Andrew Peterson - First to Kill

Leonard missed. Before he could reacquire, the sand in front of his target erupted, obscuring his view. He heard five quick pops, like firecrackers going off, and knew his mark had fired a handgun into the sand to provide a smoke-like screen. Clever move. In combination with his motion and the irregularly shaped ghillie suit, it worked. Estimating where he thought his target would be, Leonard sent another bullet before pulling back to relocate.

Harvey heard the report of the rifle roll down the canyon in a crackling reverberation that lasted for nearly five seconds. Then he heard five quick handgun shots. A few seconds later, he heard a second rifle shot. What the hell was going on?

The tiny speaker in his ear went off. “Five-by-five, Harv. Stay down, he’s on the south rim. I’m coming to you.”

“Copy.”

As Nathan made his way upstream along the tree-covered bank toward Harv’s position, the small speaker in his ear came to life. “ That was some trick with the mountain lion. How’d you manage it? ”

Nathan instantly knew who it was. “The money’s not worth it. Walk away.”

“Fat chance.” A short pause, then, “You leaving her there to die?”

Nathan saw no point in responding to that.

“The shot isn’t immediately fatal,” said Leonard. “But the longer she lies there…. Well, you get the picture. I guess you have a decision to make, don’t you?”

Nathan clenched his teeth and felt rage begin to boil again. Leonard Bridgestone had purposely gut-shot Grangeland. He couldn’t let Leonard know how much saving her

life meant. He had to play it cool. If he showed even the slightest concern, it would both embolden and empower his enemy. Choosing his words carefully and grateful Grangeland no longer had her radio, he called Leonard’s bluff.

“She’s nothing to me. I’ll sacrifice her before I let you walk.”

“Bullshit. She’s a looker. I can’t imagine you didn’t notice that.”

Nathan could feel the tension building. He had to turn it back on Leonard. “Speaking of sacrifices, why’d you serve Ernie up?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know damned well what I’m talking about. You placed him where you knew I’d nail him.”

Leonard didn’t respond right away. “ Was it that obvious? ”

“He was your brother. How could you do it?”

“He gave me up, I could never trust him again.”

“He gave you up under torture. But that’s not the real reason, is it?”

“Do tell.”

“Is your love of money so perverse that you’d feed your own brother to the wolves to keep it all yourself?”

“The way I figure it, you did him a favor. Did the world a favor.”

“What’s the matter, Lenny, you don’t have the balls to clean up your own mess?”

“I used him rather than waste him. I might have found you from the shot you took. You got lucky, McBride.”

“You’ll never leave here with your money. I’ll make sure it gets donated to charity. How about the Purple Heart Fund? You’ve got two of them, don’t you?”

“Cute, McBride.”

“Give my regards to Ernie when you see him in hell.” Nathan turned off his radio.

Fifty yards from Harv’s position, Nathan issued his signature warbling whistle. Harv returned it and he worked his way up to his partner’s hiding place.

“Damn, it’s good to see your sorry ass,” Harv said as Nathan crouched down beside him.

“Sorry I’m late, I had an argument with a local.”

“I heard your exchange with Leonard. A mountain lion?”

“Tell you about it later.”

“Is Grangeland alive?” Harv asked.

“Yeah. I saw her moving. There’s no way to know the extent of her wound.”

“Shit.”

“We can’t let her die, Harv. Getting Leonard isn’t worth her life.”

“Yeah, but she might die anyway. Or he might go ahead and kill her. He served up his own brother on a silver platter.”

“Here’s the plan. I’ll create a distraction down here and bring Leonard to my position while you work your way back to Grangeland and fly her out of here. He can’t be in two places at once. If he’s on this end of the canyon, he can’t be watching the chopper.”

“I can’t leave you out here alone. And I’ve never flown that thing solo.”

“Harv, I have to kill him. He’s still got a lot of Semtex. We can’t risk him coming after us, or worse, coming after your family. You know that. You’ve got dozens of takeoffs and landings under your belt. You’re ready. Use the checklist for startup. Get her light on the skids before you lift off. You can do it.”

“It feels like I’m abandoning you. You’re bleeding bad.”

“You’re saving Grangeland’s life. I’ll be okay. Leonard doesn’t stand a chance against me. He has to die, Harv. For your family’s sake.”

“Promise me you won’t follow me up that canyon and cover my ass at your own expense again.”

“I promise.”

“Here, take four of my Sig mags. I won’t need them and you just might.”

Nathan stuffed them into his pockets. “Better give me the spool of fishing line from your backpack and your Predator knife too.”

Harv turned around so Nathan could dig the spool out. Harv then bent down and removed his ankle sheath and handed it to Nathan. Nathan strapped it onto his good left ankle.

“How long do you need before I call in the cavalry?” Harv asked

“Give me two hours from the time you turn the ignition. Worry about Grangeland, not me.”

“You won’t last two hours. You’re slowly bleeding out.”

“I’ll be fine. Get Grangeland to a hospital, Harv. Land directly on its helicopter pad.”

“Shit.”

“Go on. No long good-byes.”

“Nathan, I-”

He smiled. “Get going. You’ll hear me popping off shots to bring Leonard down here. Be careful traversing that sand wash.”

“Nail his ass, Nate.”

“You can count on it.”

Nathan turned his radio on and pressed the transmit button. Distraction time. “You copy, Bridgestone?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“You mad at me for the ‘give my regards in hell’ comment?”

“Naw, it seemed appropriate at the time.” Bridgestone stayed quiet for a moment. “What’s your story, McBride? Why do you give a shit? Why risk your life over this?”

“Maybe it’s the good-versus-evil thing. Maybe I’m curious to know if good truly is stronger than evil.”

“Who’s who?”

“Well, the last I checked, I didn’t murder twenty-four innocent people sitting at their desks.”

“Point taken.”

Nathan popped off two quick rounds at nothing. “Gotta go.”

“What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?”

“You’ve got a quick wit, better hope you’re as fast with that rifle.”

“I am.”

“You’d better be. We’ll see you at your money stash.” Nathan had purposely said we’ll . He turned off the radio, popped off two more shots, and moved away downstream. So far, so good. If Leonard was on the move, he couldn’t be stationary and actively looking for Harv. At best, all Leonard could do was stop every so often and make a quick sweep of the canyon. He’d never see Harv that way. Harv was too good.

Nathan took slow, deliberate steps through the underbrush, glancing over his shoulder for the cat. He knew the scent of his blood remained strong. Although he believed the animal to be long gone, he wasn’t willing to bet his life on it.

He estimated another five hundred yards or so before he had any chance of seeing the rock spire at the money stash. Up ahead, he saw where the canyon made a horseshoe turn to the north and knew the spire was around that bend on the right side. If he were Leonard, he’d pick a spot within three hundred yards of the spire, probably on this side of it, set up shop, and wait for his opponent to come to him. One thing was certain: Leonard had the speed advantage, even if Nathan chose to throw caution to the wind. His calf was killing him, almost as painful as his arm, but it wasn’t losing as much blood. The blood loss from his arm would soon become a concern.