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Hawkeye.  “We’re getting ahead of ourselves.  We need to find out who the enemy is.  Shooter, circle round the pyramid and see if you can climb to the top and find some cover.  Then report.”
    Shooter dropped to the ground and crawled to the rear of the massive stones, where an alley ran between two pyramids.
    “Drop your weapons, Titan Six!”
    Three Chinese commandos descended the slope created by the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.
    Titan Six dropped their assault rifles and machine guns.
    “Now face your vehicle and put your hands in the air,” said the lead commando.  “Our commander wishes to interrogate you.”
    Hawkeye nodded to his team, indicating that all members should comply.  As he did so, he also cocked his head slightly to the left.  It was a signal.
    The commandos approached, gravel crunching under their boots as they finished their descent and stood directly behind Titan Six.
    Hawkeye, Tank, and Gator wheeled around, kicking the commandos with powerful leg thrusts.  Stunned, all three Chinese soldiers fell to the ground.  The first commando fired his rifle wildly, hitting the EFV.
    Hawkeye, Tank, and Gator were on top of the enemy immediately, raining blows on their assailants.  The three pairs rolled sideways in the sand, exchanging punches.  After five minutes, no one seemed to have an advantage.
    * * *
     
    Shooter surveyed the city from her vantage point on top of the pyramid.  Whoever had fired on Titan Six had disappeared.  Dozens of stone structures rose in front of her, and without help from the Ops Center , it would be impossible to locate the snipers.
    Ready to descend the temple, Shooter stopped abruptly.  Below, Hawkeye, Tank, and Gator were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with three commandos.  It had been a set-up.  The snipers had not taken direct aim at Titan Six, hoping only to force them behind the EFV, where they could be confronted by the commandos.
    Quietly, Shooter lay flat on the step pyramid’s top tier.  She cradled her Calico M960 semi-automatic carbine and aimed at the scuffle below.  She was the finest sharpshooter in any of Titan’s combat units, but her next shots would have to be three of the best she ever made.  Quiz and Madison had reclaimed their weapons, but even at close range, they dared not fire lest they hit their comrades.  Shooter, however, was paid to make the kill-shot when circumstances dictated. 
    Gator was being pummeled mercilessly.  As for Hawkeye and Tank, each time they managed to get to their feet, they lost their footing in what was obviously a deep pit of sand.
    Shooter breathed slowly and evenly. 
    One commando faced forward, Hawkeye just to his left.  Gator’s attacker stood above him, his back to the EFV.  Tank and his foe were standing sideways, facing each other.
    Shooter’s finger curled around the trigger.  Her blood pressure slowed.  She could spare no time to study the situation further.  The combatants might change positions.
    In five seconds, Shooter squeezed off three rounds from right to left, aiming for the attackers of Gator, Tank, and Hawkeye respectively.  Gator’s enemy was hit in the back.  Hawkeye’s attacker was hit directly in the heart.  The head of Tank’s assailant shattered in a shower of blood and brains.
    Shooter scurried down the rear of the temple and rejoined her team.
    “Nice work,” Hawkeye told her, wheezing from the exertion.  “Everyone into the EFV.”
    Hawkeye sat again in the driver’s module as everyone else took their positions.
    “Let’s take a short drive,” Hawkeye said.
    The EFV slowly made its way down a centuries-old stone path as wide as a street.  Temples and pyramids rose to the left and right of the path, their worn, eroded edifices displaying hundreds of glyphs, gods, and demons carved into the stone.  Stairways, columns, and statues clearly indicated that at least some of the citizens of the city had been skilled craftsmen and architects.
    Steam and