Dom spoke again. “Note, sir, that any additional words you speak to your security teams will end in your death.”
Leone gave a curt nod and brought his tab to his ear. “Security. It’s me. Disable the elevator locks and stand by. Someone will be coming to level fourteen. Escort him in. Just do it.” He lowered his tab.
“My colleague will confirm you’ve followed my instructions in a moment,” Dom said. “In the meantime, I want the large gentleman to untie my partner. And give him his clothes back, for the love of Man.”
Rodriguez nudged Gap-tooth, who was having trouble keeping his eyes off the downed thug. He blinked and glanced nervously out through the bullet hole in the window.
“Yes, sir,” Dom said. “I’m talking to you. Untie him.”
Gap-tooth’s tongue darted out, licking his lips, and then he scurried behind Eddie.
“Stay in sight,” Dom said. “Unless you want to see if this rifle can put a hole right through that pillar.”
Gap-tooth took a few steps to the right. Eddie could feel his fumbling fingers tugging at the knots in the rope. A few moments later, the bonds came loose. Eddie let out a sigh that burned his bruised ribs. He massaged his stomach and pointed a thumbs-up out the window.
“The clothes,” Dom said, “then back over with your friends, sir.”
Gap-tooth shuffled away, grabbed Eddie’s trousers and underwear, and tossed them to him.
Aches throbbed through Eddie’s stomach as he bent over to pull his trousers on. He tried and failed to stifle a groan. A dazed cloud was coming over him. He needed a sleep and a drink. But he wasn’t getting either yet. He rolled over and fished his gun out from under the dead thug.
“All right, my colleague’s on his way,” Dom said. “Stand by, gentlemen. You’re so close to getting out of this alive. Don’t screw it up now.”
As he waited, Eddie ejected the magazine from his pistol and checked it. Still full. He slid it back into the gun and smiled up at Leone. “We should do this again sometime.”
He scowled. “If you weren’t here to apprehend me, then why did you come? Why were you skulking about?”
He thought for a moment. He’d never get a better chance than this to ask the syndicate leader why Cassandra was here. He could threaten the man, get her out. But the moment Dom took her sights off Leone, he’d want revenge for this. Cassandra was safe for now. If Leone knew that Eddie wanted her….
Eddie shook his head. “Never mind, Jack. Play ball and you’ll stay a free man. That’s all you should be worrying your little head about.”
A door opened at the back of the room. Light spilled across the bare concrete. A small shadow approached.
“Oh, Jesus,” Eddie said. “She sent the midget. That’s fantastic.”
“You should keep quiet if you want to get out of here alive,” Knox said as he carefully approached. He was eyeing Leone and the thugs. A thin sheen of sweat coated his forehead.
“What is this?” Leone said, staring at the augment with a sneer. “Who are you?”
“Delivery service,” Knox said. “Here to pick up a package.” He glanced at Eddie. “Come on, get up. We haven’t got all day.”
Eddie sighed. “Christ. Give me a hand, will you?”
The augment came over and put an arm around Eddie. He grunted as he pulled on him. “You look better this way,” the augment said, eyeing his bruises. “More colourful.”
“Shut it,” Eddie said through gritted teeth. He exhaled noisily and put his gun hand on his side to keep his guts in place as he slowly rose. “Bloody shit fucking tits that hurts.”
Leone growled. “You’ll hurt a lot worse by the time this is through.”
“Don’t give me any more reason to kill you than I already have, Jack.”
The intercom crackled once more. “Well done, gentlemen,” Dom said. “You’ve held your rage in check nicely. Now there’s just one more thing. My partner is going to escort my colleague to your central command console, Mr Leone. They’re going to access it. And then they’re going to leave. There will be no harm to you or your business. We just need some information. During that time, you and these other two gentlemen will remain in this room where I can keep an eye on you. If my friends are detained or attacked, you will be the first to die, Mr Leone. Nod if you understand.”
The syndicate leader gritted his teeth and nodded. His eyes were cold.
“Very good,” Dom said. “Make it so.”
