Like rams about to collide, the rival timeslingers locked eyes.
Kline shifted his weight and glanced at the clock on his tactical suit. Each second that ticked away brought them closer to oblivion. The XLS was on the verge of the most critical operation ever attempted. All he had to do was capture the power cell and teleport back to XLS headquarters. Hector Salazar was the only obstacle standing in his way.
The subassembly loudspeaker boomed, “Sector 9 secured! Enemy units retreat-” There was a short pause. “Sector 4 also secured! All available units report to the subassembly chamber! All other sectors are secure!”
The countdown reached the four minute mark. All XLS soldiers were falling back to the tunnels, which meant the spider nuke had been activated. Fortunately, Kline had a teleportation drive, which meant he could transfer out within seconds of the bomb’s detonation. He tensed, but remained silent, calculating.
“Step back,” Hector said. “Drop your weapon!” He kept his assault rifle leveled at Kline and inched closer. His finger slid over the trigger. “Drop it! All your buddies are leaving you behind. No need to be a hero. Just put your gun down.”
Kline held up one hand. The other inched toward the sidearm strapped to his right leg. His thumb and forefinger gripped the pistol’s handle and he pulled the gun out of the holster. It teetered loosely between his fingers as he held it out away from his body.
“Put it on the ground,” said Hector.
Kline flinched slightly as he knelt. The tactical suit adjusted the pressure against his wounded thigh in response. The tip of his gun kissed the floor. He paused.
“Let it go-” said Hector.
The last syllable had barely left his lips when a call echoed down into the subassembly chamber, “Hector? Where are you?”
Hector’s eyes darted to the side. “Down he-”
With a twist of his hand, Kline seized the hilt of his pistol and lunged toward the power cell. Both timeslingers opened fire.
