Bowles touched her ear-piece.
Earnes glanced at her. “Mine isn’t working either,” he told her.
“I lost connection as soon as we entered the warehouse,” Bowles told him.
“He must have jammed the signal. I’m sure he has people who could do those things for him. The guy deals with terrorists—there’s nothing he can’t do at this point!”
Bowles pulled out her piece and threw it on the ground in front of her.
“The bastard has thought of everything. I’m going to crawl around back and see if I can take a couple of them out again.”
“Okay, I have your back, but be careful, Gabb. This man wants us dead.” Earnes
gave her an apprehension look. “Maybe we should wait. They will be here soon.”
“No, we have to try to smoke him out. He has to be in here somewhere watching us.”
“Be careful,” Earnes cautioned her again.
“I will—cover me.”
He positioned himself behind Bowles and watched as she crawl away, her head
low to the ground, her gun at the ready in her left hand. This reminded him of the Mancuso take down last year, but that hadn’t been half as dangerous. And people thought that the mafia was dangerous! It seemed like home grown terrorists were the new kid in town—they were evil, unpredictable and deadly!
Bowles moved quickly around some of the big metal containers, making sure she kept her head low to the ground. At least she had some protection. She didn’t get far. They must have had her in their sights. They started shooting at her. She ducked and crouched down behind one of the large containers as stray bullets descended on her. She heard Earnes returned fire, and she followed his lead and fired up on the level above her.
At least the “genius” hadn’t thought of everything, she thought. She pressed her body close to the metal crate and waited for them to stop.
“Bastards!” she swore under her breath. They didn’t seem to want to let up.
“Gabb, are you alright?” She heard Earnes’s voice calling out to her. He
sounded anxious. He probably thought they had gotten her.
“Yeah, I’m okay, Earnes,” she told him in a low voice.
“I’m coming.”
“No, stay put. I’ve got this.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Distract them. I have a plan.”
She got down on her stomach again and squeezed her body between two of the smaller containers, and waited. She knew they would have to reload at some point. She got a lucky break a few minutes after. They had stopped shooting at her. They probably thought they had hit her. She crept around the side. There were about four men in sight, standing directly across from her on the second level. It would be easy to take them out.
They were probably the ones who had been spraying her with bullets. She would be quick. The unit had recruited her because of her impeccable marksmanship, and for her sniper experience. She had served a year in Afghanistan taking out terrorists and training the Afghani army how to shoot. She could have those men on the ground before they knew what hit them.
She took aim at them. She wanted to get them in the head, if not between the
eyes. It was the only way she could be certain they were dead. She heard their bodies falling to the ground seconds after. They landed yards from where she was huddled down. She was close enough to see pieces of their brain matter scattered all over the floor, and the pools of blood getting bigger and bigger as it drained
from their dead bodies.
She waited a couple seconds to see if there were any more of them in that area. All seemed quiet on her side. Maybe they had been the only shooters on this side, but she still didn’t want to take any chances. She knew a lot about surprise hits. She eased her body forward, aimed her gun and shot them once again in the head. She didn’t want any of them “coming back to life” and shooting her when she wasn’t watching. And their guns were still strapped to their bodies. The “dead” was known to spring back to “life” on more than one occasion. She had seen someone who was supposed to be “dead” reach for a gun to shoot.
She wiped the blood sputters from her face with the sleeve of her jacket, and peered around the side. She didn’t see anyone, but she could hear footsteps. They were slow, menacing and deliberate, and they were getting closer. She lifted her head just in time to see the angry, evil scowl on the man’s face as he pounced on her. She sprang into action. She rolled away before he could make contact with her. She sneaked around the corner, hoping she could snake her way back to where Earnes was.
She wasn’t fast enough. He pointed his gun and pulled the trigger. Some of the bullets ricocheted off the side of the container and ended up at her feet and over her head. She spun around and fired back at him. He returned fire. She dashed around the side, and took aim at him again. She had a clear view of him. One bullet to the head would finish him off. She pressed the trigger. Her gun didn’t go off. Damn! She was out of bullets. Goddamn it! He was going to kill her, she thought, but not if she returned the favor first.
She tucked the gun into her waist and crouched down. She had gone further than
she intended. It appeared she had ended up on the other side of the large warehouse. Earnes and most of the other men were stationed next to the entrance, where they had taken cover when Raybourne and his thugs had started shooting at them. She had wandered into the belly of the beast, and the beast was tracking her down, waiting to feast on her!
She heard him coming closer. She pressed her back up against the container and
held her breath. The bastard was looking for her. She was his target now. She would have been able to take him out if she had any more bullets left—just her luck! He had probably seen her take out his partners, and was going to do the same thing to her. She took the gun from her waist and held it in her right hand, waiting for him. She was counting on getting in a blow or two before he took her out. She would beat the shit out of him, if she had to. She wasn’t going down without a fight.