Knox tugged on Eddie’s arm. “Let’s go. If you pass out, I’m leaving you.”
Eddie nodded and shuffled towards the door, trying to remain standing while using the augment as a completely inadequate crutch.
“Mr Gould,” Leone called as they reached the door. “I’ll see you again, friend.”
Eddie winked and made a gun with his fingers. “Bang bang.”
They pushed open the door and shuffled into the light of the corridor. Knox huffed with Eddie’s weight, one arm around Eddie’s waist while the other scanned a map displayed on his tab.
“Does my partner know what she’s doing?” Eddie asked as they moved towards the elevator at the end of the hall.
“Clearly not, otherwise she would’ve left you for dead.”
“You know, I thought you might’ve been a traitor. Did you sell me out to Leone?”
“I should’ve done. It would’ve paid better than this bullshit.” He gestured down a corridor. “This way. I’m guessing you’d prefer the elevator to the stairs.”
Eddie grunted his assent and they got into the elevator. Knox punched the button and the elevator rose.
“So,” Knox said. “How’s your day going?”
“Swimmingly.” He prodded the bruises on his face. It felt like his nose had grown three sizes. He’d kill for a Bluen right now.
The elevator doors slid open, revealing a corridor running left to right. The augment consulted his tab. “Down here.”
Eddie hobbled after the augment. There were doors on either side of the corridor, name plates attached below windows set in the doors. Shadows moved inside, wide eyes staring out. Eddie made sure they all got a good look at his gun. The eyes disappeared.
“We won’t have long,” Eddie said. “Leone’s people will be organising a counterattack.”
“That’s why you’re here. You’re my bodyguard.”
Eddie breathed out his pain and frustration as they reached a pair of double doors in the corridor. An old-tech security lock was built into the side of the door, but when Knox pushed, the door swung open. The augment paused, glancing around, then scurried inside. Eddie took up the rear.
“This is it?” he said. He sniffed and looked around. The room wasn’t much bigger than the Solitude’s common room. A small bank of old-tech computers were set in a circular array, paper-thin monitors rising out of them. Statistics and graphs and numbers filled every screen. “I was expecting something bigger.”
“You know what they say about small packages.” Knox licked his lips. He stood there, lusting eyes roaming over the command console.
Eddie shook his head. “You’re a weird little man, you know that?”
“And you’re as much a Luddite as your partner.” The augment clambered into a chair in front of the computers and started plugging cables from his arm into the machine. “Keep an eye out, will you?”
“Gladly.”
Eddie limped back to the door and glanced out. This place made him uneasy. Limited exits. If Leone sent security teams, their only choice would be to shoot their way out.
He leaned his head against the door. He’d been so close. He’d seen Cassandra. She’d been right there, right in front of him. He could feel her now, in this building. There had to be a way to get her out. He could ask Dom to demand she was released in exchange for Leone’s life. But they were already pushing their luck. And if it went wrong….
His tab chirped. He shook aside the queasy feeling in his stomach and answered.
“Eddie,” Dom said. “Are
you alive?”
“If it isn’t my saviour. Jesus Christ with a sniper rifle.”
“Drop it. What’s happening?”
“The can opener’s giving the computer a handjob. Still got your sights on the big boss?”
“For now. What the hell happened?”
He smiled to himself. “Roy Williams. He tipped off Leone that I was there.”
She was quiet a moment. “He’s been following us. He talked to me.”
“You getting soft, Freckles? We don’t talk to our marks. We apprehend them.”
“He got the slip on me.” It sounded like it physically pained her to say that.
“Yeah, well, he got the slip on all of us.” Eddie glanced back at the augment. “Hey, can opener. Are we done?”
“Give me a few more minutes.”
On the computer screen, an image of Knox’s face flashed up, accompanied by screeds of text.
“What the hell are you doing?” Eddie said.
“Getting my ticket off this station.”
“Williams first. Then get your goddamn travel pass.”
