Free Ready to Kill by Andrew Peterson

acknowledged with an okay gesture. They’d sit tight for five minutes to make sure the helo didn’t return. The NV-capable weapon sight on his M40 was zeroed for three hundred yards, so if the helicopter reappeared and things turned ugly, Nathan was more than capable of accurately shooting at its crew or engine compartment. If the bird was one of the Nicaraguan air force’s Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters, Nathan knew the Hinds employed armor plating to protect their vital areas, which meant he’d have little chance of shooting it down. The best he could hope for would be a wounding shot to make it withdraw. He felt fairly confident it hadn’t been a transport; its rotor noise hadn’t been throaty enough.
    There was no sense in speculating further, but he wasn’t convinced the helo’s passage across the canyon wasn’t connected to them. Hearing several helicopters at the same time could’ve meant serious trouble, because each Hind had the capacity to carry eight combat troops and all their gear.
    He didn’t deny his previous ordeal down here made him edgy, but it was prudent to hold their position for a spell. They had time. If all went well, they’d have alpha thoroughly scouted before their mysterious messenger arrived, but he suspected the reverse was true. If their messenger possessed formal Echo training, he would’ve arrived by now to secure the area himself. And he might not be alone—there could be more than one person up there.
    Before five minutes had elapsed, Nathan gave Harv the form-up gesture, and they moved laterally toward each other.
    “Talk about a pucker factor,” Harv said.
    “Yeah, no kidding. Think it was a Hind?”
    “Probably. It didn’t sound like a transport, and it was definitely a single rotor. Its noise was never constant, so I don’t think it hovered and deployed troops. If it did, we could be facing a squad-sized force.”
    “Quit trying to cheer me up.” Nathan looked toward the west where the helicopter had disappeared. “We’ll stay a little longer.”
    “The helo could’ve spooked our messenger. He might bug out thinking he’s been blown.”
    “If we don’t find anyone up there, I suspect it would only delay the inevitable. I’d like to solve this mystery tonight and be done with it.”
    “Agreed.”
    “Did your RF detector vibrate?” Nathan asked.
    “No, I didn’t feel anything. You’re thinking if it saw us, it would’ve radioed our location. If it did, the detector should’ve picked up its transmission. Nate, we can’t rule out the possibility it rappelled troops on the north side of that ridge we just came from and then blew through the canyon to deceive us. To make matters worse, Raven could be with them.”
    “How long would that have taken?”
    “If they’re seasoned combat troops, less than twenty seconds.”
    “How much time do we have if that’s the case?”
    “If they take a direct route over the summit like we just did, thirty minutes to an hour, depending on how stealthy they want to be. It would take them considerably longer to traverse the mountain to the east or west.”
    Nathan didn’t respond.
    “Do you want to leave?”
    “I think we’re okay. Like you said, its noise never sounded constant from a hover. Just because it was dark, doesn’t make it a Nicaraguan air force bird. It could’ve been a drug runner or a private ship.”
    “That’s true.”
    “We have several options, but all of them terminate with two possible outcomes. We either complete the mission as planned and meet with the messenger, or we don’t. Cantrell won’t second-guess us either way. A helicopter’s passage through the area doesn’t seem like a strong enough reason to scrub the mission. I think we should hunker down right here and see if anyone shows up. We can’t worry about meeting our messenger until we’re certain we’re not being pursued.”
    “Sounds like a plan.”
    They separated again to give themselves the best chance of detecting