by Tom Fowler
Tyler then withdrew the blade and thrust it into the guard’s chest. Blood trickled from the sides of his mouth. He slumped to the side. Tyler let him fall, then wiped the knife on the dead man’s shirt. Two down. With the ones he’d already killed, Braxton couldn’t have a lot left. Tyler scampered toward the old place next door and took out his phone. He dialed Rick Rust. “They’re looking for you,” he said when he picked up after four rings.
Tyler kept his voice to a whisper. “No doubt. By now, you know they have my daughter.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, man. I never thought it would go this far.”
“I need some information. How many men are left?”
“Counting me, I think we have eight in here.”
Which meant six. Tyler stared down worse odds before. “All right.” He described his idea of the building’s layout and where Braxton held Lexi. Rust confirmed the details. “Thanks. I’ll text you when shit’s getting real.” Tyler put his phone away and took a deep breath.
Getting Lexi out remained the objective.
The fallen sentry carried a set of keys in a pocket. Tyler took them to the front door, and the second one he tried opened it. He stowed the keys and pushed the door open, his M11 entering the foyer ahead of him. The area could have been a nice entryway for another company, even housing a reception desk. Instead, it sat empty. Twenty feet away, another door opened into the rest of the building. Tyler tested it. Locked.
He expected a keypad, but it was another basic mechanical lock. The pilfered keys got him past it. Tyler pushed the door open, moved to the side, and looked in. An empty hallway yawned in front of him. He moved through the door, pausing to let it hit his heel so it could close with minimal noise. Doors lined each side of the corridor and led to another area at the far end.
Tyler hugged the right-hand wall as he made a slow advance. He was about to open the door when his phone buzzed. A quick look around showed no one else, so he glanced at his phone. Rust. I’m in 1st room on left. Tyler moved to the opposite wall, opened the door, and peeked inside. Rust sat alone at a desk. “Where is everyone?” Tyler whispered.
“I’ve tried to keep tabs,” Rust said, matching Tyler’s lowered tone. “It’s hard to snoop around without people being suspicious, though. Should only be one or two guys out here.”
“Plus my daughter.”
Rust nodded. “Everyone else should be in the back.”
“Ready to take them out?” Tyler said.
“Let’s go.” Rust stood, grabbed his pistol, and followed Tyler into the hallway.
37
Lexi worked on the knot. The big guy who tied it never served as a sailor. Lying on her side complicated the process, but she kept at it. She could feel it loosen beneath her fingers. One loop popped open, and she slid the rope through. Within a minute, she freed both her arms. She struggled to get the chair upright again before working on her legs. With all her limbs free, Lexi stood, hopped on the balls of her feet, and shook her arms. Feeling and circulation flooded back.
“You assholes!” she yelled as footsteps passed by. She got up and tried the door. Locked. Even if it were unlocked, where would she go? A bunch of men like the two who snatched her walked the halls. Replaying the scene spiked Lexi’s heart rate. She glanced around the room. The only furniture was the chair she freed herself from. A creaky bookshelf stood against the far wall. She walked over to it. They’d left her a six-pack of bottled water and a box of granola bars.
Her father would be looking for her. Her abductors took her watch, so Lexi didn’t know how much time had passed. Her dad would be coming. She knew it. He would find her. If she managed to get out of this room, she could help him. Her confines featured no windows, and only a single bulb overhead lifted the darkness. She needed a way out of here . . . past a locked door and an unknown number of trained men. As Lexi pondered the futility of her situation, she heard voices nearby. She padded to the door and knelt in front of it. Cupping a hand to her ear, she listened as best she could.
“What the hell are we doing with the girl?” a man said in a deep voice.
“Hell, I don’t know,” another said. He had a higher-pitched tone. “Especially after this morning.” What happened? Lexi’s heart pounded at the thought of Braxton killing her dad.
“I didn’t sign up to be a goddamn babysitter.”
“We ain’t babysitting. She’s in the room by herself.”
