The Project 01 - White Jade

clubbed him with his rifle. Carter went down hard, his eyes blurring. Sound stopped . H e struggled to move. He watched the Chinese raise his weapon, everything moving in silence and a strange light and slow, fluid motion, the soldier silhouetted against the cloudless sky.
    He thought of Megan.
    Red spots blossomed on the soldier's chest, stitching a neat pattern across his uniform. His eyes opened wide. Blood bright as fire gushed from his mouth and he fell sideways to the ground. Nick stumbled to his feet. Suddenly he could hear again.
    Selena stood ten feet away, looking at the man she ' d just killed, her MP-5 held close by her cheek. He watched her face register what she'd done.
    Nick picked up his weapon and grabbed Selena's arm. T hey ran for the far corner. The ground along the wall was flat for twenty feet or so until it dropped away in a steep slope to the right. They ducked and dodged between piles of fallen stones from the broken walls . B ullets whined and ricocheted all around .
    Ronnie was almost to the corner when a clatter of automatic fire came from behind and he went down. Nick turned and fired, Selena beside him . They brought down the shooter. When they reached Ronnie, they dragged him around the corner.
    His leg was bloody. There were two holes on the back of his uniform, but his body armor had deflected the rounds and kept him alive.
    " Shit, " he grunted , face tight with pain.
    " How bad? "
    " Thigh shot. Probably broken ribs. God damn it! "
    " Selena, cover us. Keep your head down, quick looks, reach around the corner and fire in their general direction. "
    She nodded, grim-faced, stuck her H-K around the corner, and began firing short bursts. Nick cut Ronnie ' s pants leg away. The bullet had gone all the way through , from the back to the front of his thigh. Nick bound him up with a strip of cloth torn from the pants.
    " Looks like it missed the bone and artery, amigo. Think you can stand on one leg? "
    " Yeah. "
    Ronnie was pale. Things had just gotten more difficult.
    Harker ' s voice sounded in his ear.
    " ETA for extraction, eleven minutes. I can see eight hostiles still moving around plus Wu and Choy. "
    " Tell them we ' ve got wounded. Tell them to expect ground fire. I ' m going to try to get to the northwest corner. "
    " Roger that. "
    The sky was a dirty yellow color, dust from the explosion drifting everywhere. He knelt by Selena.
    " How ' s your ammo? "
    " Getting low. "
    He gave her another magazine. " We have to get to the next corner. There ' s a chopper coming. We need to stay alive and knock down a few more of them. "
    " How ' s Ronnie? "
    " W e ' ll have to help him. You ' re doing great. You help Ronnie, you and he watch the front, I ' ll cover the rear. Up there. " He pointed. " Go ! "
    She jumped up and helped Ronnie to his feet . T hey started toward the far corner, Ronnie hopping on one leg with his arm around Selena ' s shoulder. Nick risked a look around the wall , ducked back as flying chips cut into his face. He reached around, firing, and saw another enemy soldier collapse .
    Selena and Ronnie had m ade it to the end of the wall. He caught up with them . T hey crouched behind a tumble of rock at the corner.
    " ETA six minutes. " The voice of the Director was distorted again by atmospherics. " Wu and four others are back at the trucks. Four coming toward you, around the corner. "
    " C oming this way. " He pointed . " Let them get part way down the wall. " The y waited, weapons leveled. F our men appeared, running low and hard. Selena and Ronnie and Nick opened up at the same time . T he storm of bullets ripped through the soldiers and turned their crisp uniforms into bloody rags. They crumpled and slid down the side of the hill.
    " Just five left, now, down there. " He gestured toward the Chinese trucks parked fifty yards away, visible in quick glances between the rocks giving them cover. " T hey have to come to us. Let ' s wait here. "
    " Suits me. " Ronnie looked white and haggard . B lood stain ed the improvised bandage on his leg. Selena looked flushed. Carter's face was swelling where he'd taken the blow and his jaw hurt. His back felt like it was in a vise.
    " ETA three minutes . " Harker's voice echoed in his ear. " You should hear them any minute now. We sent you a Pave Hawk with Apache escort. "
    That made him smile , even though it hurt . The Pave Hawk only had a couple of fifties or 7.62 ' s on it, but the Apache was a different animal altogether.