Chapter 08: Snow Job

Kasper admitted he had passed over the name a handful of times in his tireless research on WET. Alexa as well remembered seeing it but, neither could have guessed he was who they had been looking for. If it had been a snake, it would have bit them. Chris Cyrus was a man of many talents. Listed as Director of Asset Retention, he was described as the kind of employee any company would be lucky to have. However, it was his other background that piqued their interest.

“He’s Special Forces, A,” Kasper started as he reviewed the information on his screen. “And by that I mean Delta. He is listed as still being in the reserves but, his file was transferred to the DOJ in 2001. It was around this time he became an employee of WET and from what I can see of his passport, he gets around…a lot.”

“Ok, so he was trained with the best of the best and from the sounds of things flies to far off places to ‘handle’ any opposition to WET’s agenda.”

“The fact that he is smart enough to mask his killings as large scale disasters…”

“Is the main reason he needs to be taken out. Hundreds of innocents died because of him. The guy has no conscience, Kas.”

“No, I absolutely agree with you. Which is why I don’t think you should go after him alone.”

“No,” Alexa said as Kasper stood from his computer and started over to the weapons cache. “That isn’t happening.”

“What? You said it yourself, the man is a pro. You’re gonna need someone to watch your back, Alexa.”

“Yes. And someone with a little bit of weapon skills would be preferable.”

“Gee. Too bad. We’re fresh out of GI Joes. Looks like you’ll just have to settle for a reasonably seasoned computer programmer.”

“Kasper, you are NOT coming,” Alexa said, watching him grab one of the Glock 19s from the shelf.

“Anything is better than sitting here waiting to be shot.”

“Oh so you think it’ll be any different out there? Kas!” Alexa yelled, trying to disarm the programmer.

“WET is onto us. They have been for quite some time now. What makes it any safer being here than I would be with you? A, please…I just…don’t want to be here alone. Not after the boardwalk. Please. Don’t leave me here alone.”

Alexa sighed, taking a step back as the look of pure fear registered within Kasper’s eyes. “Fine,” she said, “But you’re staying in the car.”

The home appeared empty, much to Alexa’s chagrin. She circled the two-story farmhouse before coming to a stop near a tall oak tree. “Think he was expecting us?” Kasper asked, peering out of his window towards the dark dwelling.

“Who knows? These types of people tend to be very…stealthy,” Alexa said, slipping out of the driver’s side door. Satellite imaging from around the modest home from the last week showed no activity. Alexa had hoped that a quick expedition out to the place would turn up leads as to Cyrus’ new location.

Hearing the passenger side door close behind her, she turned with a frown. “Seriously?”

“What? The place is empty,” Kasper shrugged. 

“Fine. Stay close.” With a sigh she started forward, but quickly stopped. Alexa saw a glint in the darkness and jerked Kasper to the left by his arm as the glass behind them shattered. She snatched the confused hacker to his feet, dragging him along until they were behind an abandoned vehicle parked near the home’s entrance. “Ok. I’m going to draw his fire away from you. Don’t move until I get back to you, got it?”

“Oh like I’m dying to take a bullet here? I won’t move an inch,” Kasper shouted in response. Knowing the shooter would not stop with one shot after missing, Alexa pressed Kasper against the rear of the vehicle. She then ran a straight sprint towards the embankment near the mailbox as more shots flew around her. If she could make it to their car and her rifle she could put an end to the madness before it really got started.

Taking a breath, she counted down from five, dug her heels in and darted for the back of her truck, reaching it as another bullet shattered the mailbox at her side. It continued by, cracking off a large branch above Alexa’s head. She worked on her breathing while she waited for the sniper to reload. She actually heard the bullets clip into the bolt-action rifle.

Another shot blew into the rear passenger door, spraying sparks across her face. The shooter was close, inside a hundred yards. The sound of the bullets breaking the sound barrier echoed throughout the forest and brought a creepy urban feel to an otherwise serene mountainside.

A third shot whizzed past, dangerously close. But that was his mistake. The shooter gave away his position with his last shot, and Alexa had reached her weapon. The one vulnerability of a sniper was the need to be somewhat exposed. The barrel of the rifle needed a clear path to its target. This meant the sniper wouldn’t be behind a tree or a rock. He would be flat on his stomach with camouflage as the main source of cover.

Moving behind a hydrangea bush for cover, Alexa unpacked her weapon with special silencer for noise suppression firmly in the ground. Steadying the spotting scope, she checked the wind and weather meter. No wind, no heat wave, seventy-nine degrees. She set her sights to hit two feet to the right and three inches below center.

The bullet left the sniper’s rifle at 3,000 feet per second. Fortunately for Alexa, Cyrus didn’t hear the shot until it was too late. She saw him spin and hit the ground. Instantly she was up, rushing towards Kasper’s location to get him back to safety. “Sniper is down, but not out. We have maybe twenty seconds to make it from here to the truck and get the hell out of here. Are you ready to move?”

“Let’s do this.” Kasper rose to his feet, crouching beside her as she steadied him and prepared them to move.

They stopped behind a pillar about thirty feet from where they’d parked near the gate. Alexa glanced around, her eyes darting wildly and the gun tight in her hand. “We’re gonna run for the car.”

“Run?” The word sounded like cement coming out of Kasper’s mouth.

“On three. One. Two.” The tree behind them suddenly splintered into sawdust. Kasper screamed at the peppered popping sound of a gun firing that immediately followed.

“Now!” Alexa roared as she yanked him after her, pulling him as she bolted for the car. Again, Kasper screamed as Alexa shoved him down behind it, his hands clutching at his head as the sound of metal whizzed overhead. Yanking the passenger side door open, she quickly climbed in and pulled him along after. 

Kasper barely had the door closed before Alexa gunned the engine, peeling out of the yard, tearing down the ramp and screeching out onto the street.

“A! A!” His eyes went wide as a lone gunman rushed out from behind a welcome sign.

“I see him!” Alexa shouted back, rolling the window down and leveling her gun out of it as the car swerved wildly, jerking dangerously from side to side. “Take the wheel.”

“What?” Kasper replied in disbelief.

“You wanted to be my backup, Kas, now take the damn wheel!” 

Alexa pressed herself out of the window as Kasper lunged across the shifter and grab the wheel out of her hands. Carefully, she trained both hands on her gun at the man running towards them and dropped him with three thundering shots. She reeled back inside and grabbed the wheel in an iron grip, slamming her foot on the break and causing the vehicle to swerve to the side. “Stay down.”

“A?”

“I need to make sure he’s dead.” Her face was hard and her eyes flashed as she jumped out, keeping her gun aimed at the fallen body. Peeling back the ghillie suit, she revealed the face of Chris Cyrus, the man they had been seeking. The hunt was over. And it also meant they were near the end of their business with WET. Alexa fired off another two rounds into his forehead and headed back to the truck. 

“Well?” Kasper asked as she slid back behind the wheel.

“It’s almost over now,” she said curtly. He nodded, half frozen in shock as Alexa slammed on the gas, tearing out of the area roaring towards the I-90 interstate entrance.

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