"Ann Maxwell - Risk unlimited 02 - Shadow and Silk" - читать интересную книгу автора (Maxwell Ann)

A pair of men in green uniforms appeared between the buildings a half-block away.
The Russian reacted instantly. He switched his silenced pistol for an automatic weapon and fired a short, sharp
volley.
The PRC soldiers ducked behind cover. A few seconds later they returned fire with their own automatic weapons.
Shane could see the Russian now. He was well trained and either brave or crazy. Or both. He fired in short,
measured bursts, burning half a magazine of ammunition to pin down the security troops.
Yet instead of seizing the advantage to run away, the Russian turned back and slipped through the shadows. He
was stalking the dead Feng.
And the living Danielle Warren.
Dani was reaching for the aluminum tube when the Russian saw what she was doing. He fired a short burst in her
direction. Bullets sang wildly off the stone street.
With a muffled, startled sound, Dani leaped back and looked around frantically for shelter.
Shane didnтАЩt know whether to be relieved or furious when she flattened herself into the doorway directly beneath
his rooftop perch.
Motionless, Shane held his position for a swift three-count, reassessing the situation.
The Russian moved again, using the natural cover of the narrow street. He fired precise two-shot bursts in the
direction of the soldiers.
They ducked, then fired back. First it was only a single weapon, then two, then three. Soon it was impossible to tell
how many guns answered. Bullets sang off the paving blocks and kicked up puffs of grit from the walls.
The Russian fell back into a doorway long enough to change magazines on his automatic. Then he fired again and
moved quickly toward his goal.
He was ten yards from the fallen Feng, twenty feet from Dani.
Calmly Shane drew a bead on the RussianтАЩs head with his pistol.
The range was easy, but Shane couldnтАЩt fire without drawing the attention of the PRC to himself. From the moment
the soldiers spotted him, Shane figured he had five seconds, at best, before they blew him off the rooftop.
That wasnтАЩt enough time to save himself, much less the silk.
Shane could see the RussianтАЩs goal тАУ the metal tube in the dead manтАЩs hand. It was ShaneтАЩs goal, too, but he was
in no position to reach it.
Then Shane saw Dani step out from the cover of the doorway beneath him. She, too, was after the tube.
She has guts, Shane thought admiringly, even if she is a little light on brains.
Softly he called out to her, тАЮDani. No.тАЬ
Dani barely heard the thread of sound, but she recognized her own name. She froze and looked up.
The Russian followed her glance. His blond head swung around, scanning the roofline as he analyzed the new
factor in this three-cornered firefight.
Shane saw the outline of the RussianтАЩs weapon for the first time. An Uzi.
The world slowed even more for Shane. Even as the barrel swung up toward him, he mentally marked the oddity of
an Uzi-wielding Russian.
Then Shane saw the muzzle, felt its one-eyed stare, and rolled back out of sight as four bullets shattered the tile at
the edge of the roof.
The RussianтАЩs shots drew return fire from the Chinese. He ducked back under cover as bullets thudded against the
wall above him.
For the moment the PRC seemed unaware of Shane. They poured fire into the RussianтАЩs position and began their
deadly ballet of shoot and advance.
Shane could see that the outcome was inevitable. The Russian was vastly outnumbered, but he was close enough
to grab the tube and retreat.
Dani would have to retreat, too, or she would be swallowed up by the advancing troops. In her position, a trained
agent would be moving fast and quiet right now, fading into the night.
But Dani didnтАЩt know how. She had never been under fire. She had never seen a man murdered. She had never
been the target of a murderer.
She was an innocent, a noncombatant, the kind of person who made an operator like Shane curse.