Depths of Blue Page 16

  She needed to put more space between them. She climbed further up the hill until she was almost to the top. Raising her rifle, she surveyed the surrounding countryside. She hadn’t forgotten about the possibility of enemy snipers, and keeping an eye out for them would keep her mind off the woman below and off her own despicable feelings.

  It took longer than usual to sink into the meditative semi-trance she employed when she surveilled an area for an extended period. When the trance finally did come, she almost sobbed with relief at the clarity it provided and the end it brought to her tangled thoughts, if only for a while.

  She stayed that way for the next couple of hours, safe in the meditative state where she didn’t have to think or feel. A touch to her elbow broke her out of her reverie.

  “Do you want to get some sleep?” Torrin asked.

  “I’m all right,” Jak replied, shifting away from the smuggler. Even that featherlight touch threatened to throw her back into the maelstrom of emotions. She really was all right, at least on the sleep front. Another stim was all she’d needed to beat her earlier fatigue. She’d need another one before their operation against the Orthodoxans at the bridge, but she had enough for that and hopefully to last her until they got back across the fence.

  “I’m going to get some food. Do you want anything?” Torrin started back down the hill. After a final study of their surroundings, Jak followed her. When Jak got to the rock, Torrin was preparing one of the ready to eat meals. Jak pulled one out of the rucksack for herself and dug in. It was good to have some real food for a change. The meals tasted like crap, but they were better than a steady diet of aetanberan. After wolfing down her meal, she cleared the tough, resilient grasses from a square of earth and starting drawing out their plan of attack.

  “They only have eight men, four who work each shift,” Jak started. “That means they’ll all be out of their barracks for shift change. We’re going to pin them down, and I’ll pick ’em off, one at a time, until we’ve wiped them out.”

  “That seems like overkill.” Torrin shifted in her seat, looking a little uncomfortable. “Do we have to kill all of them?”

  “If we leave any of them behind, they’ll be able to send people after us. That’ll only confirm our presence in the area, and we’ll have to deal with way worse.”

  “Won’t an outpost full of dead bodies confirm that just as easily?”

  “We won’t be leaving them lying around. If we dump them into the river, no one’s ever going to find the bodies.” Jak was confident. This close to the coast, there were some large predators in the water; they would make quick work of any corpses that went into the drink.

  “So you don’t see any other way of getting this done?”

  “No, I don’t. I’m open to any suggestions you got.”

  Torrin shook her head, troubled.

  “Tell me now if you don’t think you can do this. I can’t have you cracking under the pressure while we’re trying to get it done.” Jak did her best not to sound impatient. She didn’t understand Torrin’s reticence. It was obvious they had to get past the Orthodoxans, and beyond retracing their steps, they were out of options.

  “I’ve got this,” Torrin assured her.

  “Good. We have a lot of time until we launch our attack. I think we should inspect and clean our equipment and keep an eye on them. Oh, and you need to change out of that suit of yours and into something a more low key. The fatigues in the sack should fit.”

  Torrin went from looking reluctant to looking mutinous. “There’s nothing wrong with my suit,” she snapped.

  “It’s very nice, but the red doesn’t exactly blend in with the scenery. If this is going to work, then they can’t pick us out. The camouflage fatigues will make that harder. You got to change.”

  “If I change, you can’t watch.” The argument sounded ridiculous as soon as it left Torrin’s lips, and from the way she reddened, she thought so as well.

  “For crying out loud, I don’t need to watch you!” Of course she didn’t. She’d already seen most of Torrin’s salient bits and could easily bring them to mind. Just like she was doing right now. Her face was suddenly very hot and to hide her unexpected embarrassment, she picked up the sack and rummaged through it. She pulled the fatigues out and tossed them over to Torrin. She pulled everything else out to see if she’d missed anything. In addition to the items she’d found the night before, she discovered some extra ammunition clips for the sniper rifle and an ultra-thin coil of rope. That was nice to see. Who knew when rope might come in handy?

