by Mike Ryan
She looked at him and nodded. “OK.” She grabbed Abbott to pull him along with her and the two of them started running for the helicopter. To get a better angle on his targets, Magareth moved out from the van. Nicole seized the opportunity and put one in the man’s abdomen. He went down, but he wasn’t out of the fight. He was still able to fend them off for a little bit.
Bridge stood in the same spot, ready to take Dalton out as well, but Abbott was in his line of sight. He thought he could’ve hit her, but there was a chance he’d miss and hit his client. He wasn’t willing to take that risk, even if it was only two percent. He moved out from the cover of the trees, making himself fully visible. Upon seeing him, Dalton stopped, holding Abbot in front of her for protection.
“Don’t come any closer!” Dalton yelled.
“It’s over!” Bridge replied. “Give it up. You’re not getting out of here.”
“I don’t wanna hurt anybody. Just let me get on that chopper and everything’s over.”
“Not everything. Just turn Abbott over. I don’t wanna have to kill you.”
“I’ve protected him! He’d be dead already if it wasn’t for me.”
“I kind of doubt that.”
“Tell him.”
“It’s true, Mr. Bridge,” Abbott said. “Kenny was going to kill me. She stopped him.”
“Where is Kenny, anyway?” Bridge asked.
“Dead,” Dalton answered. “He was going to kill Chris. I put a stop to it.”
“Just turn Chris loose.”
“I’ll turn him loose if you give me your word you’ll let me get on that chopper.”
“I can’t do that.”
“What’s it matter to you? The money’s stolen from some drug cartel. It’s not like I took it from a charity. Everyone should be glad it’s out of their hands.”
“What were you planning on doing with it?”
“All I wanna do is disappear. A new life, a new identity, a new future. Somewhere quiet on a beach where I don’t have to worry about someone with a gun finding me. That’s all I want. I just wanna disappear.”
“Why not just turn yourself in?” Bridge asked, their guns still pointing at each other.
“I can’t do that. If I’m found by that cartel, I’m as good as dead. They’re already looking for me. MI6 will have me thrown in a dungeon somewhere for some of the things I’ve done. I’ve got no future looking back.”
Bridge couldn’t believe it, but he was actually starting to fall for her story. He was thinking about what he would do if he was in the same position. Would he have done something similar if he hadn’t left the agency on good terms? He knew how hard it was to escape your past unless you erased it. As they talked, gunfire was still heard in the background, as Magareth was keeping the others at bay.
For Dalton, she knew her only hope of escaping the situation was to somehow get through to Bridge. She had to make him understand her plight.
“What would you do? If you had no other way. What would you do?”
“I don’t know,” Bridge answered. “But I know you’ve hurt some people along the way.”
“I haven’t hurt anyone. The only people I’ve hurt are the drug dealers whose pride is probably stung. That’s it.”
“What about Gary Abbott?”
“I loved Gary. I would never hurt him.”
“Proof says otherwise.”
“Kenny killed him. I didn’t know. I never would’ve let him if I had known.”
“What about the PI who came looking?”
“Kenny again. You know him, you know who he is and what he’s about. You really think I could’ve stopped him? Everything I’ve done, everything, is for one purpose. And that’s just to get me out of here in one piece with a new identity. I haven’t killed anyone in that process. I loved Gary, I wanted him to come with me.”
“You gotta let Chris go,” Bridge said. “I’m not letting you take him. Even if everything you’re saying is true, then you gotta prove it. Let him go. Show that you don’t wanna hurt him.”
“If I let him go, you’re gonna kill me. Or I’ll kill you. And I don’t want to, Bridge. I don’t want that. I just wanna get out of here.”
Dalton started moving again, still using Abbott as cover as she backed her way to the helicopter. Bridge kept following. After a few more seconds, they finally made it there. She was only inches away from it.
“That’s far enough,” Bridge said. “You’re not putting him on that chopper. Cut him loose.” Bridge then decided to holster his gun. It was a risk, especially if he wasn’t reading the situation right. If he was wrong, he was as good as dead. But he thought he knew what was going through Dalton’s mind. “If you really meant everything you said, let him go.”
Seeing that Bridge had put his gun away, Dalton took her hands off Abbott and slithered her way onto the chopper. “I’m sorry for everything I put you through.” Abbott could only look at her and nod. Bridge and Dalton then locked eyes. “Everything I said was the truth, Bridge. I’m not out to hurt anyone. I just want out.”
Bridge nodded and gave a half-smile. “Then I hope you get there.”
The helicopter then lifted into the air as more shots were heard behind Bridge. He spun around to see Magareth dropping to the ground for the final time. Nicole and Steve then came running over to them.
“You all right?” Nicole asked.
“We’re good,” Bridge replied.
“What about Dalton?” Steve asked.
Bridge looked up at the sky. “Looks like she got away.”
“Couldn’t take a clear shot?”
“Well, she let Abbott go in return for me letting her get on there. I thought it was a trade worth taking.”
Steve then went to the cabin to check inside. He came back out a minute later. “Looks like the money’s gone.”
“Yeah.”
Bridge then had Steve take Abbott back to the car. Bridge continued staring up at the sky.
“What really happened?” Nicole asked.
“She kind of hit me in a sore spot.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll tell you about it once we get back to the hotel.”
“We gonna go after her?”
Bridge shook his head. “Not me. I hope they don’t either.”
“Why?”
“I dunno.”
“Where do you think she’s going?”
“I’m not sure, but… I kinda hope she makes it.”
About the Author
Mike Ryan is a USA Today Bestselling Author. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, and four children. He’s the author of the bestselling Silencer Series, as well as many others. Visit his website at www.mikeryanbooks.com to find out more about his books, and sign up for his newsletter. You can also interact with Mike via Facebook, and Instagram.
Also by Mike Ryan
Continue reading The Extractor Series with the next book in the series, Ripple Effect.
Other Books:
The Silencer Series
The Eliminator Series
The Cain Series
The Cari Porter Series
The Ghost Series
The Brandon Hall Series
A Dangerous Man
The Last Job
The Crew