Wild Fury

by Tripp Ellis

  She gave another hateful glance to Nick, then kept her eyes on Gregor and Yuri as she walked to the elevator. She pressed the call button, and when the lift arrived, she stepped aboard. The doors slid shut, and I felt a bit of relief, but I knew she wasn't out of the woods yet.

  "I have kept my word. It's time for you to keep yours," Gregor said. "Where is the audio?"

  "It's on a thumb drive on the 37th floor above the exit sign at the east stairwell."

  "Get it!" Gregor said to Nick.

  He nodded, then took off running toward the stairwell. His footsteps clattered as he spiraled down to the 37th floor.

  I stood there in the open, with a direct line of sight to the Nautilus. Red lights on the rooftop flickered from a tall antenna. Somewhere on that rooftop was JD. I needed Yuri and Gregor to step away from the elevator well and into the clearing. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to accomplish that.

  Nick stomped up the steps a few minutes later with the thumb drive in his hand. He held it in the air, waggling it. "Got it!"

  He ran across the floor and handed the thumb drive to Gregor. The meathead examined it, then slipped it into his pocket.

  Gregor pulled out his phone and made a call. "The girl is on her way down now. Collect her as she exits the building."

  The muscles in my jaw flexed. I growled, "We had a deal."

  "I did as I said. I let her go. Now I'm taking her back."

  My hands balled into fists, and my eyes narrowed at the scumbag.

  "I'm sorry, Deputy Wild, but our time together has come to an end. Gregor pulled a second pistol from his waistband and handed it to Nick.

  The pilot looked utterly confused. He stammered, "What do you want me to do with this?"

  "I want you to kill him."

  Nick swallowed hard. Sweat sprouted on his forehead. "I can't do that. I've never killed anybody before. I'm a pilot. I fly planes. I don't shoot people."

  "You're expanding your horizons. Learning new skills," Gregor said.

  "Why me? Why can't Yuri do it?"

  "Because Yuri doesn't need the practice. You do. Believe me, I want nothing more than to do it myself, but Vasily says you need to have skin in this game. I will have to settle for the satisfaction of watching you kill him."

  "I'm not going to tell anyone what happened here, if that's what you're worried about?" Nick assured. "I'm going to keep doing my job. I'll keep flying in your shipments. Things will keep running smoothly. You know I would never go against the Syndicate."

  "I know," Gregor said. "Which is why you're going to pull the trigger. It's what the Syndicate wants. Look at it as an expression of loyalty."

  "But I am loyal. I told you the minute she started asking questions."

  "You were foolish to get involved with her in the first place," Gregor said.

  Nick swallowed hard again, then his nervous eyes glanced to me. Both Yuri and Gregor had their weapons aimed at me.

  "I don't think I can do this," Nick said.

  "If you don't, you'll die with him. It's very simple."

  That was enough incentive for Nick to give it the good old college try. He lifted the pistol and aimed it at me. The barrel trembled in his hand. It was shaking so hard that the only way he would hit me would be by sheer luck.

  He tried to lineup the weapon and get an accurate sight picture, but he didn't know what the hell he was doing. I doubted he had ever fired a weapon before. He hadn't even flipped off the safety yet.

  "Get closer," Gregor said. "Take off the safety, then pull the trigger. It's not hard."

  Nick took a few uncertain steps closer to me. He cleared the edge of the elevator well, and I knew JD would have a shot.

  I stood there, staring at him, watching the barrel shake. It was only a few feet away. Even at this distance, during high-stress situations, most shots missed.

  Fine motor skills degrade.

  His finger wrapped tight around the trigger, and I can't say I wasn't concerned. With his fear and tension, he could accidentally squeeze off a round prematurely.

  "Are you sure you want to do this, Nick?" I asked.

  His tortured face gazed into me.

  BAM!

  A bullet snapped through the air and hit Nick in the neck.

  The .300 Win Mag entered on one side and blasted out the other. It damn near took his head clean off. Bits of muscle, tendon, and bone spewed through the air.

