Janice was trying not to laugh when they threw her on the snowmobile. Delastic bonds? What kind of idiot still used those? Maybe they weren't stupid, they just didn't have the intelligence reports she used to have access to. Delastic weakened in cold weather. If they'd been outside for more than a few hours, they could be loosened by almost any magnetic field, like oh say, the one being produced by the magnetic portion of the snowmobile's engine. These were the newer versions if what she'd seen while shamming being half unconscious was right. They used a partial magnetic drive to slide over the snow easier. The engine ran directly underneath the body of the vehicle.
As they moved, she carefully moved her wrists down a little. She looked like she was unconscious and her arms were dangling. She knew better than to pull to test the bonds. In a few minutes they would slack on their own, and she could get free. The driver had an automatic rifle across his back. Grab that, throw him off and get to Heather. For some reason they wanted Heather. What the hell was Manticore and how did an upper class fifteen year old get involved with it?
That question would have to wait until they got somewhere safe. Janice remembered some caves not terribly far from here. She had to map them once as a training exercise. She'd been training some young punks that needed their butts kicked. They'd mapped the caves, and then she led them deep in them and burned the map. They thought she would lead them out, but she took off in the dark. It was more to humble them so they could be taught, but the important thing was that SHE had kept the map memorized. She could get them in and keep them there until their kidnappers gave up.
Her bonds loosened. She took a deep breath and calmed her galloping heart while slipping them off of her wrists. There was only going to be one shot at this and she was going to take it no matter what. Suddenly the driver skidded hard to the right, nearly tipping them. Janice grabbed the side of the snowmobile and held on for dear life. There was a fifty-foot drop on the other side, and if anyone went off of that, they were going to be seriously injured.
She didn't waste the time to question why it skidded. The moment it stopped, she grabbed the gun, yanking the driver backwards. Her elbow made contact with his skull. Hah! So much for tying up the American huh? She yanked the gun off of his back, and glanced around. Everyone was looking over the side of the embankment. Heather was missing. What the hell had that girl done this time?
Janice wasn't sure why, but something made her look up. She saw the canister falling and instinctively knew what it was. She ducked and closed her eyes. The flash grenade went off with a loud bang, and several people fired their guns in the air, blindly trying to hit whoever just threw that. Janice, her ears ringing, but vision good, looked back up and saw…no, it was impossible. There was a ledge about sixty feet up, and a man jumped off of it with no hesitation. He hit the ground, and launched into an attack on all of the guards in a flurry of fast kicks and punches.
Janice could barely see him for his speed. It was like Heather earlier. Heather! Janice started fighting her way to the side. One guard grabbed her, and she easily took him out with a knee to the solar plexus, and then an elbow to the kidney. He doubled over, and she whipped around in a vicious kick that took him out.
"One of the real ones!" Janice heard the buyer squeak. His snowmobile roared to life, and he started flying back up the road. She didn't have time to question it. Another guard slashed at her with a knife. She dropped, her leg flashing out, foot connecting with his knee. There was a heinous crunch, and he hit the ground, grabbing his leg.
She managed to get a little closer to the ledge when another guard attacked. There seemed to be less of them, mostly due to the mystery man. There had been a couple of gunshots, but he'd ducked around them somehow. You'd think at this range, trained mercenaries wouldn't miss. Ah well, made her life easier.
Her newest attacker aimed his rifle at her, but she dropped and rolled into his legs. He tripped over her, and she grabbed the gun on the way down. She was back on her feet, rifle in hand. He jumped at her, but she took the shot before he could get off of the ground. He collapsed, half of his head missing. Janice spared a moment to glance over the ledge. Heather had to be at the bottom, tied up and most likely unconscious. Janice almost dropped her rifle when she saw Heather loose and climbing the ledge.
It had gotten quiet, and she spun around, rifle raised. Only the mystery man was left standing. All of the mercs were either running for their lives or disabled on the ground. Mr. Flashy Entrance was in a karate attack stance, staring at her. She aimed the rifle expertly at him. He was fast, but she doubted he could beat a bullet.
"You're not taking her," she told him coldly. His eyes narrowed, a deadly smile touching the edges of his mouth.
Janice heard a slight panting from beside her. Heather had made it all the way up the ledge by herself. Damn, this kid must be made by Rubbermaid or something like that. Maybe Manticore was the secret word for human Timex.
"Stay back!" she ordered harshly. To her surprise, Heather pushed past her and ran to the man, practically jumping in his arms. He caught her easily and smiled warmly at her, the dangerous fighter Janice had just seen disappearing in an instant.
"Uncle Cole!" Heather cried. She hugged him, grateful to see him. When Heather made the top of the embankment, he was the last person she thought would be there. No wonder all of the guards were gone. He'd probably kicked their butts. There was a dead guy by Ms. Miller, and she had a gun on Uncle Cole, but who cared about that? Having Cole there would be like having Dad or Mom there. Nothing was going to get to her now.
"Uncle Cole," she gasped. "I was supposed to go skiing and then I wanted to go for a walk last night but these Brits started chasing us so we went to a ranger station but the phone was broken and I think they sabotaged it and then they all came in and I was really kicking butt until the woman said she was going to shoot Ms. Miller so they took us away but I flipped the snowmobile and what are you doing here?"
