GhostWalkers 10 - Samurai Game

Sam was very aware of the jungle around him, as if the world was still right, the sounds of the jungle, the constant shifting above their heads, the continual drone of the cicadas, the calls of the frogs, a cry of a monkey. His heart thundered in his ears.
    Ryland let Ekabela’s body fall to the ground, and just as if he’d triggered a bomb, the world erupted into hell around them. Duncan Forbes turned and ran for his life. Bullets tore bark off trees and vines, hissing through the air and spitting bark and splinters at them. Ryland and Sam both fired an entire magazine on full automatic, bullets spraying the jungle, driving the soldiers away from them.
    Tucker, Kyle, and Gator had all gone to one knee and began to eliminate preselected targets. Simultaneously, Nico, Kadan, and Jonas on the hill in the over watch did the same. Smoke and red-hot streaks sizzled through the roar and shock of the guns, accompanied by high-pitched screams and explosions. Rock and wood chips rained down. Dirt flew around them as shrapnel hit everywhere.
    Sam could tell how close the bullets were by the various sounds they made. The snapping sound was ominous, three feet or closer. The scent of cordite from the gunpowder grew strong. The distinctive smell of burned composition “B” from the grenades was heavy in the air.
    Reloading. Bounding
. Ryland called out telepathically to the others indicating he and Sam were moving and someone had to cover their targets.
    Sam and Ryland retreated five meters, reloading as they ran. At five meters they both went down to one knee to place covering fire—rapidly aimed shots—at the swarming army of angry soldiers, giving the other two teams a chance to pull back. Once in line, they naturally became two teams and began to alternate covering fire.
    The fighting was intense, an explosion of violence, and Sam just held on to one thing. He
would
go home to Azami. He was not buying it out here in the jungle.
    Reloading. Bounding
. The words were repeated often as one team would retreat toward their destination while the other provided cover.
    The ragtag army didn’t seem to have leadership, following in anger more than with any strategy. Clearly they felt they were a superior force, but they were scattered, not as well trained as the rebels Ekabela had had months earlier.
    All clear of the danger range?
Ryland asked as they continued moving into the trap, drawing the rebels into the funnel.
    All members of both teams had to be a good twenty-five meters away from the first of the claymores.
    Clear
, the men responded one by one, using the telepathic link Ryland formed.
    “Claymore,” Kadan yelled as he detonated the first two antipersonnel mines.
    Simultaneously Jonas pulled the igniter rings. The claymores had a range of fifty yards. Anyone inside that sixty degree horizontal fan was going to die or wish they were dead. As the claymores went off, the team hightailed it out of the war zone, back toward the hide.
    Moving fast in their standard formation, cover and run, they made it past their second defense, the next line of claymores. Any combatants following would get caught in the next set of mines, and aside from taking out most of the rebels Ekabela had recruited, another devastating blow definitely would take the fight out of most that were left.
    At the hide, Team One recovered gear while Team Two stayed on guard. They switched, working fast in silence while Team Two retrieved the rest of their gear.
    We’ll wait ten minutes and see if anyone was stupid enough to follow us
, Ryland said, still using telepathy. He looked his men over.
Anyone hurt?
    Gator nudged Jonas with his foot.
Heard high wire here tripped over his big feet. He somersaulted down the hill this time
.
    Fuck you, Gator
, Jonas replied with a sheepish grin.
What the hell is that bloody streak on your face? You try to kiss one of those guys?
    The jungle bit me
, Gator quipped back.
    The relief of being alive crowded in while they did a quick inventory of body parts, hoping everything was still attached. Sam checked his gear, knowing they would be moving out fast, going somewhere a lot quieter before the next phase of their mission.
    Ten minutes
, Ryland announced.
Team One, gather all unused claymores. Team Two will cover. We go out in single file, four meters apart
.
    They didn’t want to give the enemy a large target, but it was more than that. If one person accidentally stepped on a pressure mine, no one else was going to