Pulse

SIXTY

Following a trail of broken branches, disturbed brush, and muddy footprints, King had no trouble tracking Reinhart and Ridley as they fled back toward the Manifold bunker. They weren't concerned about being followed. That meant they were either very stupid, which he doubted, or that they were evacuating. He thought the latter was the most likely, so he didn't slow his approach in fear of an ambush.

He cleared the woods onto a trail that led diagonally up and around the mountain. Not fifty feet in front of him, Reinhart and Ridley ran for all they were worth. Ridley's quick pace surprised him. The man was towering tall and had a rounded waist, yet he had little trouble keeping up with Reinhart. But King was faster than both men, and could catch them easily on the clear path. Then again, a bullet would be even faster.

King raised his rifle, looked down the scope, and pulled the trigger once. The bullet whizzed past Ridley's ear, causing him to instinctively dive to the side and struck Reinhart in the left shoulder. Reinhart fell with a grunt, but spun before landing, drew his Metal Storm pistol, and pulled the trigger once. His aim seemed nearly as keen as Knight's, but his weapon, firing three rounds at once instead of one, packed more punch.

The first round nicked King's rib, just beneath his armpit. The second two struck his chest, just over his heart, and would have been fatal if not for his flak jacket. The impact knocked him off his feet. He fell back onto the wet path, dropping his weapon upon impact. He fought for breath, but wheezed like an asthmatic in a dust storm. Spots appeared in his vision as a lack of oxygen threatened unconsciousness. But as Reinhart stood above him, aiming the weapon down at his head, he fought to stay awake. He didn't want to die without looking his killer in the eye.

"Always wondered how hard it would be to kill a Delta," he said with a grin. "It's kind of disappointing, actually. I thought you'd be a challenge."

King sucked in a hard breath, forcing his lungs to expand. If he could clear his head and take control of his locked-up body…

"Hold it!"

Reinhart turned toward the voice, but didn't move his gun away from King.

"Put the gun down, boss."

King looked up enough to see Anna Beck sliding out of the woods. She had her own weapon trained on Reinhart, but didn't see Ridley approaching her from behind. He tried to warn her, but hadn't recovered his voice. He decided his voice wasn't what he needed. Ignoring the spots in his vision and the pain in his chest, he unclipped a small pouch on his belt and reached inside.

Reinhart laughed at Beck. "Stupid bitch. I always knew you were too soft. If you weren't such a—"

Ridley struck the distracted Beck from behind, wrapping his arms under hers, then up and around her head. Her weapon pointed uselessly toward the sky and the giant man picked her off the ground with ease. She cursed, kicked, and spat, but nothing loosened his grip.

"Like I said," Reinhart said, "stupid and soft."

"Not as stupid as you," King said, snapping Reinhart's attention back to him. He'd caught a breath, found his voice, and with a flick of his wrist sent three three-inch throwing spikes into Reinhart's left eye in less time and with more accuracy than a Metal Storm gun.

Reinhart screamed and staggered back, but didn't lose his desire to kill King. He had, however, lost depth perception. Reinhart squeezed the trigger three times, firing nine rounds, every single one of them missing the mark. But it wasn't just Reinhart's failing vision that kept the bullets from striking King — the agile Delta had caught his breath, rolled back onto his feet, and dove to the side.

Reinhart squeezed off another three-round burst. Mud splattered beneath King's feet as he dove again. Reinhart smiled despite the pain in his eye and shoulder. King moved in the same direction twice. His momentum would carry him forward. Reinhart adjusted his aim, leading King, adjusting for his lack of depth perception. But when he fired, King came up short, stopping instead of rolling again.

Reinhart adjusted his aim again, but as he brought his weapon around he saw the muzzle of King's rifle cough a single round. It was the last thing he saw. His body slumped to the forest floor like God had simply shut off the power switch.

King looked at the clean hole in Reinhart's head. It didn't heal. The man would stay dead. A groan caught his attention. Beck was on her hands and knees, picking herself off the ground. Sometime during the gunfight Ridley had clubbed her and made his escape. King took her hand and helped her up. "You coming?"

She stood. "Let's get him."

He started off in a sprint.

Beck ran after him. "King, this whole valley sits on a deposit of natural gas. It's why Ridley chose it. I went back in to see if the detonation sequence had been initiated, but it hasn't been."

"So?" King said, vaulting an old stone wall. "What can we do?"

"Ridley carries a PDA with him. He can remote detonate. If he does, this whole valley will i mplode — the campground, town, everything, will be blown to bits, then sucked inside a mile-deep crater. Whatever happens, that PDA needs to stay in one piece. It's the only way to access the system once it's engaged."

"Can we destroy it on site?"

"It's a mile underground."

A distant chop of rotor blades caught King's attention. With each chop the noise grew louder. Ridley hadn't left yet. "Can you cancel the detonation sequence?"

"No. Only Ridley can."

King stopped. The trail turned up at a sharp angle. As he began ascending the trail, the chop of the rotor blades grew loud and pine needles spun into the air like mini-sized missiles. He caught a quick glimpse of the chopper before it landed — a severely modified, sleek black Eurocopter. Both hatches were open, one to receive Ridley, the other containing a manned Gatling gun, already spinning and ready to fire.

King ducked down and looked back at Beck. She slid up next to him. "What now?"

"I'll take care of the Gatling gun and pilot. You get the PDA from Ridley."

She nodded.

"Try not to kill him."

She nodded again.

They scrambled up the incline as the helicopter touched down on the landing pad. As they cleared the rise King saw two things simultaneously. The first was Ridley diving into the chopper. The second was the Gatling gun swiveling toward them.