by Mike Ryan
“You hold on. I’m coming down now.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”
12
Just in case there were some more men out there waiting for them, Lamb and Brooke hid by another bush as they waited for Dunn to come along. Within a few minutes, they saw the FBI agent descending the small hill on her way to meet them. When they saw her, Lamb slowly stood up to reveal his location to her. As soon as she saw the hit man, Dunn stopped in her tracks. Considering their past history, it was an odd feeling for her seeing him standing there in front of her. Though they’d been talking on the phone, it was just different actually seeing him. It was a little bit of a weird feeling for Lamb as well, though not as much as it was for Dunn. He had always assumed if they ever met again, that she’d shoot upon seeing him. He was glad that under these circumstances, that wasn’t the case.
Shaking the last images she had of Lamb from that warehouse out of her head, she started moving again in his direction. From the blood that was just about everywhere on his body, she could tell he was hurt pretty bad. She didn’t have to be a doctor to be able to tell he needed medical attention rather quickly. As Dunn approached, neither had any elegant words to greet each other with.
“Hey,” Lamb said.
“Hey yourself,” Dunn said. She then looked over at Brooke to make sure she had no injuries. “Are you hurt or anything?”
Brooke shook her head. “No, I’m fine. But Eric needs help.”
Dunn smiled at her and could immediately tell the girl had an attachment to the former assassin. She then turned her eyes back to Lamb. “I can see that.”
“I’m fine,” Lamb said, not wanting to make a big deal of his injuries. “All these pleasantries are nice, but we probably should get moving. I’m not so sure we’re out of danger yet.”
Dunn nodded, believing he was probably right. “All right. You gonna be OK going back up?”
“Don’t worry about me. Just stay close to her.”
As they started moving, they heard gunfire. It sounded like it was coming from the end of the alleyway where that car had been waiting.
“That must be the backup team engaging,” Dunn said.
“I have a feeling there’s more coming,” Lamb replied.
Dunn tried to move a little more quickly going up the hill, with Brooke right behind her. They periodically looked back for Lamb, who was trying the best he could, but just wasn’t moving that fast. After a few minutes, a couple of men emerged at the top of the hill, looking down at Lamb and his cohorts. Dunn saw them and looked back for Brooke, tackling her to the ground before the men opened fire. Lamb did not duck for cover. At this point, he figured why bother? Plus, he wasn’t really moving quick enough to dive behind a tree or a bush. He got in a shooting stance, then steadied his arms in front of him as he opened fire. The men at the top of the hill did the same.
One of the men immediately went down from a shot to the gut. Lamb’s arm was then pushed back from a bullet grazing his left forearm. He could barely move the arm as it was from the shoulder wounds, and this certainly wouldn’t help. After the other man went down, his partner retreated back out of sight. Lamb kept moving forward, keeping his eyes peeled for the man to come back into view. After a minute, he reached Dunn and Brooke, who were just starting to get back to their feet.
“You guys OK?” Lamb asked.
“Yeah,” Dunn said, brushing the dirt off her pants.
Brooke looked at Lamb and nodded. “I’m good.”
Dunn noticed Lamb’s new injury and grabbed his forearm to look at it.
“It’s nothing,” Lamb said, pulling his arm down. “Can barely feel it.”
“The wound or your arm?” Dunn asked.
“Doesn’t matter at this point.”
They took another quick look around before continuing up the hill. Lamb thought it would be a good idea to switch up their positioning at this point. It didn’t appear there was anyone else behind or to the sides of them. But there was no telling how many people were ahead. It didn’t make sense to have Dunn and Brooke lead the way.
“I should probably take point,” Lamb said.
“Are you sure you can?” Dunn replied.
“No. But that’s why it should be me. Whatever happens out of all of this, you’re the only one who can take her. That means if there’s twenty guys when we get to the top. You head for your car and peel out of here.”
“And you?”
Lamb shrugged. “I’m a lost cause. Sometimes things can’t be fixed.”
“But sometimes they can.”
“Not in this case. If there’s anything up there waiting for us, you let me deal with it.”
Dunn didn’t really like the idea of leaving him alone to deal with any issues, but she knew it was for the best. Even though they were on opposite sides of the law, and they had a prior run-in, Dunn was beginning to feel differently about him. He clearly wasn’t the monster she had always believed him to be. Doing what he was doing now, Lamb obviously had some redeeming qualities about him. Maybe there was a way out of this for him, she thought. Not that she would just let him go to start killing again, but maybe he could be rehabilitated into a more suitable line of work. Something that didn’t go against the law. But that would mean he’d have to survive this ordeal, something that Lamb didn’t seem all that interested in surviving. At least from her point of view.
“There is still hope for you, you know,” Dunn said.
“Don’t tell me you’re gonna try and make me your reclamation project.”
“I don’t believe you’re a bad guy. You’re not evil.”
“Well, thanks for that,” Lamb said, not sounding impressed.
“All I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t have to end here.”
