Page 72 (1/2)

Branches whip at her face, thorns rip her unifor-bang-bang!

The one thing the Germans won’t expect: attack!

A dark shape ahead, a glea and the Ger body, with another Kraut ahead, firing at her She sees his muzzle flash, hears the bullets, fires, fires, runs, and the Kraut is still firing when she plows into hi him in her rush Now she sees four,frorenade free, pulls the pin, and throws it She drops to the ground, hears shouts of alarm in German and then, crumpf!

S, no longer firing, waiting for targets

There! Bang!

There! Bang! Bang!

Two rounds left in the clip A Gerun from the hip, disciplined bursts that chop at the trees Rio isfaster than the Kraut can turn, and she tosses her second grenade at hi and crumpf!

So and thick and too soft to be wood hits her in passing, but she’s beyond caring There’s a roaring in her head, a sound like a , she is unstoppable, invincible, unkillable, and she screaoddamn you!”

Two shots come in rapid succession, two shots that sober her up like a bucket of cold water thrown in her face The shots are from behind!

She twists in mid-run to see the German she’d tra And just a few feet behind him, Jack’s rifle is also leveled, and also trails a faint wisp of smoke from the barrel The German stands for what feels like an eternity, then crumples

Rio stops running and realizes no one is firing at her

“Cease firing!” she yells at the top of her lungs With predatory alertness she strains to hear The sound ofback? If so

“Jack, with me!” she yells, and barrels back toward Strand, who has blessedly fallen silent She drops beside hirabs his uniform fabric Jack, beside her, does the same, and side by side they haul Strand away But it is inch by inch Strand is a healthy-sized man and the soil is far from smooth

Rio yells, “Geer, Cat, all of you fall back!”

“Artillery?” Jack gasps