He drew it open. The heavy door moved to the right. It was just in time to see one of the enormous gantry cranes lean out toward the Suez. One of its support legs was smoldering and badly damaged. Then, they all watched as it buckled and gave out like that of a prize fighter who’d taken one-too-many headshots.
The multi-million dollar display of mechanical ingenuity tilted out over the Suez and crashed into the water with authority. Two good-sized container ships were annihilated in the process, and a third was upturned. Zahra spotted men leaping from the trio of ill-fated watercrafts, just moments before they were sunk.
Bullets whizzed by Zahra, compelling her and the others not to dawdle. She shadowed Ali and Rabia, taking comfort in knowing the entire team was still intact. Cork and two others were bringing up the rear, letting loose with sporadic gunfire. Zahra had yet to pull the trigger, but she figured that moment would come soon.
“Down!” Ali yelled, diving behind a row of double-stacked steel barrels.
The gong-like impacts of bullets on metal alluded to their contents. Nothing. The barrels were empty but would still provide them with ample cover.
“We need to move!” Rabia yelled. It was the first time Zahra had heard the woman speak.
“Cover us,” Ali ordered. The sniper nodded, and hefted her immense rifle, jamming its stock deep into her shoulder. She quickly lined up her target through a long black scope with
The three-and-a-half-inch long .338 Lapua Magnum round exited the rifle’s elongated barrel, traveling at nearly three times the speed of sound. It meant that the guy who received the .338 in the chest was dead — as well as missing a sizable chunk of his sternum — long before anyone near him heard the shot.
“Go!” Rabia shouted, moving off to the right.
Ali motioned for everyone to follow him around the opposite side.
“What about her?” Zahra asked.
“Who, Rabia?” Ali asked. “Never mind her! She can take care of herself!” He ran across a void of emptiness before concealing himself behind a pair of parked vans. Zahra slid in beside him, banging into the rear quarter panel harder than she intended. It didn’t matter, though. There was too much noise for anyone to have heard it.
Ali leaned in close to her so she could hear what he was about to say. “You should feel sorry for the people shooting at her instead!”
A second and third shot rang out. Zahra couldn’t see their victims. She couldn’t she Rabia either. She’d have to trust in the sniper’s abilities. Ali had faith that the woman would be fine on her own. And Zahra didn't have time to worry about it. Ali didn’t stay put for long. He slithered out of cover, forcing Zahra to turn away from the action and run along behind him.
Another bone-jarring explosion rocked the SSC. This time, it belonged to the second gantry crane. The Scales of Anubis had come to play. Instead of the crane leaning out toward the water, like the other one had, this behemoth teetered backward toward the facility…and the people within its walls. Zahra slowed and quickly deduced that the central building was too far away to meet the fate of the ships from earlier, but a lot of people were still in its landing zone.
Including Zahra and her team.
“Must… run… faster!” Zahra called out between breaths.
“What? I…” Ali didn’t finish. His line of sight continued up and past Zahra’s head. She spun and saw what he was gawking at.
The gantry crane was already beginning its descent.
Zahra pulled Ali along. “Everyone, move!”
As she started to move, Zahra spied the sniper. Rabia was following them, but was further back. A trio of men was plinking her cover from across the compound. The archaeologist shrugged out of Ali’s grip and shouldered her AK-103. She sent a handful of rounds toward Rabia’s pursuers, happy to see them duck away as a result. Rabia used it as a chance to move up and sprint off behind a row of containers. Then, Zahra lost sight of her.
“Keep going, Zahra!” Ali yelled.
“What about Rabia?” Zahra countered. It was probably a stupid thing to do, but Zahra bit her lip and ran…back into the fire. She barely knew the local, but Zahra needed to help Rabia out, however she could. The sniper was willing to sacrifice herself to see that the others survived. Zahra owed her the same.
“Zahra, no!” It was Cork shouting this time.
Zahra covered her head and ran as fast as she could. Debris rained down from above. The gantry crane blotted out the sun, its shadow looming dangerously overhead.
And Zahra was directly beneath it.