  “Well, go on and get changed,” Jak tossed over her shoulder as she continued to rummage through the bag. She resisted the urge to sneak a peek as Torrin flew through her wardrobe change. Feeling virtuous, she busied herself with packing the items back into the bag.

  “I’m done.” Torrin sounded irritated and Jak understood. The fatigues weren’t exactly flattering. The man for whom they’d been fitted hadn’t been quite as tall as Torrin. The pants were a little short; the sleeves exposed an expanse of wrist. Her full breasts pushed against the fabric of the jacket, making creases that drew attention right to all the right—or wrong—places.

  “I’m up here,” Torrin said dryly.

  Jak tore her gaze from Torrin’s chest. “Sorry. Your jacket doesn’t fit very well.”

  “You don’t seem to think so,” Torrin said, head cocked to one side, glaring a challenge at Jak.

  “Well, at least you won’t stick out so badly now. That’s something.” Jak shrugged uncomfortably.

  “I’m so glad,” the smuggler said waspishly. “Remind me not to let you dress me ever again. Your fashion taste leaves a little to be desired.”

  Jak snickered. Torrin threw her an irate look which sent her into gales of laughter. By the time Torrin crossed her arms and started tapping her foot, Jak was laughing so hard that tears coursed down her face. She rolled over into the grass, clutching her sides.

  “Wait, let me get this straight,” she gasped out around guffaws. “You’re getting on the case of a soldier for not having decent fashion sense?” She wiped tears off her face. “Do you think we get a say in the cut of our combat jackets? Maybe you’d like some ruffles along the hems of our coats? No, wait I have it. Stripes of glitter down our pants to matching boots!” Jak dissolved into guffaws once more.

  Torrin unbent enough to uncross her arms and grin. “When you put it that way, it does sound a little ridiculous.” She started laughing herself. “You’d look really pretty in hot pink, though. It would really bring out the rosiness of your cheeks.”

  Jak snorted and tried to regain some control of herself. The idea of dressing in hot pink threatened to make her lose it all over again.

  “I don’t remember the last time I laughed that hard, thanks.” She liked seeing Torrin smile and hoped she’d be able to get her smiling again soon. First they had to get across the bridge. With the reminder, her mood sobered quickly. “Let’s head back up to the hill overlooking the toll bridge. I wanna make sure that we don’t have any surprises when we launch our attack.”

  Torrin nodded and tossed Jak her fitted jumpsuit. “All right, but you can put this in your bag.”

  Jak put the suit in the sack, inhaling surreptitiously as she did so. She could smell Torrin’s unique scent, deep and sweet, with an underlying bite. It was unlike that of any she’d ever experienced. Most of the time, she was surrounded by sweaty men. She longed to fill her lungs with the aroma but resisted. Nothing would scare Torrin off like some strange man burying his nose in her clothes.

  “Let’s go,” Jak said abruptly, standing and jerking the bag onto her shoulder. Without waiting for Torrin’s response, she took off toward their viewing post in the hills.

  Torrin jogged after the sniper. For someone with such short legs, he could certainly move when he wanted to. The ridiculous camouflage uniform bunched in all the wrong places and wasn’t nearly as comfortable as her jumpsuit. She tugged on the wrists of her shirt in a vai
n attempt to make them a little longer.

  Why did so many of her interactions with Jak end up with him running away from her? Every time she thought she’d exposed a chink in his armor, he clammed up tighter than before and practically raced to put physical distance between them. He couldn’t know the unfortunate effect he was having on her. Maybe he simply wasn’t used to having a woman around and she confused him. He’d admitted that his brother was the one who had a way with women. With the way he acted, she doubted he’d had much interaction with females. It didn’t really change much; it just left her chasing after him across the grasslands and hills of the Haefonian wilderness.

  By the time she caught up with him, he was setting himself up at the top of their hill. His sniper rifle rested on a small tripod and he was attaching one of his many scopes to it. She was still more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of killing so many men in cold blood. They wouldn’t get over the river any other way, but she didn’t have to like it.