Lamb had an idea what she was talking about, but he wasn’t taking his eyes off the top of the hill. Maybe if he wasn’t all shot up it was something he might think about. But as it was, he didn’t really see the point. Plus, he still didn’t ever want to see the inside of a jail cell. That was a prospect that didn’t interest him.
Once they got to the top of the hill, Lamb stopped as he surveyed the situation. There was no sign of the other man. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t there somewhere. With the dead man near Lamb’s feet, he wanted to make sure he was really dead.
“Check him,” Lamb said, not wanting to take his eyes off the area. Bending down in his condition was a little more painful than he would have liked it to be.
Dunn reached over and felt the side of the man’s neck. “He’s dead.”
“Where’s your car?”
“It’s the silver one over there,” she replied, pointing to the car parked next to the side of the building.
“All right, start moving.”
The three of them started moving toward the car. Dunn and Brooke ran to it as Lamb moved slowly to it. He was moving side to side, still keeping his gun out, his arms and elbows locked into firing mode. Just as Dunn and Brooke reached the car, the other man revealed himself from behind a dumpster. He opened up, firing at the agent’s parked car. Lamb quickly returned fire, hitting the man several times in the chest. The man’s gun dropped from his hand as his body crumpled to the ground. Lamb kept moving toward the car, but still keeping his eyes peeled for further trouble.
“Lamb, let’s go!” Dunn yelled, turning the ignition on.
“Eric, come on!” Brooke shouted.
Lamb dropped his guard and started running toward the car. Well, in his injury-riddled state, it was more like a fast walk. Dunn was about to put the car in reverse so he didn’t have as long a walk to them when another shot rang out. Lamb instantly fell to the ground, landing face down, his gun a few inches from the reach of his fingers.
“Eric!” Brooke yelled in horror.
She was about to get out of the car to go check on him, but Dunn grabbed her arm to stop her.
“We can’t just leave him,” Brooke said.
She knew it w
asn’t what Lamb would have wanted, but Dunn agreed with the sentiment. She wasn’t about to leave him behind either.
“You stay down,” Dunn said.
Brooke did as she was directed as Dunn floored it in reverse, the car’s tires squealing as she sped the car backwards. Looking at Lamb’s lifeless body in the rearview and side mirrors as a guide, Dunn maneuvered the car to come up alongside of him. She used the car to shield his body from any further damage from a stray bullet. As she stopped the car, they started taking fire. Several bullets glanced off the metal frame, while several more found their way through it. Dunn took out her gun and quickly opened the door, immediately dropping to a knee as she pointed her firearm, ready to extract some justice of her own. A few more bullets ripped off the car, causing the agent to return fire.
To get Lamb, she’d have to run around the side of the car, completely exposing herself. Knowing that wasn’t such a good idea, she got back in the car. She moved the car forward then quickly spun the car completely around and came back up alongside Lamb’s body once again. Not liking that Brooke was on the side of the unknown gunman, Dunn told her to get on the floor and make herself as small as possible.
Dunn got out of the car again and fired a few more rounds at the area of the shooter. Though she couldn’t see exactly where the guy was, her main hope was just to keep him ducking for a minute, long enough to get Lamb’s body in the car. After she unleashed a few rounds, she opened the back door, then reached down for Lamb. She quickly checked for a pulse before trying to move him.
“I’m good,” Lamb blurted out, grabbing his gun lying on the ground.
Dunn jumped back an inch out of surprise. “Jeez, I thought you were dead.”
“Not yet. Just stunned me for a minute.”
“Can you move?” Dunn asked, looking at the new hole in the lower part of his back, and observing blood coming out of it.
“Trying.”
Dunn grabbed him by the arms and helped him crawl his way into the backseat of the car. Once he was completely inside, she closed the door, then jumped back into the front seat. It seemed like their shooter had been joined by a couple of his friends, as they appeared to be taking on a lot more gunfire. Dunn pushed the gas pedal to the floor and peeled out of the lot. Brooke slipped back into the passenger seat from the floor and looked back at Lamb to make sure he was OK.
“Are you going to be OK?” Brooke asked.
“Yeah. I just need a few minutes to lie here.”
“You really need to go to the hospital.”
“I will. After we’ve gotten you taken care of, OK?”
“Is that a promise?”
“Yes. Right after I know you’re safe. I’ll go directly there.”
“You’re not just saying that, are you?”
“No. It’s a promise.”
Lamb stayed on his back for a few minutes, just looking up at the roof as Dunn sped down the road. It wasn’t too long before Dunn started driving erratically, giving Lamb the feeling that they weren’t out of the woods yet. Though in a considerable amount of pain, Lamb slowly sat up and turned his head around, observing a fast-moving car behind them.
“These guys just don’t give up,” Lamb said quietly.
“What?” Dunn asked.
“Nothing. I take it that car behind us isn’t your backup team?”
“No, they’re not.”
“Did you try getting them on the horn?”
“Not yet.”
Dunn then grabbed hold of her radio and tried to make contact with the other agents. After three unsuccessful attempts, she assumed it was a lost cause. She tossed the radio down in frustration.
“It’s no use,” Dunn said. “I hope they’re OK.”
