Suddenly, bright yellow lights started flashing throughout the hallway and Isis cringed when a harsh noise echoed throughout the space, some sort of alarm, as best she could tell. Well that can’t be good, Isis thought as she rose unsteadily to her feet. Every breath caused stabbing pain and Isis couldn’t help but wince, supporting herself against the wall. Noticing the glint of the knife she had dropped, Isis dove for it. Spotting movement out of the corner of her eye, Isis gasped and hid behind a nearby pillar just as a group of armed man descended the stairway. She could hear bullets striking the stone of the pillar and closed her eyes, turning her face away from the dust the deadly projectiles created.
If I manage to get out of this alive, Shae will never let me hear the end of it, Isis thought as she tried to figure out what to do.
*~*~*~*~*
Shae had never been in the middle of an all-out gunfight before. When they reached the valley where the Obsidian Manor was located, they could already see the flashes of guns being fired in the distance. Jade must have noticed how uneasy Shae was because she assigned the younger protector to keep an eye on Coop while she and Alex helped their allies create a window to hopefully attempt an extraction.
That plan had gone to shit almost immediately. The entire scene was all-out chaos. There were strange men in uniforms firing with wild abandon. They learned the hard way that there were also a good number of snipers and marksmen. Coop had told them earlier to avoid anyone wearing a strange symbol, which he had hastily sketched on a scrap of paper Alex provided him with. They will mostly rely on the assassins to do the killing, but if they see me or realize the protectors are interfering, they will take a more active part in the fighting. Believe me, they won’t run out of ammunition and they will kill you, he had warned.
Shae stayed on Coop’s heels as he led her down the second floor hall. Pausing at a body in the hallway, Coop knelt down and retrieved the firearm the woman still clutched. Checking the magazine, he handed it to Shae. Grabbing the second gun in the holster on her waist, Coop again checked the mag, barely even noticing the bullets hitting the wall nearby. Shae found cover to duck behind, wincing at the sheer amount of noise. She couldn’t hear anything other than yells and gunfire. Though she wouldn’t admit it, Coop scared her by how unaffected he was by the violence that surrounded them. Shae was a highly trained protector operative, but even she sought cover when bullets were flying. Coop might as well have been taking a pleasant stroll through a park. He turned his attention to the far end of the hall and fired a couple shots. Shae heard a thump before he turned his attention to her again, nodding over his shoulder.
They turned down another hall and Coop suddenly raised his hand, signaling to stop. He tilted his head a little and his nostrils twitched.
“There is an armed assassin in the room down this hall, second door on the right,” he explained. “The scent is . . . familiar.”
Shae swallowed and followed close behind Coop. Right before they reached the door, it started to open. Coop rammed his shoulder into it, knocking back the person behind the door. Shae heard the weapon clatter to the ground as Coop moved into the room. She raised her gun and moved into the doorway, freezing for a moment when she recognized Blackjack. Blood was flowing from his broken nose as Coop landed another punch to his face. Before the assassin could retaliate, Coop leapt up and brought his elbow down hard on Blackjack’s skull, knocking him out and possibly killing him. Shae felt her mouth drop open, stunned by what she had just witnessed. Coop moved faster than anyone Shae had ever seen — so fast that he was little more than a blur. She stared at his back, jolting a little when he twisted around, his eyes traveling up to some point above her head.
“There’s an alarm going off,” he mentioned, gesturing to where he was looking. Shae stepped inside the room and noticed a flashing yellow light above the doorway. Turning her eyes back to Coop, she noticed he had a thoughtful expression on his face.
“How the hell did you do that?” Shae asked, glancing over her shoulder to make sure they had no unwanted company. “Blackjack is one of the most renowned assassins. He’s been around for ages.”
“Still a normal,” Coop replied as he continued to look around.
“A what?” Shae squinted, confused by his response. Coop was already searching Blackjack, retrieving his weapons.
“Nothing. He’s good, dangerously so, but I’ve been trained to handle adversaries like him in much greater numbers,” Coop stated, his tone telling Shae that she wouldn’t get any further explanation from him. “And he’s still alive.”