“What about when she needs to use the can?” He paused. “I don’t like this.”
“Let’s hope we don’t get stuck with it for long. Braxton said her old man will come for her.” He was still alive, then. Lexi released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.
“What if her father comes in with his own bunch of guys?” the first man said. “Braxton ain’t said much, but I know he’s concerned.”
“Either way, this gig still ends for us,” the man said, “and the girl.”
Lexi scooted away from the door. For the first time, she thought about what might happen if her dad didn’t agree to whatever they wanted him to do. She took a deep breath, wiped her eyes, and scanned the room for something to use as a weapon. While she did, she heard a key in the lock. Before she could make it back to the chair, the large goon who threw her in here entered the room.
He didn’t look happy at seeing her free.
Each took one side of the corridor—Tyler the right and Rust the left. The first six opposite rooms were empty. Rust checked the last on his side; he emerged a couple seconds later and nodded to indicate it was clear. Tyler opened the right-hand one. He saw Lexi standing beside a chair right away, but his eyes didn’t linger on her long. Behind her, a guy who looked like he just stepped off the football field stood and reached for his gun.
Room dimensions were small. Firing a pistol would be loud and very close to Lexi. Tyler surged forward and drew his knife as he ran. Before the large man cleared his gun, Tyler stabbed him under the sternum, pulling the blade back and plunging it into the man’s torso again and again until his eyes rolled back, and he sagged to the bloody floor.
Tyler glared at the fallen goon for a few seconds before calming himself and looking away. Lexi stared at him. Many girls—and boys—in her place would have been horrified at seeing their fathers stab a man to death. Lexi frowned, but she didn’t look frightened, and her voice conveyed relief rather than fear when she talked. “I knew you’d come.” She wrapped Tyler in a hug.
“Are you all right?” Tyler asked his concern. He squeezed Lexi for all he was worth. Tears welled in his eyes. “Did they hurt you?”
“I’m fine, Dad.”
They held their embrace for several more seconds until Rust said, “We should probably get going.”
Tyler released Lexi and smiled at her. She offered one in return. To Rust, Tyler said, “You have keys to one of the company vehicles?”
“Yes.” He gave a set to Tyler. “Take this one. It’s Maxwell’s. Prick thinks he should get to drive a Tesla on the company dime.”
In turn, Tyler gave them to Lexi. “Get in and go.”
She stared at the keys in her hand and then gave Tyler a quizzical look. “What? Why would I leave?”
“Because it’s going to get a lot worse around here,” Tyler said. “Now, go. I intend to finish Braxton once and for all.”
“But Dad—”
“No buts. Don’t argue with me. Get in the Tesla and go.”
She looked between the keys and her father again. “All right.” She hugged Tyler again. “Be careful, Dad. That asshole hates you, and he still has a few guys.”
“We’ll be fine. Now, get out of here.”
Lexi left the room and jogged up the hallway. Tyler and Rust watched her walk out the front door. A few seconds later, Tyler heard the muted sound of an electric vehicle driving away. Leave it to Maxwell to get himself a nicer ride than everyone else. He hadn’t changed a bit since their days together in the unit.
“Ready to finish this?” Tyler
said.
Rust leveled his pistol at Tyler. “I helped you get your daughter out of here,” he said. “It was bullshit. Braxton shouldn’t have done it.” He shook his head. “But you killed Bobby. He was my friend. I liked him.”
“Think about this.”
“I’ve spent the last couple hours thinking about it.” Rust took a step out of the room and waved the pistol, indicating Tyler should follow him. “Let’s go see Braxton. I think the two of you will have a lot to talk about.”
38
Tyler chided himself. He should have seen the betrayal coming. Rust seemed to care about his buffoonish partner Bobby. While he accepted Bobby’s death with practicality in the aftermath, Tyler should have realized he’d harbor resentment. At least he ensured Lexi’s safe exit. She’d be on the highway before long and wouldn’t need to deal with Braxton and his mess anymore.
