47- Boomer

  In the meantime, 47 removed the boomer from his backpack. It was a device that resembled a twelve-inch flashlight, its exterior made of metal. Inside, however, was a complex transmitter that emitted powerful sonic waves. Human ears couldn’t hear them, but they would drive any dog within miles completely mad. More important, the sound waves would upset natural faults within rock, ice, or snow. Placed vertically in the snow on the Kangchenjunga cliff where the hitman now crouched, it could cause an avalanche after a minute or two. The trick was to plant it on the precise geological flaw. Only Diana’s computer could calculate the right spot.

  He had made it to the snow-packed cliff she had indicated, but he had no clue where to stick the boomer.
...

  The assault weapon’s noise would surely alert Nam Vo and his party. They would move for cover and 47 would lose his chance. There was only one thing to do. Blindly place the boomer and hope for the best.

  Which is exactly what he did.

  47 armed the device to start pulsing, and then he plunged it hard into the snow. The tiny beacon resembled a metal stake. How long would it take before the cliff gave way? The hitman didn’t want to stay and find out.
...

  Then he felt a tremor.

  Where was Diana?

  The cliff rumbled beneath his legs.

  Move! Move! Now! Now!

  But the Chinese shooter blocked his way with a barrage of death.…
...

  The cliff edge trembled violently as rock and ice debris showered around him. Agent 47 couldn’t move forward because of the hail of gunfire from the Chinese man’s QBZ-95. Going backward would mean falling with the imminent avalanche and being buried alive beneath tons of ice and snow.

  Once again, the assassin aimed the Silverballer at the dangling bodyguard, exposing himself in the man’s line of fire. But the turbulence was too strong. The entire mountainside acted as if it was about to topple like a house of cards. The ice beneath his feet lurched and threw 47 sideways, just as he felt a searing stab of fire penetrate his left side. As he fell hard on the craggy surface, he had the presence of mind to realize that the shaking ground had saved his life. The Chinese man’s round had indeed pierced the fleshy part at the edge of his waist, but had 47 been standing upright, the bullet would have gone through his abdomen.

  The shock waves traveled up the side of the cliff to Nam Vo’s men. The one spotting the dangling man lost his balance and slipped. He slid off the cliff edge but managed to grab hold of the rope that suspended his partner. Agent 47 heard them shout to each other in their language. The rope wouldn’t hold them both. The rock ledge cracked, and the two men bounced with the hemp. One of them screamed in terror, for there was nothing below them but thousands of feet of air.

  Agent 47 crawled forward. Blood trailed on the white snow behind him. The tremors grew more intense as the boomer did its job. If only he could get far enough away in time.…

  The rope holding the Chinese men finally gave way. They both shouted a death call.

  Agent 47 watched them plummet until they were mere dots against the gray misty mountainside.

  He kept moving. The outward edge of the cliff was just a few feet to his right. Still intent on the success of his mission, the hitman dared to peer down to see what Nam Vo and his party were doing.

  They were still in place, not really sure what all the commotion above them was about and oblivious to the oncoming holocaust.

  Then the sky and earth opened and the ice cliff completely collapsed, carrying Agent 47 with it through blinding lights and into deep and total darkness.

  Morphological experts and the news media recorded the catastrophe as a large “slab avalanche” that measured 4,600 meters in length and 18,000 meters in volume, making it one of the biggest in the Himalayan region. It was blamed on a natural trigger. Nam Vo and his expeditionary team were wiped away, and their bodies were never recovered.

- Hitman: Damnation, chapters 6 and 18