Coop stood up again, pointing his gun at the unconscious assassin. Shae quickly strode forward and put her hand on his wrist, noticing he flinched a little as if he weren’t used to contact. She shook her head when he turned his eyes to her.
“No,” she said in a firm voice and Coop stared at her, puzzled.
“I don’t understand,” he said, glancing back at Blackjack’s prone form. “If I do not kill him, he will wake up and he will be angry. This man has very powerful backers, powerful enough to fund all this carnage. He’s the one they want controlling this particular territory. Those are not adversaries you want to deal with. This is the most logical solution.”
“I don’t care! You can’t just shoot him in cold blood,” Shae protested.
“You don’t think he would do the same to you or Isis or anyone else you care about?” Coop asked.
“I know he would and that’s why I’m different from him,” Shae explained. “I don’t kill unless there is absolutely no other alternative.”
“When he wakes up—”
“Coop, if you kill him, won’t his employers just find another assassin to be in charge of this territory?” Shae asked, deciding to try a different tactic. “And won’t they be just as bad?”
Coop studied her, his brow furrowing. “Yes . . . that is likely.”
“So, killing him doesn’t make much sense,” Shae replied, turning as she pressed a button on her earpiece. “Jade, Coop knocked out Blackjack in one of the bedrooms on the second floor. Can you send someone to take care of it?”
“Maybe, if we can. There are a lot of guards,” Jade responded, pausing. “A lot of them have that symbol Coop mentioned on the ride over.”
“We’ll be out to help once we’ve retrieved my wayward cousin,” Shae said, switching her earpiece off again. She nodded to Coop and gestured at the open door. He hesitated and Shae could tell he didn’t like leaving a loose end. After a moment, he moved out into the hallway.
They were about to turn the corner when Coop suddenly pushed Shae back and made her stand flat against the wall behind him. She was about to ask what the hell he was doing when multiple bullets struck the wall, sending slivers of plaster and wood flying everywhere.
“You have a mirror?” Coop asked, yelling over the constant noise. Shae reached into the pocket of her jeans, retrieving a small compact she always carried, and passed it to him. Coop opened it and held it out in front of him, using it to see around the corner. More bullets hit the wall and Shae heard glass shattering.
“Uh, sorry about the mirror,” Coop said as he tossed the shattered remains of the small compact. Shae shrugged as she checked to make sure the safety was off on her gun.
“It was cheap, easy to replace,” she replied with a small grin. “What did you see?”
“There are at least ten guards on the stairs, probably about seven on the opposite end of the hall. They’ve got us pinned down,” Coop reported, glancing to the side. “They managed to create a crude but effective kill box.”
“Well there’s a window at the end of the hall behind us, but I don’t think the drop would be a pleasant one,” Shae mentioned. “And we’d probably have more guards waiting for us down there anyway.”
Coop was looking to the hall and Shae found his expression to be unsettling. It looked like he was contemplating doing something incredibly stupid.
“They’ll be keeping Isis in the lowest level and chances
are the hostiles down there are a different breed, not something protectors can handle,” he said as though speaking to himself. He suddenly turned to Shae, his dark eyes intense.
“I can get down there, past the kill box, but it will be easier with cover fire,” he explained. “I do not wish to ask you to take any unneeded risk. There are at least two marksmen out there, so you would have to be quick and not be exposed for any longer than necessary.”
“What?” Shae asked, bewildered when Coop started to strip off his bulletproof vest. “That’s suicide. You’ll be killed before you reach the stairway!”
“I don’t intend to use the stairway,” Coop replied, tossing the vest to the side. He tensed up and bent a little at the knees, his eyes focused on the small section of railing they could see from where they stood.
Shae followed his gaze and her mouth dropped open. “That’s a straight drop to solid stone, not to mention the epicenter of the fucking firefight between a bunch of assassins. How is breaking your legs and getting riddled with bullets going to help Isis?”
