Clay frowned. “Feels to me like I’m just in time.”
“No.” Qin shook his head. “I have her now. You don’t.”
Clay’s eyes glanced away, double-checking the room and the men on the floor. They returned to Qin in an instant. “You may have her, but there’s only one door.”
Qin nodded, then slowly raised his gun and pressed it against Li Na’s soft cheek. “And there’s only one girl.”
“Maybe you’re not as smart as you look,” Clay said, still hidden behind the rifle. “You obviously haven’t thought about what happens to you if you kill her.”
Defiantly, Qin wrapped his arm around Li Na’s waist and forced her sideways, shuffling them both to the middle of the room. Exposing Clay in the doorway.
“The lapse in judgment is yours. I have a shield. You don’t.”
“I don’t need a shield.”
“Ah, there it is. The American bravado. Simple and shallow.” Qin moved slightly behind Li Na, brushing his collar open with his chin and revealing a small microphone. “This is Qin. Our target is here at the hospital. Move quickly.”
Well, that was a problem. Clay thought to himself. He remained steadfast, calculating how much time it would take the others to arrive. Four, maybe five minutes. Which meant he had less than two to get out and put any distance between them.
“When they take me, I’m going to take you first,” Clay responded calmly.
Qin stared at him for a long moment and Clay noticed a slight change in his expression. Uncertainty.
The American was bluffing. He wouldn’t sacrifice himself. Or would he? His mission was the girl. Which meant he’d kill her before letting Qin have her. It was exactly what Qin was prepared to do. Now he had to stall until the other soldiers arrived. But the American had the advantage: an exit. He could kill both Qin and the girl and still escape. It’s what Qin would do in his place. But the man wasn’t moving. How long would he wait before acting?
Clay’s eyes shifted to Li Na Wei, petrified and sickened at the feel of Qin’s breath on the back of her neck. She stared helplessly back at Clay.
“Do you speak English?”
“A little.”
“He is going to kill you,” Clay said. “No matter what you do.”
“Shut up!” hissed Qin. “I just want the case. Give it to me and you’re free.”
Li Na’s eyes turned, searching for Qin but unable to see him.
“When he gets the case,” Clay continued, “he will kill everyone here to keep it. Beginning with you. Your only chance to escape lies in the next sixty seconds.”
“SHUT UP!” Qin yelled. He turned his gun on Clay, extending it over the girl’s shoulder. “Tell me who you are or I will kill you right now.”
Clay studied the gun. “You have a Norinco nine millimeter. Even at this range you have very little chance of preventing me from shooting you. Your bullet travels at thirteen-hundred-feet per second. Mine travels twice as fast. Which means a clean shot will pass straight through her and tear a giant hole through you. And guess which one of you I’m going to try to save first?”
“Your name!” Qin seethed.
Clay’s grin was slight, and not at all visible from behind the rifle. “Call me… Ishmael.”
Qin stared at him with grim satisfaction. “You’re surrounded, Ishmael.” He pressed harder against Li Na. “And out of time. You and the U.S. Navy are too late.”
Clay was still counting in his head. Qin’s mention of the Navy told him exactly what he was afraid of. Qin knew everything. But the man was right, he was out of time.
Clay returned his gaze to Li Na. “Thirty seconds.”
She began shaking. Scared to death, she looked helplessly at Clay before allowing her eyes to drop to the doctor’s lifeless body at their feet. She closed her eyes momentarily before opening them and giving Clay the briefest of nods.
His reaction was nearly instantaneous. Pressing his index finger against the trigger and sending a single, explosive shot from his rifle.
The bullet hit the outside of Qin’s outstretched hand, ripping through the top of his knuckles and tearing it away from Li Na, who covered her face and dropped to the floor.
Qin screamed and lost his grip on the girl, stumbling back to grab his bloody hand which was now missing an index finger. Clay’s second shot tore into his left thigh, throwing him violently to the floor.
Li Na fell to her knees and Clay rushed forward to pick her up.
“We have to go. Now!” He helped her to the door, but stopped as Li Na suddenly pulled away. Without a word, she ran back to the closet and retrieved the metal case from inside. She then jumped past a struggling Qin and followed Clay out.
54
DeeAnn hit the moist ground with a thump. She and Anderson landed faster than expected, sliding several feet and onto their butts. Behind them, Juan and Tiewater stumbled but managed to land on their feet. Corso followed, whose boots hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Caesare arrived last, landing effortlessly with several strides and Dulce wrapped tightly in one arm. Once stopped, he disconnected the chute behind them before unbuckling her smaller harness. He lowered her to the ground only to find she was still clinging to him.
We fly! She said excitedly through DeeAnn’s vest.
“Yes, we fly,” he agreed laughingly and looked at DeeAnn as she approached, glaring at him. “You okay?”
“That’s debatable.”
He looked past her. “Juan?”
“I’m okay,” the engineer nodded. “But if you all don’t mind, I think I’ll stay here and kiss the ground for a while.”
Tiewater laughed and slapped him on the back. “Ah, that was an easy one. Try doing it at night.”
“While being shot at,” added Anderson.
“Uh, no thanks.”
Caesare turned back to Dulce and pulled her helmet off. “How are you, Dulce?”
Me happy. Fly fun.
He wasn’t the only one surprised that Dulce remained closely at his side. Both puzzled and still upset, DeeAnn stepped in and caressed her dark brown back. “Are you hurt?”
No hurt. Dulce was excited. She studied the trees and ground, sniffing the air. She was eager to find her friend. The first primate she had communicated with. Or at least the first one she remembered.
Contrary to what some pet owners might claim, Dulce knew she wasn’t a human. She knew she was different and craved contact with others like her. And while many humans might assume their pets were content in a human world, Dulce had explained just how wrong that assumption was.
Dulce wanted to be with her own kind. She needed to be with them. And Dexter was one of them.
Standing over her, DeeAnn could see the excitement in her eyes. There was no doubt how much Dulce loved being back in the wild. Safely this time. Safely, DeeAnn observed, with Caesare.
Like the other men, Caesare stood and rolled his parachute into a compact bundle. He then stashed it inside a group of fern bushes and tossed his nylon harnesses in after it.
“Now what?” DeeAnn asked, when he turned around.
“Now we find our drops. Anderson, find us a place to settle in and establish a perimeter.”
“Yes, sir.” The young SEAL scanned their small landing site intently before trotting uphill and disappearing through an opening in the trees.
Caesare looked to Tiewater. “How close are we?”
“Pretty close,” he replied, staring at a small GPS screen. “Maybe two miles.”
It took an hour to retrieve their crates and haul them uphill to the best location they could find. Concealment and cover were their top priority. They needed a base that was well concealed and ensured that nothing could be seen from the road, which rounded the top of the mountain a half mile away. It also needed enough natural backing to avoid being mistakenly silhouetted against the horizon.