Arasaka and Militech Agents

Chapter 718: 132. Arasaka and Militech Agents

The instant his cheek slammed hard into the sand and rough grains mixed with the taste of blood flooded his mouth and nose, Scarlett's pupils contracted sharply. His first thought cut through him like a blade—this was a trap.

The people who had come were no allies. Either the contact had long since betrayed them, or the other side were hunters using a dead man's communications records as bait.

Just as his muscles tensed to strike back, Yarman's furious roar tore through the stagnant air. "Keep your head down!" The warning arrived almost at the same time as the shriek of a bullet tearing through the air.

Only when the scorching trajectory grazed the back of his neck did Scarlett realize that Yarman's iron grip was pinning him into the dirt. Blown sand blinded him, but the shudder running down his spine was crystal clear—the bullet that should have pierced his heart was now buried deep in the heap of scrap behind them, producing an ear-splitting groan of warping metal.

Yarman's Combat Suit sleeve swayed before his eyes, stained with fresh blood.

This contact he had never met before was now kneeling on one knee, his other hand already drawing the rifle slung across his body.

The click of the safety disengaging sounded especially harsh in the dead silence.

Yarman forced out several broken syllables through clenched teeth. "Sniper position, ten o'clock." Every word seemed squeezed from his lungs, carrying a hot, bloody tang.

Scarlett's gaze followed the sound upward, and his pupils suddenly shrank—dark red was spreading across the right shoulder blade of Yarman's dark Combat Suit. Blood wound down along the weave of his tactical vest, gathering into thick droplets on the holster at his waist.

In that split-second rescue, this