Lupo moved, scrambling through the opening with surprising agility for a man his age. He landed with a soft thud in the thick, dry brush lining the roadside ditch.
With more room to move, Rodrigo retrieved his other gun where it had fallen and wriggled through the sharp-edged window, fragments of glass scraping his back. He landed hard on his shoulder beside Lupo in the shallow depression, the autumn-dry stalks scratching at his face.
The sharp crack of a pistol shot split the air, followed instantly by the sound of a bullet punching into the Audi's inverted chassis right where Rodrigo's head had been a second before.
"The car is empty! Targets mobile!" a voice barked.
Rodrigo rolled, pressing himself flat against the cold earth. He peered through the skeletal stalks of dead thistle and bramble.
Three figures were advancing, spreading out in a loose semi-circle, guns tracking toward the ditch. Where did the fourth man go?
"Keep your head down, Lupo," Rodrigo commanded. He sighted on the lead man, a bulky figure moving with cautious steps.
Another shot rang out, kicking dirt inches from Rodrigo's face. He flinched, grit showering his face. He risked another glance. The three were closer now, maybe fifteen meters out.
Then, from Rodrigo's left, Lupo fired. The lead man jerked violently, and a dark bloom flowered high on his right shoulder. He cried out, stumbling back, his weapon dropping from suddenly nerveless fingers. Not a kill shot, but effective.Shattered clavicle. Out of the fight.
"Holy shit, Lupo," Rodrigo breathed, savage admiration cutting through the pain and adrenaline. "Remind me never to piss you off during confession."
A ghost of a smile touched Lupo's lips, though his eyes never left the remaining two attackers, who had instantly dived for cover behind the wrecked Audi and the front fender of the truck.
"I believe 'Thou shalt not kill' has a few asterisks in the current situation, my son," Lupo murmured with a grin, his voice dry as dust. He smoothly shifted his aim, tracking the movement behind the Audi. "Covering fire?"
Rodrigo didn't need telling twice. He snapped off two rapid shots toward the Audi's undercarriage, forcing the man hiding there to keep his head down.
Lupo's shot had bought them a moment, disrupted the advance, but they were still pinned. The ditch offered minimal cover, and there was still that fourth man unaccounted for.
Where is he?The thought was a cold spike of dread.Sniper. Has to be.
A high-velocity round snapped past Rodrigo's ear, so close he felt the wind of its passage. It tore through the brush behind them, sending shredded stalks flying.
The fourth man was set up at range, providing overwatch, waiting for a clean shot. The ditch offered concealment from the ground team, but little protection from a rifleman on higher ground.
Rodrigo scanned the terrain beyond the road. A low rise was just ahead, dotted with scrub and a few skeletal trees. The perfect vantage point.
"Sniper," Rodrigo hissed to Lupo. "Rise to the left. Under the twisted oak."
Lupo risked a split-second glance then ducked as another pistol shot from behind the Audi chipped dirt near his position. "Spotted him."
Another rifle round slammed into the earth just behind them, showering them with dirt. The shooter was adjusting, bracketing their position. They couldn't stay here. The ground team would regroup, flush them out, and the sniper would pick them off.
Rodrigo's mind raced, cutting through the concussion fog with the ruthless efficiency Gabriella had drilled into him.Divide their attention. Create an opportunity. He looked at the overturned Audi and the steaming truck.
"Lupo," he whispered urgently. "I need you to make some noise. Draw the sniper's eye. Use the car wrecks. Move slow, stay low, make him think you're trying to flank the ground team. Just don't give him a clean shot."
Lupo met his gaze. The old priest understood the risk of being bait. He nodded once, his jaw set. "Understood. God go with you, Rodrigo."
"If he's coming, he better fucking hurry up," Rodrigo muttered, already scanning the ditch line to his right.
It deepened slightly farther down, angling toward a denser patch of brambles and a cluster of larger trees that ran parallel to the road, offering a potential covered approach toward the sniper's perch. It was a gamble. A long crawl under potential fire, but it was the only way he could see.
He handed his gun to Lupo. "You'll need both. Make it loud."
Lupo took the second pistol, checking it swiftly. "Go. I'll give you time."
Rodrigo didn't wait. He started crawling, low and fast, keeping his body pressed into the shallow depression of the ditch, using every clump of dead grass and dried thistle for concealment.
The earth was cold and gritty against his palms and knees. Pain flared in his ribs with every movement, and his head throbbed in time with his heartbeat.
