But Connor's expression changed quickly and brutally and cruelly as he approached. And when he finally reached the colonel, all gentleness and all emotion were utterly gone from his face.
Connor extended his hand, palm upward.
“Give me that rifle,” he said.
Chesterton blinked, handed over the rifle.
Angrily Connor snapped the bolt to rack a round into the chamber of the M-203. He slammed open the chute and shoved in an antipersonnel grenade. Then he snapped it shut and shoved three more grenades in his pockets. Two extra ammo clips went into his belt, at the small of his back. Without another word he walked toward the bridge.
“Hey, Connor,” Chesterton called.
Cold as death, Connor turned back.
“I don't think bullets can hurt it,” Chesterton mumbled.
Connor was expressionless. “I figured that much, Chesterton. This is just to give it a little incentive.”
“To do what?”
“To come after me.”
Chesterton stared. “And then?”
Connor's face went hard with hate.
“And then I'm gonna fry its brain.”
Chapter 23
We're almost ready for it,” Connor said coldly.
He'd finished running the 100,000-volt line to the steel walkway that crossed Bridgestone. Connor had wanted to use more, but 100,000 volts was all he'd been able to pull from the vault door, and he feared that it wouldn't be enough to finish the fight.
But he had been cunning. He had used ten steel cables, stringing them across the narrow width of the bridge at a distance too great for even Leviathan to leap across. The strands were raised five feet above the ground and anchored securely to ceramic brackets on dry granite posts, leaving a twenty-foot gap between each of them. And only the seventh cable was wired to the current. The rest were for diversion.
Connor was betting that the beast would approach cautiously because the cables would appear suspicious. It was accustomed now to being injured by these thin, narrow lines. So it would do some kind of test, consequently discovering that the first several cables were harmless. Then, hopefully, it would proceed forward until it hit the seventh cable and the 100,000-volt current hit it back, blasting it into the gorge. It was a desperate plan, Connor knew. But it was all they had.
After Connor connected the cable to the seventh steel strand and backed away from the edge of the bridge, he took great pains to conceal the charged electrical line, and then he was finished.
Exhausted, but finished.
He backed up to the vault door, collapsing.
Thor was resting on one knee, loosely holding the M-79. His battle-ax was slung across his back, and he had a long look of hard hunting patience. So calm was he that Connor could almost picture him waiting in the quiet woods for a moose or elk to stray across his path.
Barley was beside him, cradling the M-203, a grenade locked in the launcher. He had also inserted a fresh clip into the weapon, fifty rounds. And one of their last LAW rockets was laid to his side.
“Got any more painkillers, Barley?’' Connor whispered wearily.
Barley smiled, then he reached into his front shirt pocket and pulled out a small bottle of pills, tossing it. Connor took three of them, swallowing them without water before tossing the bottle back.
“Thanks,” he mumbled.
“Any time, Connor. When I'm in combat I eat 'em like M&Ms.”
Connor nodded with a curt laugh and Barley rubbed his face, clearly weary, fading to the fatigue, just like the rest of them.
“This is definitely ungood,” the lieutenant began. “And I'll tell you the truth, Thor. I'm not sure if I would have come down here.” He paused. “I mean, I would've called for reinforcements or somethin', but I don't think I would have just jumped out of a tree with a knife between my teeth like you did. That’s wild, man.”
Casting an easy glance, Thor laughed.
Barley waited before continuing. “So why'd you do it, Thor? I mean, if you don't mind me asking. 'Cause I still haven't figured it out.”
Thor's gaze remained locked on the far side of Bridgestone. “And what would you rather I have done, Lieutenant?” he answered slowly. “Would you rather that I was on the surface calling for reinforcements? Or would you rather have me in this cavern standing beside you?”
“I'd rather have you right here,” Barley replied without hesitation.
“Then that is why I am here.” Thor smiled.
Silence.
“Well, I like that,” Barley said, watching the tunnel. “But this is definitely ugly, partner. This is as ugly as it gets.”
“No.” Thor shook his head, frowning. “There are worse things. There are worse things than fighting. Or dying.”
Barley stared. “What?”
“Not having anything worth fighting to keep.”