She twisted sideways and dragged her pack along behind her, listening to the footfalls of the two men as they were amplified and distorted by the passageway’s acoustics. For a moment it sounded like they were pursuing her but she quickly realized that it was just an illusion. Still, it prompted her to increase her speed, pushing the very edge of what she could do silently. There was a drop-off farther up and she knew her life depended on getting to it before the men reached Zahid’s body. The problem was that she couldn’t remember the distance.

Ukrainian voices echoed toward her and she used the noise to mask a brief increase in her pace. She couldn’t understand the words, but it was likely that they were coordinating the final phase of their assault on the alcove and speculating as to the chances that its occupant was still breathing.

There was a shout and another burst of automatic gunfire and she incorporated them into her running mental video of the two mercs’ actions—not difficult because they were almost certainly the exact same ones she’d have taken in their situation.

The man who had staked out the high ground would spray the area as his teammate came in from the east…

The ceiling rose and she stood to the degree she could, breaking into a crouched sprint through the blackness as she continued to mentally play out the scene unfolding behind her.

The approaching man would have good visibility with night-vision goggles, but the position of Zahid’s body would initially hide it, making it impossible to make a decent risk assessment. That would slow him down a bit. But only a bit.

The final echoes of gunfire faded and Randi was forced to slow to a pace that allowed her to be completely silent. The Ukrainian would be inching forward now, back against the cliff, listening for movement. He’d come up to the edge of the crack she was moving through and stop. Zahid’s foot would come into his field of vision and he’d watch it for a few moments, confirming the strangely unmistakable stillness of death.

Once he was satisfied that the Afghan no longer posed a threat, the merc would turn his attention to the gap. Probably also not a threat, but these were thorough professionals. He wouldn’t just stroll past it. No, he’d update his teammate as to the situation and then…

Almost precisely on cue, the shout she was dreading rang out. Randi broke into a full run again as the man stuck his assault rifle into the crack and opened up on full automatic. One bullet passed close enough that she could feel the hot wind from it, another ricocheted off the stone to her right with a deafening ring. And then the ground went out from beneath her.

The landing was less graceful than she’d planned and she pitched forward, slamming headfirst into the ground as more rounds passed over her head.

She remained still, dazed enough that she didn’t trust herself to rise in the silence that was once again closing in. Instead, she went back to trying to picture what was happening in the alcove she’d just escaped from. The man would have leapt across the gap and be inching forward again, still keeping his back against the rock wall. A few more seconds…