Scorpion: A Covert Ops Novel (Second Edition) (32 page)

At the sound of boots
on metal rungs, someone else coming up the ladder, Avery spun fast around and
drew the Mk 23 in his shaky right hand. He wasn’t ready for another fight,
didn’t rate his chance of survival high.  

He pointed the
SOCOM pistol toward the top of the ladder.

His hands
wavered, and his vision blurred.

A head rose over
the edge of the platform, entering his sights.

But it was only
Poacher.

Avery relaxed
his finger over the trigger and dropped his weapon hand, letting it hang at his
side.

 “The site is
secure,” Poacher said. He helped Avery onto his feet, noticing the gunshot
wound. Poacher immediately searched his vest for gauze, disinfectant, and a
roll of bandages.

“Where’s
Aleksa?” Avery asked. “Did you find her?”

 “Aleksa is
safe. She’s with Flounder and M-Bird. She keeps asking about you. Reaper took a
hit, but he’s okay. The render-safe team is en route to retrieve the HEU.
Mockingbird is planting the beacons so the F-16s can hit this place after we exfil.”
Poacher looked at the top of the drifting high tower of smoke, and his eyes followed
it down to its source. “Nice shot.”

Avery didn’t
speak as Poacher dressed his wound. Blood dribbled down the length of his
forearm, off his fingertips, and collected in a puddle on the metal surface
beneath his foot. He averted his gaze back to the wavering flames below.