  Nick's head went limp, barely attached to his torso. He tumbled to the ground, blood seeping through the gaping wound. His weapon clattered against the concrete.

  I dove to the ground, scooped up the weapon, and rolled to safety behind a concrete pillar.

  Gunfire erupted, chipping the concrete, sending plumes of dust and silicate into the air.

  JD had given away his position, and I was certain that Yuri and Gregor wouldn't step out into the open. They were relegated to the area in which the elevator well offered cover.

  I angled my pistol around the pillar and blasted a few shots.

  More gunfire erupted.

  Bullets smacked into the concrete pillar, chipping away more of the fresh cement.

  I knew the goons would try to flank my position. But JD's Overwatch operation limited their range of movement.

  They both hid behind the same pillar. Each taking turns firing from opposite sides.

  A moment later, Yuri darted across to another pillar, trying to get a better angle.

  I swung the barrel around the concrete support and blasted at him.

  My bullet clipped him in the ribs, and the impact twisted him around. He stumbled and fell just before he reached the edge of the level. He almost took a 40-story tumble, but it really didn’t matter at this point.

  He writhed and groaned in agony as he lay on the floor.

  I had a clear shot, and I put him out of his misery.

  "It's just me and you, Gregor," I shouted.

  "No, it's not," he shouted back.

  43

  Gregor had probably texted his associates on the ground. I didn't know how many of them there were. One, possibly more, would be on their way up to the 40th floor to assist. I guessed that at least one would stay below, watching for Denise, if they hadn't acquired her already.

  A moment later, the elevator dinged, and the door slid open.

  I angled my pistol around the pillar as a thug emerged. My finger squeezed the trigger, and the recoil hammered against my palm. I put two shots into the goon's chest, and he fell back into the elevator, blood splattering the walls. His body lay in the doorway, and the doors kept trying to close, banging against the corpse every few moments.

  At least it would keep anyone else from coming up through the elevator.

  Gregor blasted several shots at me, and the bullets exploded against the pylon, inches from my face. Chips of concrete and debris showered in all directions.

  I ducked for cover, then spun back around the other side, angling my weapon at Gregor's pylon, waiting for him to peek around the corner.

  An instant later, I saw the black barrel edge around, and I opened fire. Gregor pulled it back, instantly.

  My pistol's slide locked forward.

  Empty!

  The click echoed throughout the level.

  I didn't have another magazine.

  "Why don't you give yourself up now?" Gregor asked. "Make it easier on yourself."

  "Why don't you come get me?" I shouted, trying to aggravate him. "I killed your brother. You're next."

  I fell back to the next pylon, sprinting as fast as I could.

  Gregor didn't have a clear shot since the pylon between us blocked his angle, but he blasted several bullets in my direction.

  The projectiles snapped through the air and exploded the concrete at my feet. I took cover behind another pylon.

  Gregor would have to cross JD's line of sight to get to me.

  I was maybe 10 feet from the entrance to the stairwell. Gregor didn't know I had a gun stashed there, and Nick had rac
ed past it without noticing it when he retrieved the thumb-drive.

  I hid behind the pylon for a moment, then tossed the empty pistol across the room in the opposite direction.

  It clattered against the concrete, skidding toward the edge of the building.

  It drew Gregor's attention, and I used the distraction to run toward the stairwell.

  More bullets snapped around me, cratering the concrete walls. I ducked into the stairwell and took cover and snatched my pistol from atop the fire case.

  Gregor advanced from the pylon to the elevator bank. He flattened his back against the elevator well, more concerned about JD than me.

  When I angled my pistol through the doorway, I had a clear shot at Gregor. I took aim and fired two shots.

  He fired one shot back.

  The bullet snapped past my ear and blasted the concrete in the stairwell behind me.

  My bullets hit him in the chest. He tumbled back, his lungs rattling as they filled with fluid. His chest heaved for breath, sucking and gurgling.

  I left the cover of the stairwell and cautiously advanced toward the elevator bay. I gave JD the thumbs-up symbol as I passed through the clearing, then kicked away Gregor's weapon, sliding it out of his grasp.