“My bones are stronger than yours. And I’ve been trained to survive in the middle of firefights,” Coop explained, not glancing at Shae. “I’ve free fallen further distances than that and fought way more opponents. Just lay down that cover fire when I tell you.”
“Coop, no!”
“Now!” Coop shouted before taking off.
“Would you just — for fucks sake!” Shae spun out from behind the wall when Coop bolted, firing a few shots. Coop sailed over the railing, plummeting out of Shae’s sight and she waited, listening for the inevitable crash and shout of pain. Men were so damn impulsive at times, especially shape shifter men. A bullet grazed her upper arm and she gasped, swinging back behind the cover of the wall. Most of the gunmen appeared to be more focused on Coop and she could only hope he somehow managed to avoid their bullets.
Shae closed her eyes and turned away from the wall as more bullets hit it. There was the sound of shouting, gunfire, and thumping as the fight continued to rage on.
“Jade, I’ve got a situation on the second floor,” Shae said into her earpiece. “I’m pinned down and running out of ammo and oh yeah, Coop just went over the damn railing!”
*~*~*~*~*
Isis watched the shadow growing on the floor near her, indicating someone was closing in on her hiding place. Pressing her back against the cold pillar even more, she tightened her grip on the knife and waited. The muzzle of a high-powered rifle soon came into view, followed by a gloved hand. Isis felt her insides clench up and she tried to steady her breathing. She didn’t want to kill anyone, but she was aware that she probably wouldn’t have a choice.
Just as the round helmet started to appear from around the pillar, there was a loud shot and Isis jumped back when a spray of blood shot out of the back of the guard’s neck. There were more rapid shots, followed by the sound of bodies dropping to the ground.
“Enough of this childish game,” she heard the woman’s voice from earlier echo throughout the large space followed by another couple shots. “This is an impulsive and sloppy move on his part and if he thinks I will not retaliate, he has severely underestimated me.”
Peering out from behind the pillar, Isis spotted a taller woman reloading a shotgun. She wore a sidearm on her right side and a blade on her left.
“And have those goddamn protectors taken care of! I’m going to put down the hybrid,” the woman yelled to someone behind her, who scurried off to do her bidding. Isis felt hope swell in her chest at the mention of protectors.
The woman finished reloading the gun and moved to the hall leading to the cells, disappearing from Isis’ sight. Once her footsteps faded away, Isis peeked out from behind the pillar again. Creeping toward the wide stairs leading to the upper level, Isis glanced down the hall but didn’t see the woman. She bolted for the stairs as fast as she could go and had just put her foot on the first step when the butt of a shotgun slammed under her chin, knocking her down. Isis let out a cry and writhed on the dirt floor, wondering why the hell anyone would have a dirt floor in their damn basement. The tall woman stood over her, the shotgun resting on one shoulder.
“One of the advantages of living in a place as large as this for as long as I have is I know all the nooks and crannies, all the little secret passageways,” the woman said as she advanced on Isis. “We haven’t properly met. My name is Adara, I’m the leader of the assassins in this state and unfortunately for you, you’re about to be added to my killed marks list.”
“Charming,” Isis grumbled, pushing herself up on her elbows. “Doesn’t seem like I’m your biggest problem at the moment, lady.”
“No, but killing you would definitely help end the ruckus upstairs,” Adara agreed, lowering her shotgun so that she held it in front of her, moving closer to Isis. “You see, a man I worked for thinks he can simply depose me because of some silly little flashdrive, which I understand you’re in possession of.”
“Not this shit again,” Isis groaned with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t fucking have it!”
“Oh, I believe you, but my former client doesn’t. At first, I was planning to hand you over to him so that he could torture you for an answer you don’t have. However, since he has chosen to be so aggressive, I’ve decided it’s in my best interest to shoot you in the face so that whatever information you have dies with you,” Adara finished, pumping the foregrip of the shotgun. “Nothing personal.”