“Maybe they’re just busy,” Brooke said.
After another minute, a voice blurted out of the radio. “Dunn, you there?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Where are you at?”
“Driving down the road. Where are you? You guys all right?” Dunn asked.
“Yeah. We’re good. Our car’s not, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s shot. Took a bullet hole. Right through the engine block. Won’t start,” the agent reported.
“You guys aren’t hurt?”
“No, we’re good.”
“What about those two guys? I heard shots,” Dunn said.
“Well, they didn’t want to come along peacefully, so they decided to shoot it out.”
“You have them in custody?”
“No, they’re dead. We called it in already. Should have people coming soon to block off the scene.”
“Good.”
“What about you?” the agent asked.
“Driving down the road with at least one car on my tail.”
“Call for backup. Don’t be a hero.”
“I will.”
As soon as Dunn put the radio down, the car was suddenly jolted and rocked back and forth as the car following them rammed them from behind. Calling for help was going to have to wait a few minutes as she needed both hands on the wheel to do some evasive driving. Just like out of a movie, the two cars sped down the road, artfully dodging the traffic around them. Brooke put her hands over her eyes, afraid they were going to crash, and only periodically looked through the gaps of her fingers.
For several minutes, a high-speed chase ensued. The pursuing car got close enough to hit the FBI agent’s car a couple of times, though Dunn was able to outmaneuver them each time. After it became apparent to them that they weren’t going to force the law enforcement officer’s car off the road, or make them crash, they resorted to other measures. The men inside the car started shooting out the windows of their vehicle to try and grind the car to a halt.
“I think that’s my cue,” Lamb said.
Lamb took hold of his gun and turned his body around and aimed for the car behind them. He was in some discomfort, but it wasn’t enough to slow him down. He started shooting his weapon, blasting out the back window as he fired.
“You want me to slow down to give you a better target?” Dunn asked.
“No, just keep up what you’re doing,” Lamb replied. “I’ll make it work.”
A few more minutes went by with both Lamb and the people chasing after them just firing away at each other. Lamb tried to take out the other car’s tires, but they were moving too fast for him to really get a good look at them. So instead of taking out the car, he focused his efforts on the men inside it. With how close they were getting, Lamb could easily tell that there were four men inside the vehicle, all of whom took turns firing at him. Though Lamb shot through the other car’s front windshield, putting several holes in it, it didn’t seem to deter the men any. And if he hit any of them, they weren’t letting it show. Or at least it wasn’t bad enough to stop them from returning fire.
Getting tired of the chase, Dunn figured their best option at losing the other car was to stop somewhere and slug it out with them. They couldn’t just keep driving down the road, hoping to eventually hit them. They had to come up with a better plan. Somewhere that they’d have the advantage. Or at least a better advantage than they seemed to have now, which wasn’t much of one. Dunn started bouncing ideas off of Lamb to get his opinion.
“What do you think?” Dunn asked.
“Depends on what you wanna do. You wanna lose them or kill them?”
“Whatever is easier and quicker.”
“Well, losing them I think is gonna take a little longer than killing them,” Lamb said.
“Then what do you suggest?”
Lamb took a moment to think before coming up with something. “How ‘bout a parking garage?”
“A parking garage? Why? We’re definitely not gonna lose them in there.”
“I wasn’t thinking about losing them.”
Dunn sighed, not really sure she liked the sound of what he had in mind. “Just how exactly do you plan on doing this?”
“Still think
ing about it.”
“This is not gonna work.”
“It’ll work,” Lamb said. “You just find the spot. I’ll make it work.”
13
After a few more minutes of driving, Dunn figured out where the closest available parking garage was. Though she still didn’t know how it was going to work, she put her trust in Lamb that he knew what he was doing. After all, killing was his specialty. If anyone would know how to get rid of a car full of people following them, it would be him.
“Just how is this gonna work?” Dunn asked.
“You’re gonna need to put a little distance between us.”
“What do you think I’ve been trying to do?”
“I just need a little room in order to get out without them seeing me,” Lamb said.
“Get out? Just what are you planning?”
“Well, this parking garage has an entrance and an exit I assume, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve been in it before?”
“Yeah, once or twice. I’ve been there on business,” Dunn answered.
“Good. When you drive in, stop, and I’ll get out.”
“And what are you going to do?”
“Give you the space you need to get away,” Lamb said.
“I’m not following.”
“I’ll take up a position near the entrance and shoot out their tires. That’ll take them out of the pursuit. That should free you up long enough to get back to your office, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Then do it.”
“But what about you?”
“How many times do I gotta tell you to stop worrying about me?” Lamb asked.
“You’re just gonna shoot out the tires of their car and then take on four people by yourself? In your condition?”
“Yep.”
“Well, excuse me for saying so, but that’s a terrible plan,” Dunn said.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t see a scenario where you come back out. Not breathing, anyway.”
“This whole thing has to end. And it has to end now. Don’t you agree?”
Dunn sighed, not ready to give up his life to make it happen. “Yeah. But not like this.”