Free Z-Minus (Book 4) by Perrin Briar

spent in the Middle East, and they were pleased to head out there when they did.
    But Eddie hadn’t completely lowered his guard yet. His rifle was still within easy reach.
    “What happened to your rifle, your kit?” Eddie said with a frown.
    “My team took them,” Mark said. “Thought they’d need the extra firepower.”
    “Can’t blame them for that,” Eddie said. “Where were they headed?”
    “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that,” Mark said.
    “Why not?” Eddie said.
    “I’m a corpse,” Mark said.
    Eddie smiled.
    “And might I say, you look lovelier than ever,” he said.
    “Coming out,” a voice from the forest said.
    “Ali,” Eddie said. “Come look at what we caught.”
    Ali came out of the foliage, hands clasped to the back of his head. John and Daoud appeared behind him in crouched positions, catching Eddie and Tex with their pants down.
    “What are you doing?” Eddie said.
    “You’re out of the game,” Mark said.
    The blood drained from Eddie’s face as realization set in.
    “You’re not infected?” he said to Mark.
    “Nope,” Mark said, wiping the red marks off his face.
    Eddie gritted his teeth.
    “That’s against the rules,” he said.
    “In war, there are no rules,” John said. “Drop your weapons.”
    Eddie grinned and reached for his gun.
    “I think I’ve got a twitchy finger,” he said. “I’m sure I can squeeze off one round, even by accident.”
    “I wouldn’t if I were you,” John said, drawing closer, to near-point blank range, aiming between Eddie’s legs. “They might be small, but I can trim them up if you like.”
    Eddie hesitated. He raised the strap of his gun up over his head and lowered it to the ground.
    “Thank you,” John said.
    His eyes never moved from the other soldiers.
    “What do you want to do with them?” he said.
    “Let them go,” Mark said.
    “You’re sure about that?” John said. “If you ask my opinion, they don’t deserve to live.”
    “Let them go,” Mark said.
    John sighed, disappointed.
    “You heard him,” he said. “Get your useless bodies in your patrol car and get out of here.”
    They did, the back wheels of their jeep kicking up a cloud of dust in their haste. Eddie’s sneer could have curdled milk.
    “They’ll tell everyone where we are,” John said.
    “Uh-huh,” Mark said. “They think we broke the rules.”
    “We did break the rules,” John said.
    “They feel they can now too,” Mark said.
    He moved to the tree line and retrieved his weapon and backpack.
    “We just opened our very own can of worms,” John said. “And you’re happy with this?”
    “Daoud,” Mark said. “You served under Eddie as your team leader. What do you think he’d do after this?”
    “Honestly?” Daoud said. “He’ll be angry and want revenge. He’ll be on the radio now, telling everyone within range where we are, so they can find us and put us down fast.”
    Mark nodded, as if the news had confirmed his suspicions.
    “Then we’re going nowhere,” Mark said. “We’ll stay here.”
    “You just heard what Daoud said,” John said. “They know we’re here.”
    “And they know we know,” Mark said. “They’ll spread out, searching all around. They’ll ignore this position. If we leave now, it’ll only be luck if we slip through them. But if we wait, we’ll see where they’re patrolling and can escape.”
    John’s eyes moved side to side, sifting through the plan and its possible outcome. He smiled.
    “Remind me never to play chess against you,” he said.
    “Why not?” Mark said. “I’m terrible at chess.”
    “My ass you are,” John said.
    “So, we just sit here?” Daoud said, disbelieving his ears.
    “Affirmative,” Mark said. “We’ll get some rec. It might be a while before we get another chance.”

Z-MINUS: 6 hours 36 minutes
     
    John gathered up sheets of moss, forming a soft cushion to lie on top of. Mark and Daoud followed suit.
    Daoud walked off to one side into a small