Chapter 9

"Kara, I have confirmation with the binoculars. The A-team is in position. We are go for mission from this side, do you copy?"

"I copy Mark. Everything looks okay here. But there are some crosswinds swirling in the gorge entrance. I estimate distance to target 175-plus yards. This is right at my limit of what I can target. I'm waiting for the wind to die down, but this plan won't work once the sun rises. The Paleo will rise with it."

"Kara, your group and the A-team are the ones at risk. We're relatively safe up here. We are the anvil, you are the hammer. Don't strike if the setup isn't right. We'll only get one chance at this."

"I know. I'm putting my scope on my target now. Wait for my pistol shot to begin operations."

Kara sited her scope and waited for the wind to calm, trying to draw patience from the ten unmoving Hopewell warriors around her. They were among the very best the tribe had. Their sole job for the mission was to be her personal bodyguard, and to reload her magazines if needed. Hopefully, that wouldn't be needed. Thinking of the training classes for reloading the magazines, Kara's mind wandered back to the incredibly hectic schedule of the last 10 days, constantly being either in meetings with the war council or in language lessons..."

Kara and Mark's biggest headache was getting Kara on the war council. The fact that Kara killed almost all the Paleo in their battle finally convinced Kikapua to accept her. Kara was not officially a tribal member, and that provided some cover for the breach of the social norm. But the council soon realized her brilliance, and gave her the name of Kirahani, the Hopewell name meaning Thoughtful Warrior. Kara and Mark stressed the importance of nighttime recon, a concept the Hopewell at first found shocking. But the value of the work soon became obvious, and it led to the plan that now involved almost every member of the Hopewell tribe between 10 and 95 local years of age. Their home village was currently occupied by infants and toddlers in the great common lodge, being cared for by young children and handfuls of great grandparents.

Kara saw the wind dying down. All thought of the last 10 days disappeared from her mind. She soon became oblivious to the ten warriors around her. She didn't realize it, but her heart rate was dropping rapidly, stabilizing at an incredibly low 45 beats per minute. Her entire mind was focused on the scope before her and on the Glock's trigger. She dimly knew she was within an ounce of pressure for firing.

In a zone so deep it was trancelike, Kara fired the shot in the long pause between heartbeats. The shot was perfect, traveling down from her ridge and across the mouth of the gorge, hitting the key lookout squarely in the back of the neck 178 yards away. With his spinal cord severed, the old man could not cry out as he fell to the ground. The ten warriors of A-team leapt up from their rocks and began to run to his position in the pre- dawn light. They reached the outpost camp of the Paleo elders, and as they saw the number of their enemy there, their minds were filled with dismay and the Hopewell plan began to unravel.

Sometime during the night, a second team of ten Paleo warriors had joined the ten Paleo elders at the site. Instead of being able to dash in and slaughter the outpost quickly while they were still asleep, the Hopewell warriors slaughtered half and then found themselves in a fierce knife-fight with the remaining Paleo who were screaming for help.

Mark was in position on the ridgeline at the mouth of the gorge. Kara was on an opposite ridge much closer to the Paleo camps. The Paleo camps began to rise at the sounds of the knife-fight and Kara began to fire. Within half a minute she ejected her empty magazine, tossed it to a bodyguard and reloaded in one easy practiced motion. She was firing again three seconds later.

Mark was farther away and was waiting to fire. On his higher ridge, he was the first to see the result of A-team's battle. They were victorious, but barely. Only the three most junior members of the team were alive, and one of them has hopping around on one leg. Their mission was to dash back into the narrow gorge and entice the main Paleo force to chase after them. But in the panic of the moment, the two unhurt warriors made a sling with their arms and began to run back slowly to the gorge 200 yards away, carrying their wounded friend. Mark was dismayed at how the plan was evolving and realized that he and Kara would have to provide covering fire much longer than planned. He began to fire as targets came into his range.

Kara continued to fire at an incredible speed. She had five of the eight magazines, and her four bodyguards trained in reloading could barely keep up with her. Kara was not taking the time to target fatal shots. She decided that a solid hit anywhere in the torso would take out a Paleo warrior long enough for the remnants of A-team to reach the gorge. After several minutes of intense firing, she began to wonder if her barrel would overheat.

The open comm link on the walkie-talkie squawked. "Kara, I see a large contingent of Paleo coming to your position along your ridge. You're visible from the women's camp. Kara, there's over a hundred enemy coming right at you. Probably the oldest teenagers. Kara! You have to leave. Now!"

Kara paused for a brief moment while reloading. "Mark, stay on mission!" Kara continued firing.

"Kara, they'll be on top of you in minutes! You have to leave NOW!"

"Mark, stay on mission."

"Kara, you'll be killed!"

"Most of A-team is already killed. Their deaths will not be in vain. We're a moment away from delivering a tremendous blow to the Paleo. Mark, stay on mission!"

Mark cried out and stopped firing, wiping the tears from his eyes in a desperate attempt to get his emotions under control. He returned to providing covering fire. Kikapua was at Mark's side, and he could see the continued flash of Kara's gun across the gorge. " * Why * doesn't * she * flee? * "