Ambush Read Free Page B

weight upward. He caught the craggy ledge
with one hand, then was able to find purchase with a toe to catapult them onto
the narrow rampart. The CIA operatives were not far behind, scaling the rock
wall and cresting the ledge at about the same time as Svengurd.
    The only ones still on the wall, halfway up, were Brandt and
Vanderwalt.
    Svengurd removed the boy’s arms from around his neck and
unhooked a line from his belt. “Kirkland, climb down. Then Pollov lower the boy
to him.”
    He didn’t have time to see if the CIA operatives followed
his instructions as he unslung his gun, firing into the forest. He had to give
Brandt every opportunity before the guards figured out they had two sitting
ducks just waiting for them.
    * * *
    Amazing how adrenaline worked. Seeing that jaguar in action
had pumped Vanderwalt up enough to climb the wall, but it couldn’t fix torn
ligaments and severe dehydration. The Brit was flagging. He wasn’t going to
make it up the wall on his own.
    Brandt climbed up directly beneath Vanderwalt, trusting that
Svengurd would provide cover fire. Making sure that his fingers had as strong a
hold on the smooth rock as possible, Brandt braced himself.
    “Put your foot on my shoulder.” He looked up to find
Vanderwalt wide–eyed and flushed. The pasty–skinned Brit wasn’t meant for such
heat, humidity, and torture. Brandt had to give it to the guy though. He caught
on pretty quickly.
    “I can’t. You could fall or—”
    “Do it,” Brandt grunted, tiring himself on the sheer wall.
He dug in as Vanderwalt put one foot then the other on his shoulders. “Go!”
    The Brit pushed off, gaining precious inches up the wall. It
wasn’t enough, damn it. Despite Svengurd’s best efforts, the Los Zetas were
still taking potshots at them, sending flying limestone everywhere. It was like
being in the middle of an exploding quarry—only not quite as safe.
    Brandt climbed up to position himself under Vanderwalt
again. “Brace!” The Brit’s eyes shone with worry, but he did as he was told. “Go!”
Not bothering to wait for confirmation that they still hadn’t reached the top,
Brandt just got into position. “Brace.” He took Vanderwalt’s weight as his arms
started shaking. “Go!”
    This time Vanderwalt must have made it to the top, as his
feet disappeared from overhead. Time to do some climbing of his own. However,
the ascent was slightly complicated by the fact that the Zetas must have
realized their quarry was skipping town, and really put the pressure on. The
sound of automatic weaponry filled the air. Brandt scrambled, pushing past the
strong likelihood that he wasn’t going to make it to the top. At least not in
one piece.
    But what he should have been worried about was how slick his
fingers had become. Just inches from reaching that precious ledge, his grip
slipped. The foothold he’d thought was solid gave way. Brandt could feel
gravity just sitting on his shoulder, ready to take him down.
    Then there was a strong hand on his neck, grabbing him by
the flak jacket.
    “Gotcha, Sarge,” Svengurd said as he pulled him up.
    Of course this meant that the point man couldn’t provide cover
fire. As bullets zinged all around, Brandt’s feet found purchase and pushed him
up and over the ledge.
    And by over, he meant over. He and Svengurd sailed over the
narrow rampart. Twisting mid–air, Brandt caught some stone on the other side.
As he slid down the rock, his fingers desperately searched for a handhold. He
did not want to end the day with a broken femur.
    There! He’d found it. The tip of his boot crammed in between
the seam of two rocks. Not much further down, Svengurd broke his fall.
    Gunfire went from loud to ballistic on the other side. With
his cheek against the cool stone, Brandt was so very glad that the ancients
really knew how to build a retaining wall. However, it would only be a matter
of moments before they realized they couldn’t shoot through the rock and
decided to hop on