainforest. The fire-resistant bark glowed silver in the night or in shade. During the day, the trunk appeared auburn.
The lower part of the tree was bare of branches, making it impossible for Diego to simply continue as he had been doing. That sense of urgency grew, and he knew Mordichai was in trouble. He quickly removed his boots and socks to free his feet. He had enough leopard DNA in him to go up the side of the trunk. He would have to do so silently without alerting the soldiers on the ground.
Two of Whitney’s supersoldiers, he reported to the others.Going after Mordichai now. He’s caught in the canopy of an afrormosia.
As he approached his fellow GhostWalker, he saw instantly what the problem was. Blood wasn’t getting to his brain properly.
His chute is pressed across his neck and chest. Bad positioning. I can see his toes are barely on the branch, keeping complete pressure off his chest and neck, but it’s dicey. He’s not really responding.
Even as he informed the others of the dire situation, he was supporting Mordichai and cutting through the straps. Mordichai was nearly unconscious. He’d slowed his heart and lungs, but the strap pressed tight, cutting off his blood supply.
You with me, brother? You can’t make a sound. Enemy close.
There was a tentative stirring in his mind.Knew you’d come forme.Mordichai sounded weak. Exhaustion flooded Diego’s mind.Just had to hold out.Faint humor followed the words.You took your sweet time. My toes didn’t want to stretch that far. They were cramping like mad.
You did a good job staying alive. Zeke would have followed you to hell and pulled you back. You never would have heard the end of it.
He reined in the chute. They were very high up in the canopy. There was too much foliage for the soldiers below to see them, even if they caught a sound or two. Those sounds wouldn’t be easily identifiable, but he would prefer there was no warning whatsoever, especially with his other team members close.
Diego was thankful for the strength given to him by his animal DNA. He had to support Mordichai to keep him from falling. In the end, he lowered him to sit on the branch and hang on to the trunk while Diego dealt with the errant chute.
Status on Mordichai, Ezekiel snapped. He sounded calm, but Diego knew him. There was an underlying note that could spell disaster if his brother was in a very bad way.
Hanging in there, Diego assured.He’ll rest while I take care of the two soldiers below the tree. I have to get rid of them to bring Mordichai down.
Doing great, Zeke, Mordichai reassured.Just thought I’d take a little snooze while the rest of you set up our fallback.
He sounded stronger. Diego dropped a hand on his shoulder and allowed the well of healing energy to rise. He did his best to keep the heat on the cool side so he wasn’t giving away the fact that he had any talent, but Mordichai was his brother, and it seemed the more he used his ability, the more adept he became at it.
Mordichai stirred, looking up at him, speculation in his gaze, but he didn’t say anything.
Joe gave the coordinates for the place they had chosen as their base.Setting up for a run. If you need help, now’s the time to say so.
I can take care of these two souped-up soldiers, Diego said.Too many of us may tip one of them off. I don’t know their talents as of yet.He didn’t intend to stick around long enough to find out either. He intended to kill them both before either could become suspicious and use their radios to warn the compound.
Need help with Mordichai?
Diego sent Mordichai a quick grin.He’ll be carrying me out of here.
Don’t take all day, Joe ordered.We’re on a tight schedule.
The rainforest was hot and very humid. Made up of several layers, the emergent level was anywhere from seventy to two hundred and fifty feet high. Diego and Mordichai were concealed in the canopy where most of the birds and wildlife resided. They had to stay very still and move slowly when they did move in order to keep from startling any of the birds or monkeys.
There were no flowers winding their way up the trunk of the afrormosa to the light. No moss or lichen hanging over the branches or crawling up the bark. The tree did have ropes of tough vines hanging in tangled twists or dropping straight down from the branches in the canopy. None were long enough to reach the forest floor.
You okay for me to leave you?They couldn’t linger in the canopy. Their mission required them to act that night. If they waited too long, they would have to abort.
I’m good. Just catching my breath. Whatever you did helped me quite a bit.
Even though they were talking telepathically, Diego knew the others on their team were looped in. He frowned at Mordichai and gave a slight shake of his head, indicating they weren’t discussing anything to do with his healing ability any further.
Abruptly, Diego turned away from his foster brother, and leaving his pack wedged in the crook of the trunk and two branches,he shifted around to the back of the tree, away from the soldiers, and began his descent.
In the surrounding trees, monkeys watched as he silently descended. The steady drone of crickets and cicadas filled the night. Tree frogs called back and forth, and various other species chimed in to make the night a cacophony of jarring noise. Diego kept his energy low so that he didn’t appear to be a predator on the hunt. That would send the animals into a chaotic and noisy frenzy.
As Diego descended into the inky blackness, his night vision adjusted. He could see easily with the sight of the leopard. The hair on his body allowed him to assess exactly where his enemies were. Leopards were stealthy creatures, and the DNA allowed him to move with that same fluidity in silence. He made his way down the trunk of the tree and stood quietly directly behind the two men. He blended into the night so that even if they turned their heads, it would be very difficult for either of the men to spot him.
