Cliff Ryder - The Ties That Bind

"Is that understood?" he finished.

Her sullen glare was frosty, but she nodded. "Yes, sir," she said.

"Good," he replied. "Now let's get moving."

They met little resistance on their way to the stairs leading out of the cabin, and as they reached it, Jason noted a large crate marked Phosphorus Grenades. He stopped and pried open the lid using his knife. "These will do nicely," he said.

"What do you have in mind?" Jesse asked.

"A lot of these crates are wood," Jason said. "Phosphorus burns real hot. We'll toss a few of these in here before we go, and with all the ammunition and the fuel, all of this will be so much useless ash in a few hours."

"Sounds good," Jesse said.

They each took three, with Jesse using his teeth to pull the pins. They tossed them in random directions, and as they turned up the stairs, the bright glare of the burning chemical lit the cavern behind them. The crackle of flames and heat was already starting by the time they reached the main floor of the Quonset building.

"Head for the front," Jason said. "I'll take point, just in case we run into any more guards."

Tina chuckled dryly. "I'm pretty sure you've killed just about everyone," she said. "What's your body count for the day?"

Gritting his teeth at her jibe, he moved forward, his eyes searching the darkness for any sign of a guard who might stand between them and freedom. They reached the door without incident.

"Must have sent pretty much everyone they had on hand down there," Jesse said.

"Guess so," Jason replied. He eased open the door to the icy air of night and they stepped out, moving past a truck and in the direction of where Tina said they'd left the SUV.

As they cleared the back bumper, a heavy gust of wind passed over them, and Jason turned to see the Asp landing next to the building. In the copilot seat was his old friend Boris, and at the controls was an Asian man that he assumed was the infamous Feng Li.

"Well, well," he said. "I guess I won't have to go hunting for him after all."

Feng Li shut down the silent, twirling blades, but his eyes never left Jason's. Boris climbed out of one side, while his boss climbed out of the other.

"Maybe live to fight another day," Jesse suggested. "You can't take them both and I'm not exactly a hundred percent myself."

"Let's run for it," Tina said. "You can hunt him down later with a…a flamethrower or something."

Jason shook his head. "The Asp was part of my mission, too," he said. "And there may never be as good a time as this one to take him out."

Tina tugged at his hand. "Please, Jason, let's just go."

"She's right, brother," Jesse said. "We've done enough for one day."

"You two have, anyway," Jason said. "Get in the SUV and get out of here." He pulled his hand out of Tina's. "I have to stay."

"Have you lost your mind?" Tina asked. "You're already wounded, exhausted, and those two are as fresh as daisies. What am I supposed to tell Denny if he kills you? That I stood aside and let it happen?"

Jason grinned down at her. "He won't," he said. "Now get going."

He turned away from them and walked toward the Asp. As he did, Feng Li and Boris moved as well. The moonlight was bright enough to light up the area almost as well as stadium lights. It was a beautiful night — cold and the air was clear and clean. He felt alive, his nerves tingling with anticipation and, he admitted to himself, no small amount of fear. Feng Li had a reputation and he'd already seen what Boris could do.

It was time to show them what he could do.

He heard the crunch of shoes on the snow behind him and glanced backward to see Tina and Jesse walking in his wake. He stopped and turned. "I thought I told you two to go," he said. "Get out of here and get to safety."

"What is it you say?" Jesse asked. "The mission comes first, right? I didn't go through all this just to quit five yards before the finish line."

"Neither did I," Tina said. "We'll see it through with you."

He looked at both of them carefully, then nodded once. "Tina, you stay out of it." And before she could object, he said. "I mean it. I'm going to try to take Boris out of the picture first, then Feng Li. Keep him off me as long as you can, Jesse."

"He doesn't look all that scary to me," he said.

"Trust me," Jason said. "You'll have your hands full. Try to keep moving and don't let him get close. There won't be any weapons. This is…personal now."

"I thought it was the mission," Tina said.

"It is," he replied. "Sometimes, the mission is personal. It has to be."

He turned back around and said, "Let's go."

The three of them started walking forward once more. The tundra grass and the frozen snow crunched beneath their feet, and their breath steamed in the air.

Jason wondered if he would die, if the others would, then put it all away. All of the feelings and emotions that could distract him from what he had to do.

So that Boris and Feng Li had to die so the world — the world of those he cared for, and the world of those who deserved to be safe — would be safe again.

And that was a mission he could believe in. Even if it meant his own death.

The two groups came to a stop about ten feet apart and spent several long seconds staring at each other — assessing strengths, searching for weaknesses.

Jason spoke first. "Boris," he said, using English, "I've missed you. I did get a chance to meet your brother, however. I did give him my very best."

"For that," Boris replied in Russian, "if for nothing else, I will kill you."

The cold spark of anger flared toward uncontrollable rage. That was good, Jason knew, and one of the reasons he taunted those he was about to fight.

Rage burned hot, but it caused mistakes in combat. Only in a state of cold calm could one avoid the mistakes that led to death.

He flicked his eyes in the direction of Feng Li. The man was lean, with sharp, almost pinched features. His stance was one of loose readiness, and his dark-brown eyes were frozen — his was the look of a predator, a man who knew how to fight and kill. "You must be Feng Li," Jason said. "I heard you were dead."

Feng Li grinned and there was a white flash of teeth. They almost looked pointed. He offered a small half bow from the waist. "You are correct, Mr. Siku. I was dead. The sniper sent by Mr. Talbot made a mistake, however, leaving me in the jungle so quickly. The ancient medicines of my home country were able to bring me back." He offered the shark's grin once more. "I do not think you will be so lucky, here in the frozen wasteland of Alaska."

"I promise you, Feng," Jason replied, "that as soon as I'm done killing Boris here, I will be a lot more thorough than that sniper was."

"We do appear to have a problem," Feng said. "You are three and we are two. Would you have our fight be unfair?"

"I don't think…" Jason began, but Feng's hand moved in a sudden blur, producing a small-frame Glock, aiming and firing it so quickly that it cut off the rest of his sentence, like some strange form of punctuation.

He heard a pained gasp from behind him and spun. Tina's face was ashen, and blood blossomed like a winter rose high on her chest. She staggered back a step, then sat down in the snow. Jason knelt down beside her. "Tina?"

"I think…" she began, her voice a whisper. "Going to faint."

Jason clasped her hand and said, "Just hold on." He got to his feet and turned his attention back to Feng. "This won't take long," he finished.

He heard her fall over, knew she was unconscious. He pushed his fear for her aside. "She wasn't a threat to you," he said.

"All of my dead soldiers downstairs would disagree," Feng replied, "if they had the voice to do so. The dead are silent in this place."

"Well," Jesse finally spoke, "I'm all for you shutting up." He leaped forward, diving at Feng's legs and hitting him in the knees. They went rolling through the snow and the grass — Jesse trying to use his greater weight to keep Feng pinned on the ground, Feng fighting to get to his feet where he could do more damage.