Toxic Game (GhostWalkers #15) - Christine Feehan Page 0,94

Of course I can.

Shylah looked around her. The closest tree to the house was a distance away. The rangers didn’t want trees coming down on top of the structure. The road leading in to the ranger’s cabin was drivable only partway. All materials and supplies had to be brought in by another method, usually domestic ox or horse. She could crawl across the open clearing and hope no one spotted her, but the storm was passing and with it, the dark clouds. Already light was spilling around the cabin.

As with most of the houses in that area, the cabin had been built on stilts to allow the breeze to help moderate the temperature as well as keep the structure above stormwater runoff. Because she’d studied everything she could about the country, including the architecture, she knew building on stilts was practical, keeping the occupants, food and everything else free from damp and rot.

The ranger hut was built like a longhouse with a beam, post and lintel structure system that took the load straight to the ground. The walls were made of non-weight-bearing wood rather than bamboo. Instead of nails, mortise and tenon joints and wooden pegs were used in the construction, which did give her a little pause as she went up the side of it. She knew, as a rule, the construction was extremely strong, but she was trusting her weight to be held—guns waited for one wrong move.

Rain sheeted off from the sharply inclined roof while the large overhanging eaves prevented water from entering the house and kept the occupants cool in the heat. The ranger hut had several large windows for cross ventilation. Shylah had to avoid them and get around them without being seen as she made the climb to the roof.

The roof was built with materials readily available close to wherever the structure was situated. In this case, the roof was traditional, a beautiful thatch art piece, made of sugar palm leaves, grass and straw. Lovely, difficult to climb. Once she made up her mind, she didn’t hesitate. She was forced to spread her weight evenly so as not to break off the various materials painstakingly woven together.

It took time and patience to make her way, and while she eased up one side and over to the next, she heard the MSS soldiers whispering to one another as they converged on the ranger’s house. In position.

I’m in the tree behind them. We’ve got them in a cross fire.

He was more exposed than she was, not that the roof materials would protect her, but the idea of Draden being in danger made her heart go crazy, which, she reminded herself, was ridiculous when it had been confirmed that they both were infected with the virus. It didn’t matter that they were told their bodies were fighting it. She was certain the inhabitants of Lupa Suku had fought it as well. Maybe it would be better for Draden and her to go out in a blaze of glory fighting terrorists than letting a virus consume them from the inside out.

You ready?

Yes. I’ll take the two on the left. I’ve got a good angle on them.

Don’t miss, baby.

She gave a little sniff of disdain. Keep that advice for yourself.

His soft laughter took the last of her nerves. She already had the blowgun loaded and she blew, a short, strong blast that sent the dart straight and true. It hit the soldier in the side of the neck and his hand went up, clapping over the protruding projectile, driving it deeper to sever the carotid artery. Simultaneously, another dropped straight to the ground.

Shockingly, elite soldiers from the Indonesian special forces, dressed in hazmat suits, emerged from the forest. Each held a semi-automatic, and from their body posture, was no-nonsense about using the weapon. Every one of the MSS soldiers threw down their gun a good distance from them.

Joe’s with them, Draden informed her. He realized something was wrong when the soldiers returned to their base, which isn’t far from here. He immediately went to the commander and demanded to know who issued the order to bring them back. That commander had to relieve the one above him of command.

The MSS has infiltrated their military? That shocked her.

She knew someone with money was behind the organization, but the MSS were still relatively new and until now hadn’t caused much in the way of actual trouble. The idea that they might have been secretly working to infiltrate the military and get