Knox shot him a glare. “We’re doing this my way. It’s my neck, so it’s my way. Williams comes later. You want me to get on with it? Or should I sit here arguing with you?”
Eddie growled and gestured impatiently. “Get on with it.” He spoke into the tab again. “You hear that?”
“I did.”
“I don’t like him, Freckles.”
“Cry me a fucking river. Keep the line open and let me know when you’re on your way out.”
He slipped his tab back into his pocket and shot another glance at the augment. His face had disappeared from the screen, replaced by an image of a strong-jawed man with grey eyes and weathered skin. He stared out of the screen with a look of barely contained rage.
“Is that him?” Eddie said.
“That’s him.” Knox scrolled through the data. “Roy Williams. It’s…huh.”
“What?”
“Maybe this console wasn’t as well-preserved as I thought.”
Eddie’s head throbbed. “What are you saying?”
“Some of the data’s corrupted. I might be able to patch it up, but—”
“Do you have to do that here?”
“I can transfer it and work on it from another computer.”
“Then do it,” Eddie said. “I want to get the hell out of here before trouble shows up.”
“You know, I think we’ve found the one thing we can agree on. We’re becoming fast friends.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Eddie said.
17
Dom breathed easy, putting Feleti Leone’s head in the crosshairs of her rifle’s scope. She knelt at the edge of the roof of the Forbidden Casino, her rifle resting on its bipod on the low wall surrounding the edge of the roof. The air stank of exhaust fumes from the busted atmosphere regulator off to her right. It was making a shitty situation even more unbearable.
“All right, the can opener says we’re done here,” Eddie’s voice hissed through her earpiece. “Heading out now.”
“Make it snappy,” Dom said. “This bastard’s getting agitated.”
Leone threw glares out the window in her general direction. She’d kill him if she had to. But she’d really rather not. As much as she expected Leone’s wrath to come back on them, it’d be a hundred times worse if she gave his lackeys cause for revenge. Especially when Eddie and Knox were still inside the Crimson Curtain.
Damn it, Eddie. Why the hell did you have to go and get yourself captured? Williams’ tip-off was only part of it. Eddie had deviated from the plan. And now she had to bail him out. He’d put the entire contract at risk.
Her shoulder was starting to ache where the rifle butt had slammed against her. The heavy rifle was a hell of a thing to lug around, even for her, and she hadn’t had time to pick an optimal location to shoot from. Her legs were cramping up. Her eyes were also feeling the strain.
She brought her face away from the scope for a moment and rubbed her eyes with her left hand. As she lowered her arm, she caught a tiny flash of light coming from the eighteenth floor of the Crimson Curtain.
Shit.
She threw herself to the roof as a bullet slammed into the low wall in front of her. The surface crumbled and flung jagged chunks through the air as the round tore through. White dust puffed up. A moment later, another bullet whined above her head, followed by the boom of a rifle shot.
She grabbed the rifle, held it against her, and rolled away, using the low wall for cover as two more shots hit. A fragment of concrete bounced off her duster coat.
“Taking fire,” she yelled into her microphone. “They’ve got a sniper on me.” She stuck her head up, bringing her rifle with her. She looked through the scope. Leone and his goons were gone from the room. “Shit, Leone’s run for it. Get the hell out of there.”
She ducked again as the sniper took another shot. She couldn’t get her head up long enough to line up a shot on him.
Knox’s swearing trickled through her earpiece, but it was just background noise. As the boom of the last sniper shot faded, she heard the clang of bootsteps on the service stairs behind her.
“I’m bugging out,” Dom said. “You’re on your own. Meet at the rendezvous. Out.”
She stared at her rifle for a split second, growled, and tossed it. It was her best rifle. And her most expensive. Fucking Eddie. She was going to kill him for making her save his sorry arse.
She snatched up her Marauder submachine gun and popped her head up for a second. Another shot rang out as she ducked. Now. She stood and sprinted for the service stairs, weaving as she ran. A bullet slammed into the ground at her feet. Chunks of concrete exploded outwards, slicing open a cut on her calf. She ignored the burn and ran.
