Cardinal Rule: A James Kendrick Thriller

by James Kendrick

  He was astonished to see James entangled at his feet. Then kicked and thrashed at him. Tried to free himself from his clutches. But James held on as hard as he could. Tried his best to keep him down with all his might. But the Myasnik kicked him repeatedly. Smashed his face and bloodied it. Tried to crawl his way to the tablet at the same time. Nearly reached it with his scorched fingers. But James pulled back as much as he could.

  Then a shot rang in the air. James felt the man’s legs go limp and dead. Dead still. The man had stopped kicking and thrashing. He’d stopped clawing his way towards the tablet. James looked up and saw the Myasnik’s head planted onto the ground on his left cheek. A small hole perforated his right temple. Blood oozed out from it. It trickled down onto the bridge of his nose and pooled at the base of his mouth. His eyes were rolled backed into his head.

  James turned his head the other way. Saw John pointing a semiautomatic in the direction of the sprawled man on the floor. A thin line of white smoke billowed from its tips. Then he shifted his gaze onto James. And pointed the gun in his direction.

  * * *

  John Kendrick pointed the Glock GL-23 at the officer’s face. From the looks of it, he was a TSA agent. But he didn’t like to gamble.

  “Who are you?”

  “You called me a couple of minutes ago. To open the steel door over there. I came down here. To check on the situation. Make sure you were saying who you are. That’s when I saw this man jump you.”

  The officer’s dark shades were cracked on one lens. Blood was smeared all over his face. Probably from the broken nose and deep cut on his forehead. Looked like he got hit with a baseball bat or something.

  He lowered his weapon and then said, “Are you okay officer?”

  The officer waved his hand, then nodded his head and gestured towards the steeled door behind him.

  “The other guy. Is he ok?” he said.

  John nodded his head and said, “I’ll check on him. Stay here. You’re pretty beat. I’ll get help as soon as I can,” he instructed him and then headed towards the steel door.

  * * *

  John approached Lee and knelt beside him. His left arm was twisted and bent in an awkward angle. A bone jutted out from it. Meant he’d a compound fracture. Probably buckled his arm trying to break his fall down the flight of steps. He winced in agony. Which was a good thing, John thought. At least he was very much alive. Better than being dead. At this point being dead wasn’t going to do anyone a world of good. He picked Lee up slowly and then swung his good arm over his shoulder. Then hauled him by his side and carried him up the stairs.

  “Hey, officer, can you give me a hand here?” he asked, when he reached up the stairs. Laid Lee onto the ground beside him. But no reply came.

  The officer was gone. John panicked.

  “The tablet! Oh god,” he thought.

  He darted towards the lift. Crossed the dead man sprawled on the ground and expected to see the tablet gone. But to his surprise, he found it laying there flat. At the foot of the lift. Its casing was dented at its sides. Its screen was shattered. But otherwise untouched. John picked it up in his hands and then brushed the broken shards away from its screen. Tapped the power button on and watched it spring to life. Still worked. Good.

  He sighed in relief. Then fell silent. Turned his head towards Lee and then towards the dead man sprawled on the floor. It didn’t make sense. Something didn’t click. He contemplated the moment.

  “Why the hell didn’t he take it? He’d every opportunity to do it,” he asked himself. Then it struck his head. He knew the man had looked familiar. But he couldn’t quite place him over all the blood that smeared his face. He smiled and then laughed.

  “That stupid son of a….”

  THE END

  Liked this novel?

  Don’t forget check out the prequel on Amazon!

  CARDINAL SIN

  “James Kendrick is Guardian Angel. Nope. Not that kinda angel.”

  Reviews:

  "The story in this book was good and kept my attention because I wanted to know what happened next... I can recommend it as a good story...."

  - Morgan St James.

  http://www.morganstjames-author.com/reviews.html

  Synopsis:

  James Kendrick is a Guardian Angel with a perfect record to date.

  A Combat Rescue Officer trained to rescue high profile targets and retrieve packages of strategic importance that have fallen behind enemy lines. A master specialist at survival, extraction and evasion techniques that earned him the nick name 'Ghost' while he served in the United States Air Force. With combat skills next to none, he was the perfect man for the job. But when his last mission fails, he mysteriously drops out of the grid and vanishes into thin air.

  Until news of a missing nun reaches his ears. And with it comes a theory.

  That the untimely death of the Somme Pontificate was by no means a coincidence.

  And that's just the tip of the iceberg. A sinister plot of epic proportions is brewing behind the Vatican walls and the fate of the entire world could be altered forever. Can James Kendrick be up to task? Can he connect the dots in time before all hell breaks loose? Can he find the missing nun before its too late? Or will he die trying?

  Join in the adventure and find out for yourself!

  THE JUSTINIAN CURSE

  In China, a young woman contracts a deadly illness. Within 24 hours a 100 more cases are reported.

  In New Mexico, a microbiologist is puzzled with the bacteria strain he is seeing under his microscope.

  In Colorado, Dr.Caroline Winters receives a strange encrypted file.

  In Italy, a historian reveals a dark history of one of the greatest civilization of the 6th century.

  What do they all have in common?

  The clock is ticking and Dr.Caroline Winters is running out of time to contain one of the most virulent plagues known to mankind. She teams up with a small time microbiologist and a cocky long time veteran from one of the most prestigious disease control agency in the world. Together, they race against time chasing the path of an ancient disease that has resurfaced, from one continent to another, and they will do everything in their power to stop the deadly disease - even at expense of their own lives. Now on Amazon.

  AUTO-FLOW

  EASY DIY WATER SPRINKLER SYSTEM

  Ever built anything that is fun and easy to do? Do you love tinkering and making your own stuff? Do you have a garden and just lack the time and money to take care of it? Then this is the e-book for you!

  The Auto-flow DIY project provides detail explanations, fun commentaries, and great visual guides to help you build your own automatic water sprinkler system! This book will make you feel like an electronics wizard by the time you are done building it. Tons of fun and easy to do! The Auto-Flow features 555 timers that does not require any sort of programming. The system will automatically water the plants in your garden so you will never, ever, have to worry about doing them again! And the best part, YOU...yes, YOU will build this system! Now on Amazon.