Arctic Storm Rising Dale Brown (literature books to read TXT) 📖

as they moved slowly across more level ground, hauling a sled with Torvald Pedersen strapped aboard. He didn’t like the need to disperse his small command so widely, but it wouldn’t have been safe to try pulling that sled across this hillside. Not unless he wanted to risk adding a broken neck to Pedersen’s already-fractured leg.

He took a moment to check the digital map stored in his tablet. Past this spur, the terrain opened up onto a somewhat widerplain, one cut through by curving, shallow, gravel-banked streams that eventually merged to become the Old Crow River. ConsideringMavrichev had taken a pistol-caliber-sized round through his right lung, the Russian general had likely been shot somewherein that next valley. Which meant whoever it was that had put a bullet into him was probably close, no more than a few milesup ahead. And that, in turn, meant it was time to start being a hell of a lot more cautious.

Flynn edged off the ice patch onto firmer ground and then keyed his tactical radio. “Kodiak Six to all Kodiaks on this hill.Close up on my position. Sanchez and Boyd, you guys hold where you are for now. Six out.”

Acknowledgments flooded through his headset. Both ends of his skirmish line began curling toward him, with the men higheron the spur sliding carefully downhill and those lower down painstakingly working their way back up. It took time to completethe maneuver, but finally, Flynn found himself at the center of a group of closely clustered, curious faces. All but one.Takirak stayed a couple of yards away, as if he wanted to both physically and mentally distance himself from the others.

Flynn frowned inside at that. Something had seemed off with the grizzled noncom ever since they’d found that dead Russian Air Force general. Maybe it was the head wound he’d taken, though that hadn’t seemed more than a surface gash. Or maybe, he thought sadly, the older man was one of those recruiting-poster soldiers who excelled in peacetime training and then folded under the stress of real action. Whatever it was, it was a serious problem. He’d come to depend heavily on Takirak’s advice and local knowledge. Realizing he could no longer fully trust his second-in-command felt an awful lot like losing his right arm.

“What’s up, sir?” Hynes asked at last.

Aware that he’d been silent for too long, Flynn shook himself. Soldiers didn’t like being stared at by their officers. Itmade them nervous, both because they started wondering how they might’ve screwed up, and worse, because it could mean theywere being led by someone who had no fucking clue of what to do next. And enlisted men knew all too well that an indecisiveofficer was the one most likely to get them all killed.

“Here’s the deal,” he said calmly, facing his men. “Somebody out in front of us seems kind of trigger-happy. Now, they mighttechnically be on our side—”

“Like maybe the CIA?” Airman Kim asked curiously.

Flynn nodded. “Possibly.” Then he shrugged. “Or they may be outright hostile.” He saw Hynes’s mouth open and beat him to thepunch. “Yes, as in the Russians, PFC Hynes. Either way, I want the chance to take a good, hard look at whoever they are before they see us coming. So we’re switching to night vision gear starting now.”

Heads nodded in understanding. From their current position, in the hills above these intertwined valleys, the ordinary flashlightsthey’d been using could be seen for miles.

“Using the NVGs in this cold will drain their batteries pretty fast,” Takirak warned.

Flynn stared at him. “I’m aware of that, Sergeant,” he said quietly. “Do you have an alternative that I’ve missed?”

The older man nodded. “We’d make better time down on the flat with the guys hauling the sled,” he said, pointing downslope.“Movement would be easier, faster, and a heck of a lot safer. There’s less chance of someone twisting an ankle on that tundra . . .and any lights we need won’t be as obvious at a distance.”

Flynn shook his head. “We’ll stick to the high ground for now,” he said firmly. “At least until we know more about what we could be facing up ahead. If we are heading into trouble, I want every tactical advantage I can get.”

“It’s your call, sir,” Takirak allowed stiffly. But the disapproving set of his shoulders and the undercurrent of skepticismin his voice both left no doubt that he believed his commander was making a mistake.

Flynn ignored that. Trying to argue the sergeant into agreement would only waste time. And making it even more obvious thattheir two leaders weren’t seeing eye to eye would only unnerve the rest of his soldiers and airmen. Instead, he pulled hisown night vision goggles out of an insulated pouch attached to his body armor and slid them on over his helmet. He poweredthem up. Instantly, the darkness brightened into a monochrome semblance of daylight. The men around him did the same, thoughTakirak donned his own vision gear with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.

“Okay,” Flynn said. “We’re going to tighten up our skirmish line from here on out. I want two-man fighting pairs, with a twenty-yardseparation between pairs. We’ll follow this spur around back to the northeast and continue on along the main ridge. Keep youreyes peeled and move as quietly as you can. Once we’re back on the main ridge, pay attention to our right flank. That’s themost likely threat axis. If anybody is camped up ahead, they’re probably down there on the valley floor—somewhere close toone of those iced-over streams for water and shelter.”

Hynes held up a hand. “What do we do if we spot someone, sir?”

“You take cover and report the contact, PFC,” Flynn told him. “But nobody opens fire unless I give a direct order. Is thatclear?” They nodded.

Flynn swung his M4 carbine off his shoulder. “Right. Let’s move out—” And then he broke off suddenly, holding up a hand for quiet. He thought he’d heard something behind them, off in the north—a faint, rhythmic whirring sound. In the abrupt hush, he heard the noise