Cliff Ryder - The Ties That Bind

Remembering that Feng was favoring his left side, Jason pressed the attack, aiming for Feng's ribs this time and driving a hard kick into his side. Feng danced away, but not fast enough to avoid it entirely. He increased the distance between them and began to circle.

"You fight well, Mr. Siku," Feng said. "Better than I expected, considering your condition."

"I'm tougher than I look," Jason said, turning and moving to his left.

"You already know you cannot beat me," Feng said. "I can see that knowledge in your eyes."

"Maybe, maybe not," he said. "But even if I can't, I can hurt you. Maybe hurt you bad enough for you to crawl back under your rock for a while."

Feng laughed softly. "You would die an extremely unhappy man should you fail. Your life is all about the mission. I know — I lived it once."

Jason nodded. "So I've heard. Still, the charm of all this punching and kicking has worn off." He reached behind his back and removed two push daggers from his belt. They weren't his favorite weapon, but they required him to get up close and personal. Feng was a little less dangerous when he wasn't leaping and spinning through the air like some kind of tiger.

"Weapons, Mr. Siku?" Feng said. "I am disappointed in you. I thought we were going to do this the old-fashioned way."

"Screw the old-fashioned way," Jason spit. "I'd rather just kill you and move on with my day." He lunged forward, capturing Feng's right arm in a twist lock. He jabbed his right hand forward, but Feng twisted, and the blow slipped off the flexible body armor he was wearing beneath his clothing.

Using his left arm, Feng wrapped Jason's right, twisted sharply and dislocated his elbow. The dagger in that hand fell from nerveless fingers and he tried to move, but the Chinese man was faster, slamming his forehead into Jason's nose, breaking it with a horrible crunching sound.

He stepped back, leaped into the air and slammed both feet into Jason's chest.

"That sounded painful," Feng said, circling once more, even as Jason struggled to get to his feet. Blood poured from his shattered nose, and pain radiated from his elbow in sickening waves. "I promised you it would be slow. I am a man of my word."

Spitting blood and staining the snow, Jason managed to get to his knees and then his feet. With no way to put his right elbow back in place, he knew he was in deep trouble. That was his primary hand and now it was useless.

He spit once more and realized that in the last exchange, he'd dropped both his weapons. "Guess we're back to the old-fashioned way," he said. "Sure you don't prefer pistols at ten paces?"

"I enjoy the personal touch of hand-to-hand combat," Feng said. "Don't you?"

"Not as much as I once did," Jason admitted. He began to circle once more, looking for an opening of some kind, any kind that would let him harm this killing machine. Even as Feng tried to close the gap once more, Jason moved away, letting patience be his guide. In truth, he didn't have much left in him and he felt as if the next exchange would end it — one way or the other.

Feng leaped into the air once more and Jason feinted to his left, then moved right. Unable to adjust, Feng landed awkwardly, just enough to put him off balance. Seeing his opportunity, Jason made his move and closed the gap.

Screaming in pain, Jason forced both arms forward, driving his fingers beneath the man's floating ribs on each side. He grabbed them with his remaining strength and yanked as hard as he could. His right hand slipped away, but the left held and he felt the rib break. He released it, then tried to back away, but it was too late.

Truly angry, Feng grabbed his right arm and twisted him around once more. Jason felt the loop of wire slip around his neck, and tighten, cutting off his air supply.

"A very nice move," Feng hissed in his ear. "My left lung will be punctured on my next breath."

Jason tried to reply, but with no air and the wire getting tighter and tighter, he couldn't force out the words. Lights began to swirl in his vision, and he knew it was over.

He heard Feng inhale, then gasp in pain as the broken rib bone turned inward, stabbing into his left lung. It was a shame he didn't manage to get both of them. That might have been enough to change the outcome.

"Goodbye, Mr. Siku," Feng said, the wire tightening even more. "You lose."

"No, he doesn't," a voice said.

Jason felt Feng's body tense, heard the unmistakable sound of a harpoon gun, and suddenly he was free. He slumped to the ground and rolled. Behind him, Feng stood, staring in horror at the long harpoon sticking out of his shoulder.

Searching the darkness, Jason spotted Tanuk standing nearby. Behind him, lights began to flicker as more and more people became visible. By all appearances, the old man had brought half the village population with him.

Slowly, Jason struggled to his feet. His right arm hung useless at his side, and blood continued to drip from his nose. His throat burned with each breath of icy air he took. Nothing had ever felt quite so good.

"You were saying?" Jason gasped.

Tanuk moved to his side, helping to hold him up.

Feng stared at Jason as though trying to figure out a particularly difficult puzzle, then he began to back away, moving slowly toward the helicopter. "This is not over, Mr. Siku," he said. He grasped the harpoon, groaning in pain as it tore muscle and scraped bone, but he managed to get it free. He tossed it on the ground. "Men like us do not like leaving enemies behind."

Sinking to his knees, Jason looked at Tanuk. "Quickly," he rasped. Blood vessels had been ruptured in his throat, and he spit, trying to clear his airway. "In the back of the SUV. There's a green metal case, rectangular. Get it for me."

"Let him go, son," Tanuk said. "We need to get you to a hospital."

Jason shook his head and his eyes blazed. "Get it now."

Tanuk moved away, and Jason watched as Feng tried to climb into the Asp. His battered body wasn't cooperating very well, and he had to pull himself inside the helicopter and crawl into the pilot's seat. He rested for a moment, leaning his head back. Jason knew that the rogue agent was losing a lot of blood, but the man was tough as nails. He needed to be stopped, here and now, before he could do any more damage.

He heard a stirring behind him and saw Tanuk and another man carrying the case toward him. Feng began the start-up sequence, and the Asp's nearly silent engines began to cycle. "Hurry," he told them.

They set the case on the ground and all of them began to open the latches. Inside, cradled in foam, was a Russian-made Kornet-E antitank weapon. It was the infantry model, which used a laser-guided warhead. In combat, they could be used to penetrate concrete barriers and take out ground units who dug in behind protective shields. Inside the case were three warheads.

Lifting the Kornet out of the foam, Jason got it loaded, but putting it on his shoulder proved to be a bit too much. That collarbone was definitely cracked or broken. "Help me," he ordered Tanuk. "Get it on my shoulder."

The old man helped him lift it, while in the distance, Feng finished the start-up sequence. The Asp's rotors began to turn, and the blades started to spin rapidly as he prepared to take off. Looking through the glass, he saw what Jason was doing and started to lift off.

Flicking the switch to turn on the laser guidance system, Jason said, "Get everyone out of the way. I don't want anyone hit with the back blast."

Tanuk turned and started yelling for everyone to move.

Jason peered through the optic sight, and for a moment, his gaze met Feng's. The Chinese man nodded in acknowledgment, gaining altitude. He was perhaps fifty feet off the ground when Jason fired the rocket.

Using the laser, it tracked a path through the night and slammed into the Asp's cockpit, exploding on impact. The glare was blinding at this range and in the dark, and everyone's eyes began to water as the helicopter crashed to the ground in a burning, ruined heap.