Page 43 of The ARC Unit: Breach

Outside, the morning had burned through most of the fog.

The compound spread farther into the woods than I had realized from my window, with the main training area divided between a shooting range, a concrete structure built for close-quarters drills and a larger stretch of broken terrain that included vehicle obstacles and enough artificial walls to simulate an alley or courtyard. A narrower path disappeared into the trees toward the long-range positions.

Raven handed me clear eye protection and a headset that doubled as hearing protection. I tried to fit the ear cups over my ponytail, failed, pulled the elastic loose and gathered my hair lower at the back of my neck. The waves fell over one shoulder while I adjusted the headset, then I twisted them into a lower ponytail that sat comfortably beneath the band.

Raven watched the process.

“This is why Hawk keeps his hair simple.”

“Hawk’s hair is longer than Viper’s.”

“Still easier than yours.”

“Thank you for the tactical analysis.”

A rifle cracked somewhere far beyond the visible range. I whipped my head toward the trees.

“Hawk?”

“Hawk.”

“Where?”

Raven pointed toward a low ridge beyond the first tree line and I followed his finger.

“You’re pointing at a forest.”

“Look juuust halfway up the rise. Left of the dead pine.”

I squinted.

Nothing.

Another shot rolled across the range, deeper than the closer weapons I’d heard the day before. A steel plate rang several seconds later as Raven handed me compact binoculars.

“Cheat.”

I raised them to my eyes and it still took me almost a full minute.

Then I saw him.

Hawk lay prone behind a low section of earth, blond hair tucked beneath a backward cap and most of his body disappearing into the muted fabric of his field clothing. The AXMC rested against his shoulder on a bipod, the long barrel aimed toward steel positioned far enough downrange that I couldn’t identify the shapes without magnification.

“How far?”

“Six hundred right now. He’ll push farther later.”

I lowered the binoculars. “And this is a normal morning?”

“For him.”

Another shot.

Another distant ring.

“Does he miss?”

Raven took the binoculars from me. “Yes.”