  “What should I do?” she asked quietly.

  “I need you to take your final position over there.” Jak pointed off to his left. “Scout out a good position that looks over the barracks and will let you cut off their access to it. When you’re done, let me know and I’ll check on it.”

  “You do know that I’ve never shot one of these before. I’m not just talking about propulsion weapons, but also long-range ones. I’m used to weapons that allow me to get more up close and personal.”

  “Don’t worry. You don’t need to be able to shoot the wings off a fly. Just to keep them pinned down so I can take care of the rest.”

  “All right, you’re the expert.” Torrin had serious reservations about her ability to be helpful. She shouldered her weapon and slid below the level of the hill before edging around in the direction Jak had indicated. The turnabout was a little strange. Just the other day, she’d practically had to beg to get a sidearm from the man, and now he’d not only let her hold onto his pistol, but he’d also set her up with a high-powered rifle. What changed? she wondered.

  At the top of the hill, she set up her spot and glanced at the intended target through the rifle’s scope. The vantage was decent. but the angle was off. She moved further to the left and checked again. Still off. She moved two more times before she was satisfied with both the angle and the vantage. True to his word, Jak came over and checked her setup.

  “Huh.” He didn’t say anything else, just moved the rifle a hand’s width to the right and said nothing else.

  “That’s all you have to say? I did good.” Torrin was proud of herself. She hadn’t been exaggerating. Her weapons of choice were a plasma pistol, a vibroknife for close quarters and her hands for when she didn’t want to kill, which was more often than not. Taking the time to plan a meticulous strike from hundreds, even thousands of meters away wasn’t exactly in her wheelhouse. For her, killing was a reaction to a situation gone irretrievably wrong, not an activity to be planned out and strategized over days beforehand. Pulling the trigger wasn’t anything she looked forward to, but she could appreciate the craftsmanship that went into it.

  “Yeah, it’s not bad,” Jak said noncommittally. He slid a meter or so to her right and took out one of his scopes to survey the buildings below the hill. Torrin noticed that he occasionally surveyed the surrounding countryside and the hills behind them. Ever since they’d taken out the other sniper, his focus had been razor sharp. He was so tense he practically vibrated. She wasn’t sure how he could keep it up.

  They spent the rest of the morning and afternoon watching the toll bridge. The only break in the monotony came when another farm truck rumbled through. Torrin’s repeated attempts to engage Jak in conversation were rebuffed with monosyllabic responses that went nowhere. She didn’t know why he’d suddenly decided to distance himself from her. The longer his silence dragged on, the more she wracked her brains to discover what she could have done to offend him.

  “You should get some sleep while you can,” he finally said to her. Darkness had fallen, and rain had started coming down about an hour earlier, a soft drizzle that coated them with a thin layer of dampness. Torrin hadn’t realized she was soaked until the gentle rain had seeped through to her skin. She’d really wished for her jumpsuit then. Even if it hadn’t been waterproof, it would have been more comfortable than the fatigues.

  “Great” was all she said in return. There was no point in offering him the same courtesy. He would just turn it down as he had every night since her unscheduled dip in the river. Still, she was exhausted and even though she was wet and in some discomfort, the idea of sleep was extremely appealing. She slid a short way down the hill and closed her eyes.

  The dual discomforts of rain and ill-fitting clothing kept her from truly restful sleep. She roused at every sound or movement from Jak. It wasn’t his fault and he was very still, but in her sleep-deprived state she was becoming very irritable. Finally, when she heard him rustle about in his pockets then pull out a canteen, she couldn’t stand it anymore.

  “Do you think you could—” Torrin cut off midsentence, not sure what she was seeing. “What’s that?”

  Jak stared at her in the midst of popping something in his mouth. He took a swig from the water bottle and washed it down.

  “What was what?”

