He moved before he changed his mind, considered the consequences if it let loose. The line pulled taut, an odd grinding noise filtering through just as he crested the bottom side of the arc, started gaining ground. The line shook, then dropped, the webbing fluttering above him in the wind.
Buck reached out, caught his wrist, much like Bodie had caught Rowan’s on the cannery building. What seemed like a lifetime ago. Bodie swung hard, hit the cliff with a powerful thud, the impact stealing his breath. He scrambled to find purchase, finally climbing up and over the ledge as his team pulled from above.
Heavy pants raked his chest, his heart rate spiked into triple digits as the first drops of rain splattered across the rock. Buck helped him to his feet, any evidence of the lanyard long gone.
Bodie eyed Dalton. “Damn it.” He raked his fingers through his hair, stared at the sheer drop. “Just, let me think. I’m sure… Shit!”
The word slipped free, louder than he’d intended as Dalton raced toward the edge, launched himself off a moment later.
Too short.
Bodie knew the moment his buddy’s feet left the stone. Dalton obviously realized it too because he reached out— tried to wrap his body around the ledge. He hit the lip hard, coughing from the strain as he scrambled for a hold. Nick grabbed one side, Bodie the other, both pulling until Dalton cleared the edge, had his back pressed against the rock.
Bodie shook his head. “You crazy son of a bitch.”
Dalton smiled. “Hooyah.”
“Green Berets.” Bodie helped the man to his feet. “Can we continue, or do you want to go back and forth a few times? Really show off.”
“Just get going, jackass.”
Tierney stared at both of them, looking as if she wanted to shove them over the edge, before turning, marching off. The next few minutes passed in silence, just their hushed footfalls mixing with the ambient noise.
The path ended abruptly a couple hundred meters later, melding into a sheer sheet of granite that glistened in the gray light. Tierney pointed to some weathered handholds, then started across, slowly gaining elevation until she’d reached the other side almost forty feet above them.
Buck went next, followed her line, careful to keep three points of contact as he inched across the surface. He hit the mid-point and picked up speed, until one of the rocks beneath his hand crumbled into dust. A shower of gravel skittered down into the darkness, as a massive breaker hit the shore, the spray shooting up to kiss his feet. The shift slid him sideways, boots kicking at air and mist, one small nodule in his left hand saving him from joining the surf.
Tierney inhaled, practically dove back onto the face, making it look as if she’d been downplaying it before. Stumbling along when she could have been sprinting. She reached Buck in record time, all but dragged him onto more solid ground as they made their way along the last section, collapsing onto the ledge at the far side.
Rowan shook her head. “Remind me to kick Buck’s ass later for scaring me.”
Bodie grinned. “You and me, both, sweetheart.”
She smiled at the endearment, reaching the other side without repeating Buck’s near-miss. Giving Bodie another heart attack.
The rain had picked up by the time they cleared the scramble and followed the path back into the woods. The wind lessened, the massive pines sheltering them from the worst of the gusts as a new trail opened up in front of them, snaking off to the left through a patch of meadow grass on top of the cliff.
Tierney held out her arm, stopped them cold. “I know it looks inviting, but…”
She removed a small, weighted line from her pocket and tossed it onto the path. It landed with a soft thud, the end tumbling over a couple times before rolling to a halt. She glanced back at them as she tugged on the line, pulled it across the grass.
A metallic click echoed up from the dirt, as a tiny, circular plate popped above the surface, stopped half an inch in the air.
Rowan inhaled. “What the hell?”
Tierney sighed. “That’s an M14 ‘toe popper’. It probably won’t kill you, but it’ll take off your foot, leave you screaming for help — draw your whole team into the kill box. Might be best if we avoid that area.”
Buck crouched at the edge, whistled as he pointed out three more tripwires along with a handful of subtle soil disturbances. Just like the patch of ground Evan had stepped on, only he’d encounter far more force. “It’s a textbook anti-personnel field, and nothing I’d want to risk without a bomb dog like Nyx along.”
Tierney shifted in beside him. “And that’s why we don’t take the easy road.”
She veered right, headed for a root-choked path that wove through a thicker part of the forest, deadfall and branches clogging the ground. She stopped half a mile in, stared at a slightly elevated portion of the path that stretched the width of the trail, bramble and thorns blocking each side. She inched forward, tapped the top gently with her boot. The moss sagged, then sprang back, settling a bit lower.
She shook her head. “Looks like they added a damn pit trap. Guaranteed spikes underneath.” She scanned each side, picked the one Bodie would have. “We’ll skirt right, single file. My steps equal your steps. No freelancing.”
They followed, each placing their boots in Tier’s invisible footprints until they’d cleared the threat, continued on. The last of the light bled out, the forest fading into nothing but dark shadows amidst utter blackness. They all switched on dim, red flashlights, the glow barely enough to keep them from tripping over roots as they headed for the final hill.
They killed the lights when reached the edge of the grounds, a ten-foot fence appearing out of the fog — double chain-link with razor on top. Poles rose above the metal every thirty feet, domed cameras perched on top, moving in slow arcs. A low-frequency hum vibrated the air, the noise rattling Bodie’s head until it felt as if his molars were singing.
