The Contest (Relic Hunters 11) by David Leadbeater

Author:David Leadbeater [Leadbeater, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Minutes passed like hours, slogging by. Bodie was able to control his breathing, steady his nerves. He wiped his face, his brow, got a firm grip on the knife. He was as ready as he was ever going to be.

His eyes were focused on rock, and making sure he stayed well hidden. His ears were attuned for the slightest noise. The worst thing that could happen here was that the soldiers passed him by and he didn’t notice.

Nothing happened for a while. Five minutes passed, then seven and eight. He counted in his head, body taut and ready. The tautness made his muscles shake, and he had to make an enormous effort to steady them. This wasn’t natural to Bodie. None of this was. He didn’t fight for a living, didn’t make his way through treacherous landscapes whilst being hunted. Even as he stood there, waiting, it felt bizarre, otherworldly. It felt as if someone else was in his body standing there.

What the hell was he doing?

His thoughts turned to Heidi and Cassidy and the others. Were they being allowed to watch this? And then something else occurred to him. How trustworthy was Phoenix in this situation? If he was watching, would he somehow reveal Bodie’s position to the soldiers?

The sudden realisation unsettled him tremendously. Phoenix couldn’t be trusted an inch. He listened intently, ready for any sound of boots crunching on grit.

And then it came.

Bodie knew his life was in his own hands. Everything would decide on the next few seconds, the next few minutes.

A boot came down just a few metres beyond the fold, and then another. The men were walking at a steady pace. Bodie couldn’t hear them breathing, but he could imagine them focused on his trail. The boots came down in double time, meaning there were two men walking by. Bodie let them go, and then eased himself out of his hiding place.

He came around the fold, looked down the trail he’d engineered. The lead soldier was following it blindly, not even looking ahead. The second soldier walked behind. Both wore fatigues and baseball caps and wraparound sunglasses. Both carried exposed knives in their hands. Bodie was glad about that. He didn’t want to kill an unarmed man.

Guilt flashed through him. This would not be easy to do.

But it was kill or be killed. He was the prey in a very twisted game of cat-and-mouse. And, as he vacillated, the two soldiers walked further away.

Bodie leapt forward. He struck the back of the second soldier, pushing him forwards. At the same time, he thrust in with the knife, wincing but determined. The sharp blade penetrated through clothing and then flesh and buried itself in the soldier’s ribcage. The man stiffened and then let out a scream, falling to his knees. Bodie whipped the knife back out and stood above the fallen man, the blade dripping.

The lead soldier whirled and stared in disbelief. He looked from the downed man to Bodie, his eyes wide. And then he tightened the grip on his weapon and narrowed his eyes.

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