“You’re making a mistake,” Tyler said as Rust led him through the doors to the receiving area. Tyler counted four other guys. He recognized one: Ryan Anderson, always Braxton’s most eager—and massive—sycophant. Anderson could’ve been a hell of a soldier and officer, but his commander’s poisonous influence dragged him down and curtailed his career. Despite it all, the man remained loyal to Braxton to this day. Anderson smirked as Tyler entered. None of the others showed any reaction.
“I told you why I’m doing this,” Rust replied. He jabbed the muzzle of his pistol into Tyler’s back to encourage him forward.
“You die first,” Tyler said. Rust took the M11, of course. The shotgun remained in the car. Tyler was left with a knife and his cunning. They would need to be enough.
The rear of the building looked like somewhere a business would receive and process inventory. Parts of the floor remained open, with only a few desks and partition walls scattered about. The right half held stacks of used pallets near the entrance and empty crates along the right-hand wall. Braxton got a shipment of something here. Probably weapons. His men would be well-armed. Both the normal and rollup doors at the back were closed.
“Sir,” Anderson said, cementing himself as a suckup, “you’ll want to see this.”
A few seconds later, Braxton stepped out from behind a partition wall. “Well, well,” he said. “I knew we’d see you soon. You’re so predictable.” Tyler remained silent. As usual, Braxton filled the gap with more self-important talking. “You probably came here to beg me for your daughter’s life. I wonder what she would think of you, then. And if she’d beg me not to kill you.” Tyler again said nothing. Neither did Rust, which came as a relief. “Shall we ask her?”
“I’ll get her, sir,” Anderson volunteered like the eager toady he was. Braxton nodded. While Anderson walked toward the entrance, Tyler took small steps back toward the wall. Rather than push the gun against him, Rust followed his lead. A door opened in the main part of the building. Anderson cursed. He came running in a few seconds later. “She’s gone.”
Braxton scowled at Tyler. “You got her out?”
“You really should hire better guards, Leo.”
Anderson glared at Tyler and then stood beside his commander. Rust moved around to Tyler’s front, keeping the muzzle of the pistol trained on his forehead less than a foot away. “I can finish him right now,” he said.
“I wanted to make him suffer,” Braxton said. “Still do. Bring him to me.”
Rust frowned and turned to look at Braxton. Tyler went for the gun. He pushed down on Rust’s fist and up with the frame. Rust’s index finger snapped in the trigger guard. Tyler snatched the gun away, gripped it properly, and shot Rust between his surprised eyes. Tyler grabbed the body before it could fall and held it in front of him while the other men drew their weapons. A stack of pallets offered cover, but it lay ten feet away. Tyler backed toward it.
One of Braxton’s men realized what he was doing and moved to intercept. “Cut him off,” Braxton said as he scampered behind a nearby desk. Tyler, still holding Rust’s Kevlar-clad corpse as a shield, leveled the pistol at the man trying to cut him off. They both fired. Rust’s vest and body soaked up the impact of the incoming bullet. Tyler’s shot took his adversary in the throat. He sank to the floor as blood poured from between his fingers.
Tyler made it behind the pallets. He fished his M11 out of the back of Rust’s pants, then released the body. He had two pistols and three opponents—four counting Kent Maxwell, who’d yet to make an appearance. An opportunist like him would be waiting for the right time.
Compared to what he often faced in Afghanistan, Tyler liked these odds.
Lexi thought the Tesla Model X featured gull-wing doors, so she was a little surprised and disappointed to find the driver’s side opened conventionally. She started the vehicle and marveled at how quiet it was without a conventional engine. After backing out of the spot, she pulled away. The electric torque hit immediately, and it shoved her back in the seat. Lexi smiled. She might have to keep the SUV when everything was over. After being abducted and held by Braxton’s men, she couldn’t wait to be free. She knew her dad would come for her. He’d been saving people or keeping them safe his whole life.
