On the Hunt

“Suit yourself. How about a roll call? Anybody see anything out here?”

A chorus of “negative” rang through the headset as everyone checked in.

“See?” Belson said. “All this for a nest of wild birds or something.”

“Hold on!” one of the voices said. “Unidentified aircraft from the island’s west side.”

Harlan cocked his head. He couldn’t hear it. “What does it sound like? A seaplane? A copter?”

After a moment, more of the security officers chimed in. “Drones!” several said at once.

Harlan heard the buzzing overhead. “They’re heading for the east!”

“They just crossed over the river,” Belson said. “We’re heading toward the bridge now. Harlan, I really wish you’d hang back.”

“Just when it’s getting interesting? You know me better than that.” Harlan quickened his pace. “I’ll meet you on the other side of the river. Stay sharp, everybody.”

Harlan jumped over the boulders that lined the main walking path and made his way toward the suspension bridge. It seemed there were now several drones in the sky, and they were all converging near the housing facilities on the other side of the river.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions in the distance.

Boom!

“What the hell is going on over there?” Harlan shouted.

“Possibly grenades,” one of the security men replied. “And maybe some gunshots. We’re seeing some flashes up ahead. We’re halfway over the bridge right now.”

“I’m right behind you. Keep going, I’ll see you in a minute.”

Harlan saw the flashes and smelled gunpowder in the air. What the hell was happening?

He pulled out his gun and charged onto the bridge. He could just make out the rest of the team thirty or forty yards ahead of him. If he put on an extra burst of speed, he might just be able to—

Boom-boom-boom-boom! A deafening string of explosions rocked the bridge from below. Harlan felt the vibrations beneath his feet, and he looked up just in time to see one of the bridge’s two massive towers rocking from side to side.

Oh, shit.

The radio chatter told Harlan that the others on the bridge realized the same thing he did.

“It’s going down!”

The bridge’s superstructure groaned, and the steel cables snapped and whipped across the railing, slicing it in several places.

Harlan leaped for one of the cables and grabbed tight, hanging on as the bridge’s roadway collapsed beneath him. The east tower tumbled into the river, turning the bridge into a one-way ramp into the churning water below.

Barking! Mack was crawling up the ramp trying to get to him. He reached out and grabbed the dog’s leash, then pulled the retriever the rest of the way up as screams blasted through his earpiece. Mack fought the way to his side, trying to nudge him away from the abyss.

More screams!

At least half the team had been hurled from the bridge, and the others were still trying to grab hold of something, anything, as the remaining beams buckled.

Harlan felt his hands sliding down the steel cable. They were wet with blood, he realized.

Shit.

He gripped harder and swung his feet toward the railing.