Sniper Wire

You are Victor Silas, a deniable operator who works alone. Contracts come in over the Wire from OPAL, an office that finds the work, writes the brief and pays. No spotter, no crew. You read your own wind. Every shot is worked out the way a real one is. The round drops, the wind pushes it, and it takes time to get there, so a walking man has moved by the time it lands. The reticle is marked in mils, the turrets click in tenths, and the data card tells you what the rifle needs at each range. Get the hold right and the round goes where you put it. KARSK Six operations in an Eastern European city of rain, sodium light and old industry. A banker behind hotel glass that bends your first round. A night market where you read the wind off the steam. A scrapyard at dawn with three men, and one of them runs. A ferry pulling away from the harbour against the clock. A buyer at a dam 800 metres out,…