They actually did a good job of staying out of sight, though it turned out there probably was such thing as too slow. At the pace they set, they’d overrun the Delta position sometime in January.

“I’ve got another one,” Kent said, his voice sounding shockingly clear over the Merge link. “About eleven o’clock. Next to a small rise.”

“I can’t see him from here,” Grayson responded. “Are you certain?”

“One hundred percent.”

Smith pulled up a small window that displayed what the man was seeing. Sure enough, it was another of the Delta team, so smeared with mud that he himself might have walked right past him if he’d only had his naked eye to work with.

“Okay. We’re up against a five-man team and we have two of the sons of bitches dead to rights. If we get any closer, we’re going to risk being spotted and then all hell is going to break loose. I say we take our shot now. Agreed?”

When everyone came back affirmative, Smith leaned out around the tree he’d taken refuge behind. This was something he had to see.

“Okay, I have the guy at one o’clock—”

“Negative,” Smith interjected. “I already know you can hit him, Corporal. Let someone else take the shot.”

“Affirmative. Lieutenant. You spotted him, he’s all yours.”

“But…But I…”

“Relax, Stacy,” Smith said. “Just a game, remember.”

“Yeah, Lieutenant,” Grayson said. “You’ve got this. Just line the Merge’s crosshairs up and tell me when you’re ready. Major Kent. I take it you’ve got a line?”

“My crosshairs are dead center and I’m ready to go.”

“Okay, everybody else pull back nice and easy. We’re going to go about twenty meters and set up to cover our people’s retreat. In the meantime, get a bead on that guy, Lieutenant.”

To the degree that it was possible from his position, Smith watched Grayson and two of his team members slither back and find cover that allowed them a clear view of the soldiers left behind.

“You ready Lieutenant?”

“The crosshairs are on his arm. I can’t see any more of him.”

“That’s okay. An M16 round to the arm will ruin anyone’s day. Fire on three. One…Two…Three.”

Both guns flashed and speakers on the sides sounded with the crack of the shot.

And then, predictably, it all hit the fan.

The Delta team, figuring they could terrify the less experienced force, broke cover and charged forward, firing at the two people trying to retreat back to their unit. Smith’s software registered a very near miss on his lawyer and he watched Delta’s impressive speed and accuracy pulsating bright red as they approached.

Under normal circumstances, it was a sensible strategy. These were not normal circumstances, though.

Carrie and Duane, the computer tech, were shooting wildly, ignoring their targeting system and missing by wide margins. Grayson, however, wasn’t so easily rattled. He nailed the lead attacker dead center and was lining up on another when the Delta team recognized that things weren’t going their way, dropped, and disappeared behind uneven ground.