She was clipped by something sharp as it fell past her. The unknown object cut her head — her right temple — opening a gash beneath her hairline. Blood ran down the side of her face, making it to her neck and chest in no time flat. Her shirt was already drenched. The billowing dust and dirt latched onto the crimson, stinging sharply as it snuck its way through her matted hair and into the fresh wound.
A silver SUV came squealing around the corner. It fishtailed before straightening itself out and continued toward Zahra. At the last second, and on wobbly legs, Zahra rolled right and dodged the SUV. It zipped past her, leaving her in the dust.
Gritting her teeth, she got up and pushed forward, pouring on the speed until she couldn’t run anymore. Zahra dove forward and tucked her feet into her chest and rolled. The massive crane landed with a
Zahra backed away from the flaming heap. She spotted Ali and Cork through the entanglement of steel, fire, and smoke, and waved them off. “Go! Get the plane ready! We’ll meet you at the airfield!”
Ali seemed satisfied, but the pilot obviously wasn’t. Still, Cork waved back and allowed the local to guide her away from the wreckage. Zahra bent over and groaned, picking up her rifle. She checked it over. Everything was in working order. She then turned and shouldered the weapon, and began the search for her missing comrade.
The telltale report of a large caliber rifle gave Zahra the answer she was looking for. She headed left and listened intently. A second, echoing gunshot got her moving faster. Rabia was somewhere nearby. The second shot had been louder than the first. It meant Zahra was getting closer.
A sound, like a giant bee, buzzed by her right ear. Zahra flinched and dropped to one knee and looked over her shoulder. Fifty feet behind her, a previously unseen assailant had climbed atop a rusted, blue container before he got knocked off his feet in a spray of blood. Zahra traced the bullet back to its origin and discovered where it had come from.
She discovered
Rabia was lying prone beneath a dusty, red, four-door truck. She was still two hundred feet away. Even at this distance, Zahra was pretty sure she could see the woman smiling from ear to ear. Rabia had enjoyed that shot.
The sniper’s cover got turned to Swiss cheese right before Zahra’s eyes. Luckily, the shooters were so focused on Rabia that they didn’t see Zahra approaching. The archaeologist unloaded her magazine into a duo of gunmen, giving Rabia enough time to gather herself and join in. The sniper slid out from beneath the truck and drew a pistol. Rabia displayed the same steady aim and sent a pair of nine-millimeter bullets into the third and final attacker’s chest before finishing him off with a headshot.
Both women were breathing hard. Rabia silently thanked Zahra for her efforts with a curt nod of her head. While Zahra reloaded her AK-103 and watched the immediate area, the sniper ducked beneath the truck to retrieve her prized firearm.
“Bleeding already?” Rabia asked, motioning to Zahra’s flowing blood. The precision shooter had avoided injury thus far. The only sign of any kind of exertion was the beads of sweat rolling down her face and the smear of dirt and grime on her clothes from crawling around beneath the truck.
Zahra shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, it’s not a contest… We need to find the others.”
“Yes,” Rabia agreed. Her face morphed back into that of an emotionless assassin. “Follow me.”
Ali Badawi grabbed Cork’s right bicep and attempted to haul her away. She resisted him, applying the brakes, and refusing to move until Zahra was gone from her sight. Her friend was about to risk her life to save someone she hardly knew, just because it was the right thing to do. Zahra was as selfless a human being as Cork had ever met. She secretly wanted a sliver of that mindset for herself. As per usual, people in Cork’s line of work tended to exclusively look out for
But it was also a lonely way to exist.
She stepped away from the downed gantry crane and yanked free from Ali’s grip. Cork was a few inches taller than him and was nearly the same weight as him. If she had to, she knew she could take him in a fight.
Cork sighed.
