“What about you?” Kyle’s gaze had become more intense.
Truth? She didn’t have a spotter. The person who could murmur observations and distance measurements. Wind direction and speed. Their help increased the chance of an accurate shot exponentially. But she’d done very well without a spotter in the past. No. She wasn’t worried about making her planned shots. She was more concerned about the other sniper.
She’d have to find him before he found her.
A spotter would’ve also been watching her six. They’d have been able to warn her of any direct attackers and given her cover as she scrambled into a position to defend herself.
She’d be vulnerable in her shooting position. From what she’d scouted using satellite images earlier in the day, there was no alternative. She’d know better once she was actually there.
“I’ll make the best of what I’ve got to work with out there.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The moon was hidden beyond a low ceiling of clouds but it wasn’t unusual for the Seattle area. It wasn’t even going to be much of a problem. Live in or near a city of any decent size and there was always going to be a certain amount of ambient light no matter how late at night.
Lizzy was dropped off by the cab at the Harbor Island Marina. Theoretically, she worked there and had left her car in the parking lot. So the nice cabdriver, who’d kindly offered to wait for her, drove away with a wave once she’d jingled some keys at him and assured him she would get home just fine.
The evening had been full of smiling and waving. Her cheeks hurt.
She’d traded her cocktail dress and gorgeous shoes for a simple black T-shirt and pants with dark combat boots. Now that the cabdriver had driven away, she slid on urban fatigues over her close-fitting clothes. It’d be warm but at least the patterning on the fatigues would break up her shape, make it harder to spot her.
Leaving the rest of her gear in her duffel, she slung it over her shoulder and headed north toward the shipping container areas covering the majority of the small island.
The cranes were visible in the night, rising up over Harbor Island and looming against the immediate skyline. Given the choice, she’d have made her way to the upper parts of one of them to choose her vantage point. But she’d had a party to get to and reinforcements to round up. Chances were, her opponent was already here and tucked into his own perch.
Damn the bastard for getting out here before her.
She kept as quiet as she could approaching the outer perimeter sticking to whatever cover was available to her. The other sniper could take a shot at her at any time if he spotted her. She needed to find him first and neutralize him.
It was close to midnight and there wasn’t a lot of time for this game. The two of them could sneak around for hours trying to get the higher ground and clear shot on the other. If he knew she was here.
Hell, she’d done this before and it had taken days before she’d managed to take down her opponent in the middle of nothing but dust and rocks and sand mites. And there’d been the goddamned camel spiders too. At least here the worst she had to worry about were roaches. Maybe.
Circling, she searched the shadows for him. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. She continued to sweep her gaze systematically across the terrain as she let her training regulate the speed and rhythm of her blinking to keep her eyes fresh despite the strain of trying to see in the dark. After a short time, she began to search more efficiently as her eyes adjusted even further to the lower light.
Minutes ticked by and she worked up a sweat searching the outer rows. Finally, she waited for a facility lamp to flicker out and climbed a stack of shipping containers before the light stuttered back into brightness again. Sucking in huge lungfuls of air once she got to the top, she struggled to keep as quiet as possible. Damn, running was fine but her ability to climb quickly but quietly could use some additional training.
Lying flat on the storage container, there was no higher point in the area with the exception of the cranes. From here, she hoped she’d be able to find him or else she’d be climbing the cranes one at a time to try to sneak up on him.