Isis lashed out and kicked the woman in the stomach. She arched backward and struck Adara under the chin with her foot. Landing neatly, Isis spun on the balls of her feet and took off in the opposite direction, trying to think of a plan as she fled back to the hall of cells. A round hitting a wall dangerously near her made her stop and raise her hands. Isis closed her eyes and waited for the end. I can’t fucking believe this is how I’m going to die, she thought with no small amount of irritation.
“I changed my mind. It is personal,” she heard Adara’s angry voice behind her. Figures, Isis thought, nodding a little. It seemed fitting that she would die as a result of getting on the bad side of a goddamn assassin. Steve will definitely make sure that goes in my obituary, she mused, feeling a pang of sadness at the thought of never seeing her friend again. Isis let out a yelp and stiffened when the shotgun went off again, the shell embedding in the wall above her.
“Uh, your aim is a little off,” she mentioned, turning around and staring at the scene that greeted her. Coop slammed the woman against one of the heavy iron doors and tossed her to the ground, standing above her with his foot on the shotgun she had held only a moment ago.
“You must be one of their little toys,” Adara said, staring at him. “What a pesky little runaway you are, but you ought to bring a nice price.”
“You’re a fool if you think you can trade me or that one for your life,” Coop responded, nodding toward Isis. “They have sent in the troops, instated a new assassin in the position you have held for many years. Your life, and the lives of those loyal to you, are forfeit. You have nothing.”
Isis stared between the two, not following the conversation at all. She watched as Adara got to her feet, drawing the blade she wore. Coop kicked the shotgun toward Isis, and lunged at the assassin. Isis retrieved the shotgun as the two fought, trying to figure out how to work the damn thing. Looking up, she watched as Coop moved with an unnatural ease and speed, dodging the precise sweeps of the knife. Adara was a skilled fighter, but she couldn’t land a blow on Coop. When she thrust the knife forward, he latched onto her wrist and pulled her over his hip, throwing her to the ground. Maneuvering into a painful-looking joint lock, he forced her to drop the knife. She let out a growl of frustration, thrashing about in an attempt to break his hold, but Coop didn’t react.
“I have an offer if you are interested. One that would allow you to keep your life,” Coop said, his grip not loosening. Adara scowled, still attempting to break his hold while Isis looked to the strange man, wondering how he managed
to get away from the Meadows.
“I’m listening,” Adara got out between gritted teeth.
“They wouldn’t be so threatened by you if you weren’t valuable in some way. My allies and I believe that you were the lover of one of the higher ups, possibly one of his sons. We also believe you know the location of a laboratory, one of the main ones, among other things. Are we correct in that theory?”
Adara was quiet for a moment. “And if you were?”
“We want to know where it is. You tell us the location, anything else you know, and help us catch your former lover, and we’ll allow you to go on your way,” Coop finished. Isis stared at him, her mouth dropping open. There was something different in his eyes, something like hope or relief.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Isis immediately protested.
“Stay out of this, protector! Don’t make me use you as bait,” Coop warned before addressing Adara again. “Do we have a deal? The information and your ex for your life?”
Fury blazed in Adara’s eyes. “Fine.”
Coop released her, flipping back to his feet. “We’ll have to get past the protectors and you’re not to harm that one, the guardian’s daughter.”
Adara’s eyes flicked briefly to Isis, but she turned her attention back to Coop, smiling. “Lead the way.”
Isis raised the shotgun, aiming it at Coop and Adara. “Um, hello? She’s a freaking assassin and she was going to kill me. I’m not just going to—”
She didn’t get another word out as Coop moved in a blur, disarming her before she even had a chance to react, knocking her to the ground again. Even in the darkness, she could see his eyes blazing as they fixed on her.
“I do not have time for your simplistic black and white morality,” he snapped, sounding close to angry. “I promised Jet and Lilly I would help to extract you safely. I have done that. You can come with us, reunite with your team, and leave. Or you can stay down here and wait for the guards or assassins, who will kill you without a second thought.”
Sere from the Green (The Shape Shifter Chronicles Book 1) Page 31