  I hovered over the goon as he sucked in his final breaths. He had the look of utter shock and disbelief that many people have at death. They can't believe the moment has actually arrived.

  His body was still, and blood continued to seep from exit wounds, soaking the concrete with crimson sludge.

  I knelt down and dug into his pocket. I snatched his phone and used his fingerprint to unlock the device. I immediately reset his password to something simple—111111—then I looked through his text messages. I replied to the last contact in his recent messages list, Anatoly. [Did you acquire the girl?]

  An instant later, the phone dinged in the pocket of the thug whose body blocked the elevator.

  I guessed that was Anatoly.

  I messaged the contact previous to that and asked the same question to Oleg.

  A moment later, I got a response. [No. She never came down to the lobby. What's going on up there?]

  [Nothing. It's all taken care of. I'll meet you in the lobby. Don't go anywhere.]

  I made sure Gregor's phone was on silent, then slipped it into my pocket.

  I grabbed his pistol, then left the corpse and headed back to the east stairwell. I spiraled down a few floors, then a voice hissed at me as I passed a doorway. "Tyson!"

  I had descended a few steps past the doorway on floor #37. I looked back to see Denise. I ran up the steps and embraced her.

  She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me tight. "My God, I'm so glad you're okay! I heard the gunshots. I was worried sick. Are they…?"

  "We've got one more to take care of." I handed her the pistol I had taken from Gregor. "Take the west stairwell. We'll converge at the bottom. If you get a shot, take it."

  Denise nodded. She pressed check the pistol, then scurried across the empty floor to the west stairwell.

  I spiraled my way down to the lobby, slowing up as I reached level 2. I crept down the last flight of stairs, soundless. I angled my pistol into the lobby and saw Oleg waiting by the elevator with his pistol drawn.

  "Drop the weapon! Now!" I shouted.

  He twisted, swinging the barrel around, trying to take aim.

  My fingers squeezed the trigger twice before he could get a shot off. The impact knocked him off his feet and dropped him to the concrete. A plume of dust rose into the air around the body as he slapped the ground.

  I advanced toward him, kicked the weapon out of reach as the thug groaned in agony.

  "Is there anyone else?"

  Oleg just stared up at me for a moment, then went limp.

  Denise emerged a moment later from the stairwell. She joined me by the elevators. We left the lobby and cautiously made our way back to my bike. My ears still rang from the clatter of gunfire echoing off the hard concrete walls of the unfinished structure. When we reached my bike, I holstered my pistol, grabbed my phone that I had left with the sport-bike, and called JD. "Nice shooting! We're all clear here."

  "Good,” he said. “I've still got time to make my show!"

  I chuckled and shook my head.

  After I called the sheriff, it didn't take long before the area was swarming with patrol officers, EMTs, and the forensics team. Brenda examined the bodies while I recounted my story to an angry Sheriff Daniels.

  "And you failed to notify me why?" His perturbed eyes blazed into me.

  "Couldn't risk a breach of operational security," I said.

  "You really think we have a leak in the department?" he asked, his voice thick with skepticism.

  "Wasn't worth the risk." I handed him Gregor's phone. "Have the nerd-herd sift through that. Maybe there's something incriminating between him and Vasily."

  We wrapped up at the scene and went back to the station to fill out reports. Denise was in shock. She had a dazed look about her.

  "How are you holding up?" I asked after I had finished entering the report into the system.

  "I'm fine," she said.

  But she wasn't fine.

  "I just can't believe I misjudged Nick. I thought he was a decent guy."

  "Don't beat yourself up over it," I said.

  "And you are not allowed to enjoy this," she said, pointing a cautionary finger at me.

  I raised my hands innocently. "I'm not enjoying this."

  "I know what you're gonna say. You're going to say I told you so. You're going to say you knew he was a scumbag."

  I bit my tongue. Then, trying, but failing, not to sound cocky, "I don't think there's a need for me to say that now."

  Her eyes narrowed at me.

