GhostWalkers 10 - Samurai Game by authors_sort Page A

them, and that meant they had ground forces.
    “Get out now,” Sam said, as he slammed on the brakes and shut down the vehicle. He was already leaping out, not waiting to look to see if she followed him. She was far too calm and experienced not to realize the vehicle was a liability to them.
    He raced through the smoke away from the others, Azami on his heels. As soon as he got to the edge of the swirling smoke, he held up his hand and dropped low into the thick vegetation. Azami dropped with him. The sound of an engine firing up off to their left was loud. A second engine joined the first, from the right. Sam swore aloud.
    The trap was a neat little box, and that told Sam this plan had been in the works awhile. Someone had come into the forest and scouted alternate trails the GhostWalkers took and set their ambush. This was no sudden decision hastily put together the moment Azami had filed her flight plan. Well thought out and carefully executed meant experienced warriors. The helicopter and multiple Jeeps manned with soldiers of some sort meant money.
    “Get the hell out of here, stay on your belly, and crawlaway from me. Try to make your way back to the others. Identify yourself or Kadan or Nico might shoot you when you come up on them. They’ve got us boxed in and it’s going to get ugly fast.”
    “I’m familiar with ugly,” Azami said. “Lead the way.”
    Sam turned his head. She had a bow and arrows slung over one shoulder and a very sharp knife hanging from her belt. He caught a glimpse of a gun when she slipped closer to him, using her toes and elbows. Yeah, she was no sweet businesswoman needing protection. He didn’t mind being right about her at all. He flashed a quick grin and slithered over the top of the small mound of leaves to slide down the slope into the ravine below.
    “Someone knew you were coming,” he said as he led the way into an animal maze inside deep brush.
    “Or they’re after one of you,” Azami pointed out. “I don’t allow my brother into a situation I haven’t checked out thoroughly, and your own government seems to have people who want you all dead.”
    He didn’t turn his head to look at her. What was the use? Her expression gave nothing away. “That’s classified and you shouldn’t have that information.”
    “You’re not the only people who investigate thoroughly before they walk into the lion’s den. I take my brother’s protection very seriously.”
    Sam liked the soft, melodic quality to her voice, and it sucked big-time that he even noticed it, let alone allowed it to affect him when they were surrounded by danger. Maybe that was the problem—wasn’t danger supposed to heighten attraction?
    He dug his toes into soft dirt and propelled himself up the slope, signaling her to stay quiet. The first vehicle was just ahead. He could hear their voices, hushed but clear, traveling through the forest. Moving slightly, he caught a brief look at the enemy through the heavy foliage. They were partially hidden by heavy brush, and he’d have to go down a slope and up another to reach them.
    “Wait for the spotter, Tony, he’s swinging back around,” a man standing behind the Jeep advised.
    “Where the hell are they?” Tony, the driver, tapped out his impatience while the other three soldiers surrounding the Jeep exchanged a quick, annoyed look. Clearly they were far more experienced than their driver and had more patience.
    Sam knew his biggest problem was the eye in the sky. Most likely they could see the heat from their bodies, otherwise the copter would be useless in the thick canopy. Azami must have realized the same thing. She rolled out to the edge of the open, coming up on one knee as she strung an arrow into her bow, aiming up toward the empty sky. She went perfectly still, leaves and twigs caught in her hair and papering her very expensive pin-striped suit so that she nearly blended in with her surroundings.
    Sam took advantage of her change of position. All