Filter
Top Products
160
HALO: FIRST STRIKE
"Okay. Check your mirrors."
They all pulled out the shards of mirror they had taken from
Tango Company's latrine last night. They had taped the edges so
they could be handled more easily, and taped their backs to re-
duce the chance they'd shatter. The whole operation depended
on a fragile piece of glass, which had John worried.
"Just hand signals from here on out," John told them. "Move
out, Red Team."
They crouched and clawed and slithered through the forest
until they reached a gravel track. They pushed two large rocks
off the nearby hill, blocking the road, then waited in the brush.
Headlights appeared as a supply truck rumbled down the road
and squealed to a halt. Two soldiers got out and scanned the area.
"Think it's an ambush?" one of them muttered and gripped his
rifle tighter.
"From those freak Section Three kids? Jesus, I don't know,"
the driver said. "Screw the rules of this exercise." He pulled a
Kevlar poncho over his head. "I'm not gonna take a dart in my
ass if it is. Cover me."
The man riding shotgun got out and walked around the truck.
"Looks clear," he whispered. "Hurry."
The driver jumped out of the cab, moved to the rocks, and
rolled them off the road.
John ran from the brush and crawled under the vehicle. He
pulled himself up and wedged tight against the undercarriage,
close enough that he smelled the rubber from the new tires.
Kelly and Sam came next; Fhajad was last.
They hadn't been spotted. So far, so good.
The two men got back into the truck and proceeded down the
dirt road.
Gravel bounced up and caught John in the side of the head,
and cut him; blood trickled from his ear along his neck, but he
didn't dare loosen his grip.
After a kilometer of being pelted by rocks and stung by sand,
the truck eased to a halt at Tango Company's base. The guard
at the gatehouse spoke to the driver, and they laughed. The
guard then walked around and opened the back of the truck.
John squirmed and got his mirror ready. With a flick of his
hand, he signaled the others to do the same. John held his mirror