Page 57 of Mountain Target

“He’s deteriorating, Commandant. His heart rate’s elevated, but his blood pressure’s falling,” Ry said urgently. “We need to do this now.”

“Almost ready. Ry, if this doesn’t work …“ Beau swallowed saliva.

Amputation.

What the fuck was wrong with him, that he couldn’t bring himself to say the word.

Ry’s bright blue eyes were bright with understanding. “I have ketamine to sedate him.”

Christ.

“I can do it, Commandant, if it comes to that. Don’t worry about me. Worry about the blasted rocks.”

Beau nodded. “Lorenz, Hugo, I’m going to need you to move away.”

“No. We can help—“

“I don’t need help with this bit,” Beau said curtly. He wasn’t about to risk their lives unnecessarily. “I need you to go find Alex and the father, and make sure Tristan is ready.”

He could see how much it cost them both to move away.

Beau picked up the small red cartridges and put them into the hole, then slid the mechanism right on top of the charges. He began unwrapping the air line.

Almost ready.

“Ry, I’m going to need you to take the air line and—“

“Don’t even say it, Beau. Somebody has to stay with the boy.”

Beau hardened his tone. The cable was long enough that the person detonating the micro-charge could get behind cover. But whoever stayed with the boy would be … right there. “I’ll stay with him.”

Ry glared at him, defiant. “I’m the medic. I need to stay with my patient.”

Beau nodded thoughtfully.

“You’re the medic, so he’s going to need you with him until he gets to the hospital.”

He waited for that to sink in, knowing he was right. If all went well, and they managed to free the boy, it was Ry he was going to need. “Take this. Connect it to the air tank, and press this button when I tell you to.”

Ry’s jaw tensed even harder, but finally he nodded, crawled under the rock to get to where Beau was standing, and took the air line.

“Be careful, Beau,” he said, backing away.

Beau nodded. “Of course. And get ready to get the boy out of here, alright?”

Beau’s knee screamed as he got onto his knees and made his way to the boy. He was getting too fucking old for this.

“We’ll have you out of here in no time, Michael,” he told the unconscious boy. He took off his jacket and covered as much of the boy as possible with it, then draped his own body over him.

Just in case.

“Ready, Ry,” he said.

“Three. Two. One. Flare in the hole.”

Beau closed his eyes, laced his hands over his head, and waited. There was a muted roar that seem to come from deep within the earth, telling him the charge had gone into the right place.

Beau felt, rather than heard, the rock crack from within, and pushed with all his might, muscles straining against the side of the rock. And then the boy’s hand was free, and Beau pulled him away, careful to jostle him as little as possible but still eliciting a pained gasp.