The Uvalde Raider by Ben English (great books for teens TXT) 📕

Bringing it all together, Micah figured he was bracing himself against the two shooters with AKs and a possibly wounded third one carrying that submachine gun. He tried to form the mental picture of that second shot but shook his head in exasperation.

If he had only gotten his front sight on Blue Shirt a split second earlier, he would be a lot surer of where exactly that bullet went. Then he put it out of his mind, he needed to be thinking ahead and not of what was behind. And he needed to be thinking quickly, while giving his opponents every doubt as to his own strength and capabilities.

The highway patrolman picked a likely spot against the north wall of the draw and moved up just high enough to peek through some dropseed grass growing along its edge. From here the draw turned south, roughly paralleling the airstrip. Some of the undergrowth had been cut as a rough right-of-way for the nearby landing surface, but there was still enough to fool someone into thinking the terrain was nothing more than flat, undefined ground for hundreds of yards.

From where he watched he could see the front of the operations shack and the handcuffed Mustafa, still firmly secured to the railing. The body of the Lebanese Shi’a had changed position from the one Micah had left him in. Most likely the badly beaten Arab was not only partially conscious at present, but perhaps even aware as to what was going on. That was something else for the Texas lawman to keep in mind.

A slight movement in Micah’s peripheral vision diverted his attention. Off to the left, about 150 yards from him and west of the structure, he picked up something unusual in the brush line. Keeping his eyes trained on the spot, Micah gradually made out the form of one of the two Hezbollah gunmen armed with an AK47. The terrorist was studying the operations shack closely, trying to discern whatever secrets that might be concealed within.

Micah briefly considered trying to get a round off from his present position, but it was at the wrong angle and unsuitable for firing accurately from. If he changed to a better one, the movement could attract the gunman’s eye. Laying perfectly still he decided to continue observing the Shi’a, looking for any clue the terrorist might inadvertently give in locating the others.

For his own part the Lebanese continued to scrutinize the area around the cinder block building intently. His body language told Micah that he was thinking about getting closer to the structure, but there was too much open ground to do so safely. After nearly a minute, the gunman began backing away into the brush.

Suddenly, the shooter stopped and looked toward his north. Micah followed the man’s line of sight and saw the second AK-wielding Hezbollah terrorist, standing atop a limestone boulder and motioning the first one to move forward to the operations shack.

The two men appeared to be in a silent conflict of wills. The first terrorist was stubbornly shaking his head back and forth, and pointing to the open ground before him. The second man kept motioning him onward. Apparently this impasse had been going on for some time, and in a fit of impatience the second terrorist had stepped on top of the large rock to better illustrate his emphatic gesturing.

Seeing that both were currently preoccupied with his fellow traveler, Micah inched back down the sharply inclined face of the draw until he was out of sight. From there he moved quickly to a better shooting position some fifty feet to his left. Up to the present none of the Hezbollah gunmen had done anything recklessly stupid. But now they had, and Micah meant to cash in on the offered opportunity.

Micah came to the spot he had in mind and made his way cautiously up the bank of the creek. Bellying down in the dirt and looking through a cedar shrub, he could see both men still engaged in their muted dispute, their respective hand gestures and body language becoming more insistent in regard to the other.

The first terrorist was within 150 yards and a sure mark from Micah’s semi-prone position. He shifted to contemplate the other terrorist, still standing on the boulder. That man was every bit of 350 yards away, making for a chancy shot for most lever action deer rifles and very much so for an iron-sighted .30/30.

From this slightly different vantage point, Micah could see something else too. It was a sliver of blue cloth on the other side of the boulder where the second terrorist was standing, the very same shade of blue as the t-shirt worn by the Hezbollah leader he had shot at before. As he watched, the sliver of blue disappeared behind the rock.

So Blue Shirt, their leader, was still alive. Now the mime–like argument between the two others became clearer. Blue Shirt was most probably telling the other terrorist accompanying him to have the first gunman advance on the nearby building, while he and the second terrorist stayed pat to provide any needed cover fire. However, the first terrorist was more than a little hesitant to walk out into that open ground.

For Micah that realization settled the decision for the next round nestled in the Marlin’s chamber. Blue Shirt was still able to give orders, but apparently could not get around too well. Due to his wounded condition he had to have someone to relay his orders for him. As long as he stayed where he was, Blue Shirt was safe behind that large rock. Yet if Micah could remove the Hezbollah leader’s ability to transmit those orders, his command and control role was useless.

Taking care to