Without slowing, she lowered her shoulder and slammed into the door to the service stairs. The lock splintered and she flew inside, colliding with the wall on the other side. She stared down the dimly lit, narrow stairs at the surprised faces of four red-suited goons clasping pistols and shotguns.
She squeezed the trigger of her Marauder, spraying from the hip. The front three thugs fell in spurts of blood and red mist. The fourth, saved from the worst of the hail of lead by the bodies of his friends, only took one in the shoulder before he raised his pistol and returned fire.
Burning pain cut through her jaw. She stumbled back as another bullet slammed into the wall behind her. She snarled through the pain and opened fire. The staccato flash of the muzzle strobed in the dark staircase. Through it she watched the fourth man fall with his mouth open, red wounds opening in his chest. The magazine ran dry and darkness returned. Her ears rang with the echoing sound of gunfire. The familiar scents of blood and gunsmoke mingled in her nostrils.
Wetness dripped from her jaw. She touched the side of her face and jerked her hand away as electric pain lanced through her. The cut was deep, going to the bone. She wasn’t going to be attending any balls for a while. What a shame. She pushed aside the sickening pain, slammed another magazine into her gun, and stumbled down the stairs around the bodies of Leone’s goons.
18
Eddie swore and stepped into the elevator, dragging Knox in with him.
“What’d she say?” the augment asked.
“Trouble.” He jabbed the elevator button. The doors slid closed and the elevator began to descend. “Where’s the rendezvous?”
“Get me out of here alive and I’ll tell you.”
Eddie bared his teeth and opened his mouth. Then the elevator jerked to a halt. An alarm blared overhead. Shit.
“They’re locking the place down,” he said. He pressed the button a couple more times, then slammed the butt of his gun against it. Nothing. “Can you do something about this?”
“Give me a second.” Knox ripped a panel off the wall and jacked himself in.
Boots stomped outside the elevator. They stopped. He heard voices muffled by the thick doors and almost drowned out by t
he alarm. The doors slid open a crack. Fingers wrapped around the edges and pulled. Someone was prying the doors apart.
Through the gap, Eddie spotted two pairs of legs and the black sheen of a couple of guns. The elevator was suspended between two floors. Not enough space to wriggle out the bottom as Leone’s people slowly pulled the doors apart.
Eddie jammed his gun into the widening gap and squeezed the trigger. The crack of the gunshot was followed by a yelp of pain. The fingers disappeared. A shotgun boomed and pellets slammed into the elevator wall behind him. Gritting his teeth against the ringing in his ears and the ache in his ribs, Eddie angled his gun and fired a couple more shots. Shotgun blasts answered.
The elevator whirred to life again. Eddie tugged his hands inside the elevator as it began to descend. He leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily. Knox was licking his lips, eyes wide.
“You all right?” Eddie said.
The augment didn’t answer.
“Hey.” Eddie grabbed Knox’s shoulders. “Look at me. Are you hit?”
Knox blinked a few times, his remaining eye focussing on Eddie’s face. He shook his head quickly. “No. No, I don’t think so.” He put his finger in his ear and opened his jaw wide, like he was trying to make his ears pop. “Can’t they make these guns quieter?”
“Don’t ask me, I just shoot them.” Eddie glanced up at the floor indicator. “How far down does this thing go?”
“Uh…back to the high rollers room.”
Eddie nodded. There was a chance, if he was fast. A chance to get Cassandra out.
“I have to do something when we get there. There may be shooting. Follow me and stay in cover. Is there another way out of that room? Besides the main guest elevator?”
The augment consulted his tab. “Through the kitchen there’s a service elevator that goes to the storage room and the loading bay. I should be able to work it now I have access to their security.”
“Perfect.” The floor numbers counted down. “You ready?”
“No.”
“Me neither. Away from the door.”
Knox pressed himself up against the left wall while Eddie took the right. The elevator slowed. A quiet bing rang out. The doors slid open.
Stalker's Luck (Solitude Saga Book 1) Page 12