  “What you just ate.” She eyed him suspiciously, propping herself up on her elbows.

  “You don’t need to worry about it. It’s just a little something I need right now.” He wouldn’t look her in the eyes and took up his surveillance of the area again.

  “Is that what’s keeping you awake? Is that some sort of pharmachem?” She wanted to know what he was taking. Her life was in his hands, like it or not, and she didn’t want to have to worry that some drug-addled man was about to screw up their escape.

  “It’s perfectly safe. It’s a stimulant. It keeps me awake for long periods when I need to be, like now.” His attempt to sound nonchalant didn’t quite ring true.

  Torrin was more than a little suspicious. “So there are no side effects. You’re not going to turn into some sort of raving sex freak?” She sat the rest of the way up and looked him right in the eye.

  “I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Jak replied gravely with a hint of amusement. “There are no instant side effects. I need to keep taking them now until we get out of Orthodoxan territory. Once I stop taking them I’ll sleep for a few days, but that’s pretty much it.”

  “How about some of those for me, then?”

  “I don’t have enough for both of us. Besides, only one of us has to be awake at a time. I know you’ll cover my back once I wake you up, so it’s all good.”

  “Oh.” Torrin was mollified and inordinately flattered that the sniper trusted her to watch his back. If she wasn’t mistaken, he hadn’t trusted anyone that much since his brother died.

  “Now go back to sleep. Things will go better if you’re well rested.”

  “Sleep would go better if I weren’t getting rained on,” she groused, lying down and turning over. A moment later, she felt him place his water-resistant jacket over her, stopping the relentless mist of rain on her face. The jacket smelled faintly of him, like the deep woods. It reminded her of the forests they’d traveled through. The scent was surprisingly light and not at all unappealing. With her head finally sheltered from the rain, she faded quickly and tumbled headfirst into a dreamless sleep.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Too soon, Torrin woke to Jak shaking her shoulder.

  “It’s showtime,” he whispered. “Get up.”

  Sleep had left her groggy and she shook her head to clear the cobwebs. “I’m up.”

  “Good,” Jak said. “You know the plan. You don’t start shooting until they make a break for their barracks. Don’t try to take them out, just make sure you lay down a field of fire so they can’t make it into the building.”

  “I’ll do my best.” She was still uneasy but was ready to do her part to see Jak’s plan succe
ed. Her discomfort must have translated to her voice because Jak patted her on the shoulder then gripped it. He squeezed reassuringly.

  “You’ll be fine. Just stick to the plan.” He let go of her and ghosted away into the darkness.

  Torrin took her place behind the rifle and looked through the scope. It wasn’t the one that she’d last seen on the rifle, but when she looked through it she realized that unlike the other scope, this one had night vision. Through the viewfinder she could see the barracks as clearly as if it were full noon. Details stuck out in sharp relief, objects contrasting more than they normally did. Next to the rifle, Jak had left a pile of ammunition clips. It seemed like she had enough ammo to kill an army, not just eight men. Men who were unaware of what was about to rain down on their heads. For a moment she felt sorry for them. Then she remembered the treatment she had received at the hands of the Orthodoxans. They would happily have taken the two of them out without any warning or second thoughts.

  She lay there and watched the buildings below for what seemed like hours. Her adrenaline spiked when four men trundled out of the barracks. Two of them started across the bridge, both yawning hugely. The two who had been stationed on the far side must have been itching for their chance to turn in and came out to meet their relief halfway across the bridge. The two in the near tollbooth exchanged pleasantries with their relievers.

  Come on, get on with it, Torrin thought at them. She worked to calm her breathing and willed them to move faster so she could get this over with. Eventually the two in the near building started toward the barracks. Halfway across the bridge, the first of the men fell, missing half of his skull. There was no sound, the side of his head just exploded in a curtain of red. The three men with him stared in disbelief and two more collapsed in the time it took for them to gape at their fallen companion. The fourth man took off at a mad dash for the near shore, screaming at the others.