Lexi looked around to get her bearings. She was in Baltimore. Jimmy’s Famous Seafood whizzed by on the left. According to the massive center screen, Dundalk Avenue lay not far ahead. She used her fingers to zoom out and saw the route home. But her dad would be stuck at Braxton’s compound. Lexi wanted to call 9-1-1, but she realized she didn’t have her phone. Whoever drove this SUV didn’t leave one behind.
Should she abandon her dad? He’d be outnumbered. As capable as he was, he wasn’t active duty anymore. And he was fifty. The men in the building may not be as good, but they were younger and more numerous. Even the guy who helped get her free could turn on him. Lexi witnessed the grunts and their fanatical devotion to Braxton.
A horn honked behind her, jarring Lexi from her thoughts. She made the left onto Dundalk Avenue and continued. A sign showed I-95 ahead via Eastern Avenue. She could take it and get home. There were probably more direct routes, but they’d require her to figure out the nav system on the fly. Lexi also considered turning around and going back for her dad. He’d come for her. How could she just drive away now regardless of what he told her to do? What would she do once she got there? She had a large vehicle but no phone and no weapon. She might only get in the way.
She might end up kidnapped again.
A half mile to the highway. Lexi churned the options through her mind. She might be a distraction, or she could make a difference. Her dad found her and got her out. Why should she abandon him now?
Lexi swung the SUV around, stomped on the accelerator, and headed back to the building.
39
Pallets wouldn’t provide cover forever. Each bullet striking them splintered bits of wood onto the floor. Anderson and the other two men fanned out and fired from different angles. It was a good tactic. Braxton would occasionally yell something while staying behind cover. Still no sign of Maxwell.
A shadow shifted in the light. Tyler peeked out to his left. The gunman took a wider angle, hoping to come around the pallets and get a better shot. Tyler acted first, squeezing off two rounds from each pistol and dropping the man with four holes in his body.
One down.
Tyler glanced from side to side. No other cover nearby. The crates were stacked flat against the wall. Making it to the desks and cubicle partitions would get him shot. He needed to make his stand here.
He fired to the left the last time. Maybe Anderson and the other guy would expect him to immediately go the other way. People often alternated actions, even running in zig-zag patterns to elude pursuers. Tyler leaned out past the left edge of the pallets. No one was there. He inched his way to the front corner.
Tyler turned, dropped into a crouch, and fell onto his left side. The surprised goon looking back at him took four bullets center mass. Anderson scampered away when he saw what went on. He made it behind a desk before Tyler could get a shot off. The receiving a
rea quieted. The acrid smells of blood and gunsmoke hung in the air.
“Sure you want to go through with this, Leo?” Tyler said, taking cover behind the pallets again. “Looks like it’s down to you, your loyal toady, and your chief ass-kisser. I’m not sure which is Maxwell and which is Anderson.”
“Screw you!” Anderson said.
“When did you get so sensitive, Anderson? Your lips have been glued to his ass for years. No reason to be embarrassed about it now.”
“I was an officer.”
“And still a sycophant,” Tyler said. “You could have at least picked someone worth sucking up to.”
Anderson answered with an inarticulate yell. Bullets slammed into the wood behind Tyler. A few bits flew off and landed on his head and neck. He brushed them away. “How did someone so touchy ever get to captain?”
“I’m tired of trying to deal with you, Tyler,” Braxton said. “I’m sure Ryan is, too.”
“I am, sir,” Anderson said in agreement, even though his role in this conversational thread was superfluous.
“You got Lexi out. You’ve set me back years. Why don’t we all just walk away?”
“You’re not getting off so easy, Leo,” Tyler said. “The only way you leave here is in a body bag. I’ll let you decide how many pieces your corpse is in when it happens.”
“You always thought you were such a badass,” Anderson said, scowling at Tyler.
“And I was right,” Tyler said. “Now, be quiet, Ryan. The grownups are talking.”
“You’re overrated. I always thought so.”