Trackers

By Alfred Gyl

Amalloy Quiss, Agent of the Toimist, has been sent to track, identify, and eliminate a threat. THe one thing he didn't do was eliminate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alfred Gyl
• Release date: Jan 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393167563

Alfred Gyl

Raised in the North, Alfred Gyl moved to the South due to military service. He lives with his wife in Northwest Florida.

Book preview

TRACKERS

By

Alfred Gyl

Chapter 1:

AMALLOY QUISS IS CLOSING in on the threat he is tracking while avoiding the tracked one’s attempts to eliminate him.

THE ‘SPLAT – SPLAT’ of explosive pellets hitting the ground behind him motivated Amalloy Quiss to pick up speed in order to stay ahead of the shots designed to explode on impact. Counting the percussive hits, he spoke to no one in particular, That’s thirty, he huffed, I’ve got five seconds to reverse course. A quick turn and a push off a nearby tree enabled Amalloy to head precisely in the opposite direction and increase the distance of his stride. The ‘splat-splat’ started again and continued in the direction he had previously been running which let him know he had outwitted his foe.

He heard the distinctive ‘snap’ of a missile round being entered into the chamber of a hand held rocket mortar and was ten yards away when the click of the firing pin sounded. He was fifteen yards away by the time the round hit the tree he had bounced off. The side of the tree took the brunt of the blast and shattered into wooden shards which flew as pointed missiles in all directions. When the projectiles reached within a certain radius of his location, his suit enabled auto-shield which caused the wooden slivers to be deflected harmlessly to the ground, but this feature of the suit did little to keep Amalloy from being carried by the blast and hitting the ground. Regulations said to tuck and roll to keep ahead of additional munitions threats, but Amalloy found it hard to do so as he was flung helmet first into the ground. He did, however tumble to a stop and roll over face up to evaluate his situation.

The tree that had taken the blast seemed to teeter back and forth, burned brightly and then dully. A whole lot less oxygen than I was told, Amalloy grumbled. Wait ‘til I speak to Warden about this. The distinctive ‘snap’ sounded again and revealed several things to Amalloy. The first was that another missile had made it into a chamber. Second was the thought, ‘He’s not that far away.’ As he waited for the familiar sound of the firing pin, he chuckled aloud, He doesn’t know where I am.

Jumping to his feet and running full stride downhill through the wooded rocky terrain, Amalloy quickly ran the distance he had earlier covered. Deciding it was time to surprise this foe, he turned right and dashed up the tree line with the thought to circle around the area he believed was the shooter’s location. He knew he was correct in his estimation when a second explosion lit up the area where he had just reversed course.

Turning his head to the right, he watched as the tree he had bounced off was lifted upward and its pieces cascade to the ground. As the brightness of the flash hit his visor, the auto-light refractor compensated for glare. Refocusing on his trajectory, Amalloy saw a splinter of light reflect off the front glass of a scope indicating the stationary position of his foe. With the audacity which is not written in any manual, Amalloy turned right, disengaged the environ-shielding, and shouted, Hey! He then ran toward his opponent in an attempt to frighten him into tripping over his weapon. The opponent didn’t fall for the scare, for he rolled over, grabbed the weapon, and fired a second ballistic round in Amalloy’s direction.

This round hit the side of a tree to Amalloy’s right sending wood shards in every direction. Turning slightly left to avoid the percussion of the shock waves, he continued his full stride away from the blast. As the shards from this second blast began to pierce the air around him, his auto-shielding activated knocking the wooden projectiles harmlessly away. The moment Amalloy shifted his direction he raised his right arm which brought a pistol into his hand. He stretched his arm outward and pressed the trigger which sent a few rounds in the direction of his foe. Not concerned whether the rounds hit their intended target, Amalloy continued with all haste away from where the opponent was entrenched.

Did you just attempt to face him down, Agent? a voice in his ear asked. Amalloy didn’t answer. That was foolish, the voice droned. Amalloy nodded, said nothing, but kept running. The voice that spoke wasn’t specifically in his head, but was his Com-link in Central City and the Toimist, affectionately known as Warden, who employed him. Amalloy ignored the remark, even thinking of clicking off the com-line. ‘If he knew what I was doing he would know I don’t need this right now,’ he thought to himself.

The course he had chosen continued on moderately level ground until a rock face loomed in his vision. Turning left to follow the rocks, Amalloy traveled along the course they laid for him. He jumped over fallen logs and ducked to avoid tree branches which impeded his path. The rock face curved sharply to the right and Amalloy ran in concert with the curve until he knew he was out of visible range. Turning left into the forested area, he doubled back toward the direction he had come with the intent of making a left flanking movement to again face his opponent.

You need rest, Agent Quiss, Warden advised. Your vitals are jump...

Did you get the aura of the guy we’re chasing? Amalloy interrupted as he continued to run.

I cannot clear up the visuals, Warden said, but the glare from the explosion will make a nice addition to your data-folio.

Funny, Amalloy murmured sarcastically. He continued his downhill stride for a hundred yards before turning left across the terrain, attempting to arrive somewhere close to the previous location. I’ll make another pass and try to get closer, he explained mostly to himself, but knew Warden would hear.

You think he’ll be there? Warden asked. He answered the question by saying, I believe he’s already gone.

Warden! Amalloy started sharply as he ran, You sent me here to do this job. Given the adjustments to the terrain and the light, I’m doing the best I can. He angled to the left to make the trek upward.

I cannot not help that the planet cloud cover interrupts the data, Agent Quiss, Warden shot back. The spin of the planet makes for a greater darkness than you are used to, I know. We tried to get the update to your system in a timely fashion, but interference through the atmosphere hampers attempts.

No excuses, Warden, Amalloy accused, then he chuckled and asked, How many times have you said that to me? His strides lessened due to the uphill climb as he closed in on the fiery remains of the tree which took the brunt of the dose meant