Page 67 of Deadly Sins
Mason clapped him on the back. “Nice riding! Serious Rambo action, my man.”
Fenn staggered forward under the blow. “Nice of you to show. Excellent timing. I figured you dudes were still an hour or two out.”
Mason jabbed a gloved finger at the gleaming helo fifty yards away. “Borrowed a ride.”
Made sense. Instead of flying to Endurance, then racing back on snow machines, the team had simply flown straight to the site. Something he was certain Bridger made look easy, but couldn’t be more difficult in the dark, arctic conditions.
AR cradled in gloved hands, Graham strode up to them. “Looks like you got a new team.”
Fenn’s ragtag posse stood guard over Jimbo, who sat in the snow, his splinted arm tucked into his side. “They rock. You guys have some serious competition.”
Graham laughed, but Mason eyed the group. “A couple of those guys are former teams. You coulda done worse.”
“No doubt.” He couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride at the sight of his friends from the settlement. Judging from their erect body language, they felt it, too.
The moment Jimbo spotted Fenn, he yelled out, his voice laced with pain and anger, “You hit me with a snowmobile! You broke my arm!”
Burl McCoy, recognizable by the size of his gut even in his snowsuit, poked Jimbo with his foot, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You best be happy that’s all that’s broken, friend. It’s gonna be a long ride back to Endurance. Lots more bad things could happen to a fella like you.”
Fenn suppressed a grin, the corners of his mouth twitching. Then he sobered, facing Lester. “Sorry about your rig,” he apologized. “I’m not sure it’s salvageable.”
The other man actually looked pleased. “Soon as you took off, I figured she was toast. I got insurance. Thinking about a new Yamaha four-stroke anyway.”
“Good deal.” He was on the move before he finished the comment, heading straight for Kate.
He was two steps from her when Bridger’s voice crackled over the comlink, his tone grim. “Steele is in the wind. He had a snowmobile on standby somewhere. We could follow him but…”
He didn’t need to say the rest. Follow Steele where? Straight into a Consortium ambush?
His heart sank. “Copy that.”
Kate, without a comlink, looked at him quizzically. “What’s up?”
His breath fogged in the frigid air. “Hawk has disappeared. That tunnel or crevasse he jumped out of must lead to an exit out the back. Obviously, he had a getaway machine ready.”
Quite the prepared dude.
“We’ll get him,” Kate insisted, her eyes blazing with determination.
Fenn wasn’t so sure, but there was no way he was going to discourage her right now. Seeking a distraction, he pointed to the yellow helicopter, its sleek lines illuminated by the lights set out around the doors.
Kate sighed, her eyes widening in appreciation. “An Airbus H145. Nice.”
Fenn could hear the jealousy in her voice, and he couldn’t blame her. It was an impressive machine.
Bridger joined them, nodding in agreement. “Copy that.”
“Does it fly as pretty as it looks?” Kate asked, her gaze still fixed on the helicopter.
Bridger grinned, his teeth flashing white in the darkness. “Absolutely. We need one.”
Kate nodded, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. “Yeah, we do. Is this one for sale?”
“I wish.” Bridger shook his head, his expression turning rueful. “Borrowed it from an old buddy from the teams. He runs security for one of the pipelines. If I scratch it, I’m dead.”
Kate eyed the lovely machine again, her lips pursed in thought. “That’s fair.”
Fenn couldn’t help but smile. It was one of the things he loved about her, her ability to find joy and excitement in the smallest of things.