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packed snow, but the man was faster. He revved the snowmobile engine and brought the machine round in a skidding turn across their path, spattering them with sharp needles of ice. They stumbled to a halt, covering their eyes against the flying ice slivers. When they lowered their hands again, the twin barrels of a sawn-off shotgun were trained on Hex's chest.
    The man was not smiling now. He climbed down from his snowmobile, keeping the shotgun trained steadily on Hex. 'Give me the camcorder,' he ordered.
    'Come and get it,' said Hex, still filming.
    In reply, the man pumped the shotgun with a loud, double click, pushing a cartridge into the chamber.
    'So, just for the camera,' said Hex steadily. 'You're the man who murdered our friend Papaluk.'
    The man raised the gun to his shoulder again.
    'You work for Usher Mining Corporation and your name is . . . ?'
    'Shut up,' said the man. A muscle was twitching in his jaw and his hands tightened on the shotgun.
    'Your company has been dumping cyanide waste into the river to avoid reclamation and water treatment costs,' continued Hex. 'And Papaluk found out about it, didn't she? So you killed her. And now you're going to shoot me.'
    The man scowled and took a step towards Hex.
    'Hex, you idiot!' yelled Amber. 'Give the guy what he wants!'
    The man was distracted by Amber's sudden shout. It was only for an instant but that was all the time Li needed. While the man's head was turned towards Amber, Li launched herself high into the air with one leg held out stiffly in front of her. Her foot slammed into the side of his face with a dull thud. Li was wearing the soft mukluks, but all her skill and fury at the murder of Papaluk went into the kick and they all heard the snap as the man's cheekbone broke.
    With a roar of pain, he staggered backwards and sat down hard on the snow, still clutching the shotgun. Li came down lightly on her feet and turned, bouncing on her toes and ready to attack again. Her face was still twisted with anger.
    Hex assessed her chances and decided they were not good enough. The man might be down and injured but he still had possession of a sawn-off shotgun. Hex grabbed Li by the arm and shook his head. The man in the snow came up onto his knees.
    'Run!' yelled Amber.
    Alpha Force needed no second telling. They were off and running towards their snowmobiles while the man was still kneeling and waiting for his head to clear. They were running against the wind and all the layers of clothing they were wearing made it difficult to move fast. The skin tightened between their shoulder blades as they ran. With every second that passed, they were expecting a shotgun blast to ring out behind them.
    Finally, they reached the line of snowmobiles parked at the base of the tower.
    'Fan out!' yelled Alex as he flung himself into the saddle. And head for the tree line! We need some cover!'
    The keys were in the ignition and, in a matter of seconds, they were revving their engines. The machines leaped forward and they headed towards the trees, fanning out until they were spread out in a long line across the snow.
    Behind them, the man staggered to his feet, clutching the rifle in one hand and his cheek in the other. Bracing his knees, he steadied himself and raised the shotgun to his shoulder. The sawn-off barrels jerked from one white-clad, hooded rider to the next, searching for the one carrying the camcorder, but the man could not tell which one was Hex and they were getting further away by the second. With a curse, he reached over his shoulder and pushed the shotgun into the holster on his back. Then, clutching his cheek, he hurried over to his snowmobile and set off in pursuit.
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S IX
    'Faster!' yelled Paulo, glancing behind him as the shrill engine note of the man's snowmobile started up. The tree line was still at least five minutes' hard riding away and their pursuer would stop at nothing to get hold of the incriminating camcorder evidence. Paulo