“And see if it gets shot off,” he said, finishing her sentence.

“I’ll go first,” Randi volunteered, removing her pack and fishing out a small flashlight.

“What the hell is that?” Deuce said. It was too dark to read his expression, but she could see the exasperated shaking of his head.

“It’s a flashlight. Night vision isn’t going to work inside—there’s not enough light to amplify.”

“Heat?”

“Not going to help keep you from falling in a hole,” she said, unwilling to admit that while it wouldn’t pick out natural obstacles, thermal imaging would be extremely effective at picking out anyone lying in wait for them. But she wasn’t sending him in first. Billy was already down on her watch and if anyone else took a hit in this particular wild goose chase, it was going to be her.

He brought up a shadowy hand and tapped a small box on the side of his helmet. It wasn’t as seamlessly integrated as the other systems, suggesting that it was a new addition. “Active infrared. Invisible to the naked eye—meaning your eye, not mine—and good to about ten meters.”

“Look, I don’t care about all your electronics, Deuce. I’m going first.”

He let out an audible breath. “Bullshit, Randi. But this is the last time I’m wet-nursing you. When we get back to base, you need to hop a transport to Kabul and get Merged up.”

She swore quietly under her breath as he started toward the cave. They both knew he was right. Not only would her flashlight be obvious to anyone inside, it would be a dinner bell to the local Taliban.

If she had her way, wars would still be fought with swords—a weapon of skill that forced you to look in the eye of the people you killed. But the world didn’t go backward and now her distrust of overly complex combat technology was endangering not only her, but also the people who counted on her.

Randi pulled her sidearm and inched up behind Deuce, stopping when he held a hand out. She assumed he was running a countdown on his fingers, but she couldn’t see them well enough to be sure.

He jerked his head into the cave for a split second and then stood staring into the darkness. She was about to ask him what the hell he was doing, but then realized that he’d taken a heavily enhanced photo and was now examining it in the empty air.

“I think we’re good,” he said before easing into the cave with her holding on to his shoulder.

“How deep is it?” she said, now completely blind.

“Dunno. Can’t see the back. The ground’s pretty flat, though. Just stay with me.”