Chapter 30 ending (100% new writing)

The rocks crunched under her feet as she walked. Below her, Benton’s team had split up and was searching individually. She was stalking above Channon, watching her every move.

I can’t believe they have not thought to look up above, she thought, grabbing the rope off her belt.

Equipped with a retractable grappling hook, she could repel down to the road. With a steely eye, she let Channon move out of sight. It was time to take her out, she reminded herself.

She placed the grappling hook on the lip of the roof. A flick of the wrist let the rope tumble to the ground. With a quick glance, she looked for Channon. Not seeing her, she took the rope in hand and stepped off.

It slipped through her special gloves as she slid down. Unlike normal leather gloves, the rope wouldn’t ruin hers. In fact, hers allowed the rope to slide easier, while still giving her perfect grip for a weapon.

Reaching the ground, she hit a control that caused the hook to detach. She caught it in her hand as it fell, placing the rope back on her belt. A glimpse caught her attention, causing her to slip behind a short fence. Hearing the approaching footsteps, she knew Channon was coming back.


###


The empty ally seemed like a ghost town to her. Eyes searching everywhere, Channon could feel her gut tightening. Almir had to be here somewhere, she reminded herself, there weren’t a lot of places she could hide.

Moving silently like a cat, she swept an arc with her rifle. If she was here, she told herself, she wasn’t going to make a move until she was ready. Until then, she was going to have to try to flush her out.

And she’s just as good at this as I am, she thought. Which is going to make this worse!

She slipped over and moved along a small fence. The longer the hunt took, the tighter her nerves were getting. Why couldn’t Almir play fair and just let them kill her? Didn’t she realize that she was a dead woman anyway?

She came to a complete stop. Hearing a slight sound behind her, she went cold. Someone was behind her! Benton and Hipper weren’t nearby, she told herself, and so it had to be Almir! Licking her lips, she spun around.

The ally behind her was empty!

It had to be her, she told herself, starting to hunt.

###


Holding her pistol in her hand, Kate shook.
She had nearly given herself away, damn it! How stupid could she have been? Trying to climb over the fence wasn’t the brightest move she had dreamed up!

Breathing hard, she lay on her back. If luck was on her side, she thought, then Channon didn’t see her. Otherwise, this was going to suddenly be a lot more difficult then she had thought it would be!

###

Channon stopped before the fence without a sound. Leveling her rifle at it, she clicked the safety. There was only one place Almir could be, she thought, and that was behind this fence!

After all she accomplished in the club, she thought, grinning, she is going to die right here.

“You’re quite the soldier, Almir,” she said.

###

Kate shuddered as she heard the words. Channon was awfully confident, she mused. There was no way she would have spoken to her target like that! Either way, it let her know where Channon was.

Shifting her position, she pointed her pistol at Channon. With nothing but the thin, wooden fence separating them, she could shoot through it. If she just got the right opportunity, she thought.

“This will be your military funeral,” Channon said. “But one last thing: when you shoot someone, Almir, make sure you kill them.”

A chuckle rose in Kate’s throat. Channon’s speaking had told her exactly where to aim. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger. One, two, three, four, five times it recoiled in her hands. Echoing around her head, the sound was deafening.

Channon’s body danced in the ally. Blood exploded from a bullet strike. Two, three, four, five more blasted into her chest. As her chest exploded, she fell backwards. Her last dying act was the grasp the trigger.

Bullets tore through the fence inches above her head. Roaring in the ally, the machine gun emptied its clip. Falling silent as Channon hit the ground, Kate heard it clatter on the ground.

“Thanks for the advice,” she muttered. “Bitch,”

If they didn’t know where I was before, she groaned, they know now!

Crawling to her feet, she looked at Channon’s dead form. There was no sympathy in her over the other woman’s death. Channon had come to Haven with the express purpose of killing her, she mused, and she got what she deserved.

I just wish this whole dirty affair didn’t have to happen, Kate thought as she knelt beside the corpse.

Rummaging through her pockets, she found two bloody clips. She picked up the machine gun and placed one in it. The earpiece in her ear was chirping as Benton tried to reach Channon.

Time to go, she told herself, jogging down the ally.

###

He watched her from a safe distance. The woman stalking Almir had made a tactical mistake, he thought. She should never have wasted the time talking; Almir would never have done that. Noting what occurred, he kept the information flowing.

Keeping her in sight, while blending in, he followed her discretely. It was, after all, what he did best. As long as he provided his superiors their information, everything was fine.

And I have two more people to watch her deal with, he told himself, Before I’ll be able to leave this miserable planet!