Free RIFT (The Rift Saga Book 1) by Andreas Christensen Page B

words meant, but it didn’t matter. She glanced over at Julian as he came walking toward them, hoping that he would come up with a solution.
    It all happened in an instant.
    The woman drew the sidearm from underneath her and pulled the trigger. Had she been steadier, more experienced perhaps, Sue would be dead. Instead, the shot went off a split second before the gun actually pointed at her, and Sue reacted instinctively. A three-round burst. The woman shook a couple of times before she fell silent, eyes still wide from the shock.
    “Shit, that was close,” Julian said. “Are you okay?”
    Sue nodded, dazed. She had just killed five people. That was in addition to the five or so killed back by the tree line. And the last one was a woman her own age. A prisoner. Nausea was quickly building up.
    “Hey!” she heard Julian say, distant at first. “Hey! Don’t break down on me now, Sue. You did what you had to do. Let’s just do what we came to do and get the hell out of here.”
    Sue could feel a calm coming that didn’t seem completely natural. The AI , she thought, as her mind began to focus on the task at hand. She breathed deeply, and exhaled, the nausea gone and composure regained.
    “You got a charge ready?” she asked. Julian nodded and tried to reach his pocket on his left side with his good hand. He fumbled a little, and Sue reached over.
    “Let me,” she said. Their eyes met, and she noticed his half-smile behind his visor. She looked away and reached into his pocket, grabbing the multi charge. She walked over to the rocket launcher, which looked intact still, with just a few small dents from the small-arms fire. She placed the charge beside the firing mechanism, so that it would inflict the most damage.
    “Let’s go,” she said, keeping her eyes away from Julian’s.
    They walked for a couple of minutes, Sue in front, weapon ready. Just in case. Once Sue thought they were far enough away, they stopped. Sue took out a small controller unit and pressed a button. After a moment, a red light turned green, and she pressed the button again.
    The blast wasn’t as powerful as she remembered from training. But here, in these woods, all sounds were muffled by foliage. They waited for half a minute before resuming their walk. Neither of them spoke. Instead, Sue switched to team frequency.
    “Two-One-Bravo, this is Two-Four-Bravo.”
    “This is Two-One-Bravo. You guys done yet?” Tac Hordvik answered.
    “Affirmative. Any news on exfil?” Sue hoped the airship would be there in time to save Quinn and get them out before the enemy realized they had wounded Janissaries that would be an easy target if they came in force. The tacticus remained silent for a few seconds before replying.
    “We have a go for exfil. So get your butts over here A.S.A.P., before the big shots decide to leave without you.”
    “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be there. Two-Four-Bravo out.”
    “You hear that?” she said to Julian.
    “Yeah. Let’s get a move on.”
    They ran as quickly as they could, and Sue worried that if an enemy spotted them, they would be defenseless. But there were no more enemies around, and they soon reached the clearing where the others were waiting, just as the airship arrived. Keisha ran a few meters off and began directing the airship as it lowered toward them. Once it hung just five meters or so above ground, a cage that looked like a cross between a basket and an elevator was lowered. Two heavily armored airmen, sporting some fancy weaponry Sue didn’t recognize, leapt out and covered the Janissaries. Two medics lifted Quinn onto a stretcher and carried him into the cage. Julian followed right behind, clutching his damaged hand.
    “Shouldn’t we pick up Brad?” she said to Tac Hordvik, who looked like he was about to fall over from blood loss. He just shook his head.
    “He’s gone, either way, Atlas. Care for the living.” Keisha came running, and Sue followed her in. Once his team was inside,