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ERIC NYLUND
309
"Do it," John said. "Let me know when you're in position and
ready."
Linda retrieved a padded grappling hook and rope from her
pack, twirled it, and tossed it up and over the adjacent roof. She
tugged it once, it caught, and then she quickly ascended.
The remaining Spartans joined John in the shadows. He
shouldered his battle rifle and thumbed the safety off.
Linda's acknowledgment light winked once.
John tensed and ran. It took him three strides to build to his
top-speed sprint. His adrenaline spiked and it made his blood
burn. He felt time slow, his perception running at an overclocked
pace. He focused on speed—putting one foot in front of the
other. His boots dug into cobblestones, crushed rock, and sent a
fine spray of gravel behind him. He saw three obstacles in his
path: a group of startled Grunts. He slammed the butt of his rifle
into the nearest one, and crushed its skull. The dead Grunt spun
end over end and landed in a heap. He heard squawks and shouts
around him but didn't stop to look.
He was on the stairs of the building, worn-smooth stone steps
that he bounded up five at a time. John saw three friendly con-
tacts behind him on his motion tracker ... and at the periphery
of its range a solid mass of enemy contacts.
"You're good so far," Linda reported. "There are Elites, but
they're unarmed. No, wait. A Hunter pair is advancing on your
position. Stand by."
A quartet of shots split the air like thunderclaps.
"Threat neutralized," Linda said. "The rest of them are scat-
tering. Banshees approaching. I'm moving."
John cleared the stairs and skidded to a halt on the threshold
of the temple. The interior was cold; external temperature read-
ings were near freezing. Light filtered in through stained-glass
windows in the ceiling—tinged lavender, cobalt, and turquoise.
Three rows of giant columns made of blue-black basalt ran the
length of the thirty-meter-long rectangular structure, casting
long shadows. It was a good place for an ambush. He set his
back against one of the pillars and swept the entrance, covering
his team as they entered.
"Cortana, update on station security?" John said.