44

‘Ready?’

Marine Knott nods his head, his jaw taut with concentration as he acknowledges your question.

‘OK then. Let’s go,’ you whisper, as you ease yourself over the rampart, using only your elbows and knees to propel you away from the safety of Fort Bliss.

Anxiously, the captain and Sergeant Haskell watch as the two of you crawl across the broken ground, their weapons ready to give covering fire should the enemy see you approaching. The faint moonlight serves both to help and hinder your progress as you inch your way towards your first goal: an elevated section of Highway 54. Clan snipers are known to occupy this vantage point, and you are painfully aware that not until you are directly beneath the raised highway itself will you be beyond the reach of their high-powered rifles.

Minutes pass like hours until you make it to the comparative safety of a shallow ditch that runs parallel to the concrete freeway supports. Knott arrives while you are scanning the dark, arch-like gaps between the concrete pillars, searching for the enemy, and immediately he points out a threat. Three clansmen are positioned behind a mound of rubble less than twenty yards away to your right. You study them, silently cursing your luck, for they are Detroit Lions; getting past these clansmen is not going to be easy.

If you wish to try to distract their attention, turn to 147.

If you wish to try to circle around them, turn to 303.