Point Of Betrayal

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The warrior plucked a frag grenade from his web gear and rolled from under the cart. Popping up from behind it, he spotted two of the shooters—a pair of Caucasians in camouflage fatigues—laying down a relentless hail of lead. Yanking the grenade’s pin, Bolan heaved the weapon toward the shooters and dropped back under cover.

An orange blast erupted, punctuated with a hellish chorus of agonized screams. Bolan was up and running again, this time beating a path for the helicopter.

A pilot stepped into view, pistol raised in front of him. Bolan’s subgun came to life, stitching the guy from left hip to right shoulder. The bullets’ impact thrust the man back into the chopper, knocking him from view. Grabbing a thermite grenade from his gear, Bolan activated the bomb and tossed it inside the craft. As a second followed in right after the first, Bolan wheeled and put some distance between him and the chopper. Reaching a line of rocks, he vaulted, hit the ground hard and launched into a side roll.

The dual grenades ignited one right after the other. Roiling clouds of flame erupted and ripped through the craft. Within a heartbeat, the fire ignited the craft’s fuel tanks and blew it into a supernova of flame, glass shards and twisted metal.

Bolan took the blitz up a notch and beat a path for the brick building. The MP-5 held in front of him at shoulder level, he weaved a path through the cluster of huts. He detected no signs of life from within, no cooking odors or fires, no noise.

The source had claimed the place was filled with innocents, but Bolan had seen no evidence to support this. He considered that a stroke of luck.

He flattened himself against one of the huts and peered inside. He saw blankets, dishes, utensils, radios and a laptop scattered around, but no people. He checked two more structures and found the same.

Bolan edged along another of the small houses, bringing himself within a few yards of the concrete-block building where he’d seen Stone take the woman.

A shadow from above overtook the Executioner. Raising his weapon, he spun just in time to see a large, robed man—apparently one of al-Shoud’s fighters—leap from a roof and fall toward him.

The man dropped into Bolan, wrapped his arms around the warrior’s midsection and took him to the ground. The attacker straddled him and sent a fist rocketing for Bolan’s face. The soldier rolled with the blow, letting it graze his cheek but mitigating the damage. Bolan tried to swing the MP-5 around so he could drill his adversary, but found his arm held fast in the other man’s grip.

Bolan’s left arm struck out hard, burying a fist into the guy’s soft belly, once, then twice, each blow driven hard into the man’s diaphragm. Breath exploded from the man’s lungs and his grip on Bolan’s wrist loosened. The soldier pressed his wrist against his opponent’s thumb until the Executioner’s gun hand slipped free. With lightning-fast movements, he cracked the man in the jaw with the MP-5 and sent him sprawling.

His appetite for hand-to-hand combat spoiled, the man grabbed for a pistol. Bolan’s MP-5 coughed out a trio of bullets that struck the man in the throat and robbed him of any remaining fight.

Bolan reached the brick structure and flattened himself against the wall, taking a moment to familiarize himself with the single-story structure layout. Kurtzman had told him that it had popped up within the last year, supposedly as part of an aid project for the village. The cover story was that it was to serve as a school and a community shelter.

Bolan dropped the MP-5 and fisted the Beretta and the Desert Eagle. He glided along the building’s edge until he came within yards of a door. He heard the click of a door latch and, a moment later, the steel door opened. A woman half walked, half stumbled out, a baby clutched to her. A bearded man, his red hair trimmed into a crew cut, stood behind her, his forearm wrapped around her throat as he used her for a human shield. She clutched a bundle to her bosom—a baby.

From behind his human shield, the man aimed an autoloading pistol at Bolan. The soldier’s eyes darted around as he sought a decent shot with Beretta.

He saw nothing.

JENNIFER KINSEY WINCED as Jon Stone hit her square between the shoulder blades. The blow launched her into a room that resembled a makeshift command center, with a bank of television monitors, computers and other high-tech equipment.

Kinsey felt Stone behind her before he touched her. When he did make contact, it was painful. He drove a fist into her kidneys, driving her to her knees. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he forced her back to her feet.

Stone took a few steps forward, wheeled and pinned her under his cold stare. He nodded over his shoulder at the security monitors as they conveyed the carnage unfolding outside. A big man had waded into the middle of Stone and al-Shoud’s gunners and, from what Kinsey saw, had unleashed hell on them.

“Friend of yours?” Stone asked.

Kinsey shrugged. “Maybe. Does he scare you?”

Stone’s lip curled into a sneer. “Nobody scares me, honey. You should know that.”

“James Lee must have scared you. Or you wouldn’t have killed him.”

“Lee was a paper pusher. Killing him was just business.”

“Business for who?”

“Get it straight—I ask the questions, you answer.”

Kinsey’s eyes narrowed. “Simple rules for a simple man.”

“You know, for a lady, you got some real clangers. Who knows you saw me?”

“Everyone.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“No.”

Stone stepped forward, crowding Kinsey. She felt her heart slam in her chest and her lips go dry as he did. He pressed his Glock to her forehead, used it to sweep aside a lock of her hair. The muzzle left a cold trail on the skin it touched. Despite her bravado, Kinsey was scared. Stone was a sociopath and he’d kill her without remorse. Her only lever, the only thing keeping her alive, was information.

That and Stone’s propensity toward underestimating women.

Kinsey was a trained agent. She could hold her own against any man. Stone knew this about her but chose to bind her hands in front of her, leaving her in a position to strike out at him.

More motion flashed on the television monitors. A glance told Kinsey that the lone warrior had blazed through the exterior guards and was making his way through al-Shoud’s compound.

“You tried to contact someone. Who was it?”

Kinsey shook her head. “No one.”

His moves a blur, he cracked her once in the jaw. Her head snapped back hard and a coppery taste filled her mouth.

Blood.

Son of a bitch.