  "Listen, I don't think you should go home tonight,” I said. “You're not out of danger yet. Vasily is still out there, and right now, we don't have anything to tie him to any of this."

  "I suppose you're going to suggest I stay at your place?"

  "No, I wasn't going to suggest that at all. Maybe you should get a place at the Seven Seas. We can have Daniels post a deputy so you can get some sleep. You've been through a lot."

  "I'm so frazzled right now, I don't think I could sleep." She frowned.

  "I'd feel better."

  "I can take care of myself. I've got a gun, and I know how to use it."

  "That didn't seem to keep you from getting into this mess in the first place."

  She glared at me. "I confronted Nick and—"

  "I told you not to."

  "I didn't really think he was involved."

  "Now you know better." I was pushing my luck with her.

  "I just want to go home, take a hot shower, curl up in bed, and forget this ever happened."

  "Understandable. I'll get Erickson to take you home. Maybe he can keep an eye on the place. How's that? Compromise?"

  "Fine. It's easier than arguing with you."

  I smiled.

  "What are you going to do about Vasily?"

  "He's not gonna get away with this, I can tell you that much."

  44

  JD carried in a box of T-shirts he grabbed from the trunk of the patrol car. He passed them out to everybody in the department. Daniels unfolded a shirt, and his face crinkled as he looked at the Wild Fury logo. "What the hell is this?"

  "It's my new band," JD said. "You’re coming to the show tonight, right?"

  Daniels scoffed. "I'm going home."

  "They probably don't let people your age into the club anyway," JD said.

  Daniels scowled at him. Before he left, he said, "And I want that patrol car back. You’ve had it way too long."

  "I'm getting my car back tomorrow. One more day."

  "If anything happens to it, it's coming out of your paycheck."

  "I don't get a paycheck."

  Daniels dismissed him with a wave.

  I put on one of the shirts to show my support. We left the station, and I foll
owed JD back to his house. He needed to change clothes for the show—the Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts wouldn't cut it. I sat on the couch while I waited. JD slipped into the bedroom and emerged a few minutes later in full rock 'n' roll attire.

  I burst into laughter.

  He wore a black Wild Fury T-shirt and leather pants. He had a leather studded belt, spiky wristbands, skull rings on his fingers, and he wore black eyeliner. A red bandanna hung around his neck. He was a living, breathing ’80s music video.

  I was dying.

  I slow hand clapped as I laughed.

  "What the hell are you laughing at?"

  "Nothing, man."

  "Fuck you!" JD said playfully. "I look good."

  I flashed a rock 'n' roll hand sign and howled.

  JD scowled at me.

  I followed him over to Sonic Temple. I parked the bike at the curb and met the wannabe rockstar in front of the entrance. There was a massive line to get in. The building vibrated from the opening act. The bass drum thundered, and the guitar shredded the air. A vocalist howled into the mic.

  JD told the bouncer he was with the band, and he waved us in.

  It was loud on the sidewalk, and ear piercing inside the venue. The place was packed with sweaty bodies. People in cut up jeans and rock 'n' roll T-shirts. Lots of leather and teased hair. The sweet odor of marijuana filled the venue. Colored spotlights slashed the air, shining on the stage. There was a professional lighting grid overhead, which gave the opening act a light show that was worthy of an arena tour. On either side of the stage there were massive walls of speakers. The venue took rock 'n' roll seriously. There were several stacks of Marshall amplifiers that were head-high behind the stage. The drummer played a double bass drum, and the bass player plucked a zebra skin bass.

  "You want a beer?" I asked, starting toward the bar.

  Jack looked at me like I was crazy. "You don't have to buy beer. The band drinks free!"

  We pushed our way through the crowd. To the side of the stage there was a girl at a table selling T-shirts and band merchandise. It was lined with Wild Fury T-shirts, koozies, keychains, and more. Beyond that, there was an entryway which led to the greenroom. The security guard out front monitored the area. Jack told him he was with Wild Fury, and the guard pulled open the door for us. We walked down the hallway and JD burst into the greenroom.