She slipped back around the way she had just came from and waited. The
good thing—he didn’t know where she was. But she could see him. He was going in the opposite direction. He was a large man—she saw his huge head bobbing up and down as he searched for her. She lodged her five-seven, one hundred and fifteen pounds frame between the two crates and waited for him to come get her.
Minutes passed, and she didn’t see or hear anything from him. He probably thought she had escaped back to the other side, or he had left. She probably should try to get back to Earnes, and the others. She slipped out from where she was
hiding.
“Going somewhere?”
She felt the cold end of the gun at the back of her head, and her entire body froze. “Looking for me?” His voice was gritty and angry.
Her first instinct was to fight back, but she doubted she would be able to get in a punch before he blew her brains out.
“Okay, take it easy.”
She dropped the gun on the floor and held her hands out for him to see that she
wasn’t carrying anything else.
“Get up.” He jammed the gun hard against her skull, the sudden force of it pushing her forward, and onto her knees.
She made it to her feet slowly. She tried to turn around to get a look of his face, but he wouldn’t let her.
“Keep your head at the front!” He poked the gun into her back. “You kill my
friends.” The resentment and hate in his voice was unmistakably grim and direct.
He wanted her to know that she was going to pay for doing it, too. He was going to hold her accountable. She realized that eventually he was going to be her judge, juror and executioner. She realized that denying she killed those men wouldn’t matter to him at this point—he was still going to kill her, one way or the other.
“They were shooting at me,” she tried to tell him in her defense. “It was either
them or
me.”
“They were good guys.”
“Then why were they here working for Raybourne—a known criminal with terrorists ties?”
He lifted the gun and hit her against the side of the head with it. She fell
forward on the floor again.
“I don’t think I like the tone of your voice! You are actually blaming those dead men! How low can you get!”
He got down next to her and hit her again. The blows were forceful and willful, but not enough to crack her skull or to make her lose consciousness. He wanted to hurt her, to make her feel pain. And he knew how to do it.
She held the side of her head and whimpered. He was probably a pro at this, she thought, glaring up at him. He had probably tortured people for Raybourne, too. He knew how and where to apply pressure to cause her pain. Her head was exploding—it felt like someone had hit her with a brick, but she refused to give in to the throbbing pain. She had experienced worst.
“Your friends tried to kill me, so don’t expect me to say that I’m sorry that they are dead.” She raised her head and gave him a defiant look.
“Have some fucking respect for the dead, bitch!”
He slapped her hard against the side of the face, and glared down at her with
intense contempt. There was nothing but seething anger and hate in his deep set blue eyes. She knew he would have pumped a round into her by now, if he could, but he couldn’t, because according to him, Raybourne wanted her alive and supposedly in one piece. He couldn’t take her dead body to his boss! He had to follow orders!
“Your friends were trash. They didn’t have any respect for the living. That’s why they are dead!” She baited him.
He raised his hand to hit her again, but didn’t. He gave her a scornful look
instead. “What the hell do you know! Those guys were only trying to make ends meet for their kids. They were here to make some fast cash and nothing more. They weren’t involved in whatever beef you guys have with Raybourne. Raybourne hired them off the streets. They only came here because of what
Raybourne promised them.”
She was still holding her cheek when she looked at him again.
“I’m sorry that they got caught in the cross fire,” she told him.
She wasn’t certain she meant it, though, but she had to say something, anything to engage him. Those men were shooting at her to kill. It was better them than her. She had absolutely no regrets killing them, and she would do it again if she had to.
He didn’t buy it, either.
“Sorry! You are sorry!” he bellowed at her, kicking her in the rib. “They are dead, bitch! Now, let’s see how your apology is going to bring them back. They have young kids waiting for them at home. They were here looking to pay the bills. They had women and families who cared about them!”
He was furious, but she wasn’t going to be silenced or cowered by his anger.
“They should have been smart enough to know that crime doesn’t pay. They should have found different jobs! Trying to kill government agents isn’t the smart way to go. They got what they deserved.”
She turned and gave him a contemptuous look.
He kicked her again, this time with more force than the first time. She had expected it. She took a deep breath and braced herself as his steel-toed boot rained down hard on her stomach and ribs. She was left scrambling to catch her breath after. He lowered his head to her face and reached for a handful of her long auburn hair, ripping if from the bun.
“That is nothing compared to the pain you are going to feel when I’m through
with you, lady.” He locked eyes with her for a full minute. She stared back at him, her eyes never leaving his callous ones. “Get your ass up!” He reached for her arm and pulled her to her feet. “We are getting out of here before your dumb-ass friends realize that you are missing, and come looking for you. I only have as many
bullets, and a couple of them have your name written all over them, so don’t try anything foolish!”
He grabbed her by the arm and pushed her ahead of him.
“Where are we going?”
“You really think I will tell you that! I’m not an idiot.”
She laughed at him. “Hey, you said it, not me!”
“Shut up!” He pushed her harder. “I will tell you this, Raybourne wants
you alive, and that’s the only reason I haven’t put a bullet in your head already. I’m following his orders. But as soon as he’s done with you, you are mine.”
