The Hunt Begins
Eight hours later, Low Light was almost to his destination aboard a Joe transport plane. During the trip, he quietly read the dossiers on both of his targets. Both had had extensive, and impressive, careers thus far. Even though he was the spotter for the duo, Pinpoint was the better sniper and had more high-profile kills credited to him than Bulls-Eye. It was obvious that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with, either separate or together.
Low Light's headset crackled. "Time to go," said the pilot. Silently, Low Light stood up, strapped on his gear, and headed for the exit hatch. A maintenance tech opened the hatch for him and stood by to see if he needed help. Low Light looked at him casually and gave him the thumbs up signal to let him know that everything was okay. He then braced himself in the doorway of the hatch, took a deep breath, and jumped. While he was in freefall, he barely allowed himself to breathe. He just alternated his focus on the rapidly approaching ground and the altimeter on his wrist. When the time came, he pulled the ripcord of his parachute and came to an almost dead stop. Quietly, he guided himself through the air to his landing spot. Once on the ground, he quickly disposed of his parachute and drew his rifle. Checking the compass in the stock he headed off south in a straight line.
Pinpoint lowered his binoculars from his eyes and looked at the much younger Bulls-Eye just to his left. "Low Light has arrived right on schedule," he said to him. Both were lying in a prone position and almost completely obscured by the undergrowth.
Bulls-Eye looked at his spotter nervously. "Are you sure we can take him down?" he asked as he absently rubbed the back of his neck. His voice held a slight tremble of fear.
"If we can catch him in the daylight," began Pinpoint. "Yes. But, if we let him see the night, we're both dead."
Bulls-Eye swallowed hard. Pinpoint smiled at his shooter's very obvious anxiety. "Relax," he said. "I've got this covered."
"You sure?" asked Bulls-Eye, still sounding a tad uncertain.
"He is," replied Pinpoint as his smile melted away and his expression went emotionless. "So I have to be too."
To be continued…