He lifted the gun to the back of her neck and ran it slowly down her back.
“Good to know. But you do know that assaulting, kidnapping, and attempted
murder on a federal agent is a felony. You are looking at spending the rest of your
sorrowful life in jail, that is, if you get out of here alive.”
“Shut up, and keep walking! You sure have a lot to say for someone who is going to die—I mean after I torture you. And I must say I do have a way of getting what I want out of someone.” He taunted her. He nudged her in the lower back again with the gun. She tried to shrug him off. She fell a couple steps back in an attempt to slow him down. He pushed her forward and glared at her.
“I wouldn’t hesitate to let you have it across the side of the head the next time you open that trap of yours. Now move faster!”
He took her by the shoulder and shoved her roughly ahead of him. She stumbled
forward and fell hard on the stack of wooden crates in front of her. Her left foot went under the edge as she lurched forward. She grabbed her foot, and cried out in pain.
“I think I have twisted my ankle,” she moaned. “Looks like you will have to
carry me out of here after all, being the big man that you are, and all. You did say
that Raybourne is expecting me, didn’t you?”
She looked up and gave him a mischievous grin.
“Don’t count on it! I will drag you out of here like a dead cat if I have to.”
“Want to bet! Because as far as I see; you have two choices—either you leave me here and walk out with your life while you still have it, or you lift me over your shoulders and carry me out.” She looked defiantly up into his stony large eyes. She hadn’t noticed how blue his eyes were until now. It was too bad she would be the last person to gaze into them.
He was furious. Now was just a good time than any to engage him. There was
no way she was going to let him take her out of here alive. And she knew she was
worth more to him and Raybourne alive than dead.
He let out a drawn out, angry sigh. She locked eyes with him, and smirked. She was beginning to get use to his nasty looks. They did nothing to her. She wasn’t going to let a little man like him intimidate her. She had dealt with far worst than him, including members of the Taliban. She remembered that time in Afghanistan almost five years ago when the Pashtuns had ambushed her team, and had held her prisoner for four days. She knew fear, and torture, and this poor excuse of a weasel wasn’t it!
He reached down to take her by the arm to pull her up to her feet again. She had no time to waste. It was either now or never. They were almost out the door. Raybourne probably had a car waiting on the other side to toss her inside and whisk her away to god knows where, never to be found again. She wasn’t about to let that happen.
She had the switchblade she had pulled from her ankle holster in her left hand. She reached up and plunged it hard into his chest when he reached down for her, twisting it in a couple times for good measure. She felt the force of the sharp blade as it went into his skin, and she pushed harder and harder until she was certain it had sliced into his vital organ.
She felt his warm blood pouring out onto her hand, and she removed her hand and glanced up at him. The surprise look on his face was priceless. It was one of unbelievable horror. His eyes widened considerably, then bulged. A ghoulish frown appeared on his pale rounded face as he bowled over against her. He tried to reach for her n
eck in one last feeble attempt, and she rolled out from under him, and stood, allowing him to fall face down onto the concrete. He landed with a loud thump, his contorted face smashing into the hard surface.
She heard his deep moans seconds after. They sounded almost wolf-like. Blood spew from his gaping mouth, and he gulped a couple times and took one last breath. She knew he was dead, but she still wasn’t taking any chances with him. He would certainly kill her for sure next time. She stepped over him and grabbed the gun from the holster around his waist. She lowered it to his body and fired three clean shots into his chest, and ending him off for good.
Chapter 2
Reinforcement from the NYPD, including the strategic response unit, TARU and CSU arrived moments after. It had taken them long enough, she thought. She could have been dead or unconscious somewhere, waiting for Raybourne to exact his sick revenge. There was no doubt in her mind that was what he had planned on doing had he gotten her out the door. Raybourne wanted her dead, and more so now that ever. This latest take down had put a huge dent in his operation. Some of his men were dead, and they had shut down this part of his business. And with any luck, he would be among the dead bodies.
She leaned heavily against the wall and eyed the carnage around her, including the body of the dead man not far away. She had counted about seven bodies so far, the man’s included. She was sure that there were more scattered through out the warehouse. She hoped none of them were law enforcement or the men she worked with.
She cradled her lower stomach and took a deep breath. Everything had suddenly become quiet—a calm after the storm, in a weird sort of way. The gun battle had stopped. Raybourne and his men had taken off when they realized they had been out numbered. The deafening gun battle was replaced by an uncanny, stilted silence that seemed to resonate through out the large space.
She doubted this was the end of it. Apprehending Raybourne was just the beginning. The man was like a fucking feral cat with nine lives! They had been trying for almost two years to bring him down, and it hadn’t been easy. Raybourne had met and outsmarted them every step of the way. Catching him tonight would be a huge victory for the team. And they were going to do everything they could to keep him behind bars for a very, very long time. He would never see the light of day again, if she had anything to do with it. There was nowhere for him to run now.
In Hot Pursuit Page 4