Hunter's Games (24 page)

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” I say after a moment. “And here’s why: you do realize that the people in Dark Rain were just as pissed off at Russia as they were at everyone else? And everybody knows that—including the U.S. government. Framing the Russians in the hope that the U.S. will retaliate against them won’t achieve anything. It’s causing chaos for nothing!”

“I’ve lost everything!” he screams, his eyes wide. Even Manhattan looks on with curiosity, almost like he’s never been fully aware of Pellaggio’s torment until right now. “Because of you, I have no one. But it doesn’t start with you. If you look at the reasons you were there, and trace it all back to the beginning, it’s because of those Russian bastards that the whole thing happened the way it did. And you’re all gonna pay!”

Manhattan interrupts, trying to add some decorum to the room. “The events unfolding now have been meticulously planned for almost a year,” he says. “And we will not be stopped—by you or anyone else.”

His gaze flicks over to Chambers then back to me.

“Call your men off,” she says. “This is over—there’s no need for any more bloodshed.”

I admire her optimism, and her ability to remain professional under the circumstances, but things are far from over. We’re still outnumbered, and we still have no real idea what Pellaggio intends doing next. They won’t be coming along quietly, I know that much.

“Grace, we have to move. Can you cover these two?” I ask.

“Yes,” she says, matter-of-factly. No doubt, no fear, just a job that needs doing.

“Good. We’re leaving—stay behind me.”

She organizes her prisoners, keeping them covered with the rifle, and stays a few steps behind me.

I notice that we require very little interaction in order to function as a highly effective team. It’s nice. I remember how I got it all wrong the last time I found myself in a similar situation to this, but things are different with Grace. I’m not dealing with another killer, like me. I’m dealing with the law. And I know she’s got my back—not because she agrees with working alongside a
bad guy
, but because it’s simply the right thing to do to get the job done.

I open the door slowly and edge out, trying to see where the other guys are. I have two dead and two in custody, which leaves six still active. Five are about to die, I know that much. My guess is the remaining minion is outside by the vans.

I keep low and make my way slowly into the corridor. There’s no sign of life, but I know they’re here.

“Stay low,” I whisper behind me. “And that means all of you. I don’t want either of you getting shot in any crossfire.” I turn to look at them both. “But make no mistake—step out of line from this point on, and she’ll put a bullet in the pair of you.”

They both look at her and she smiles in return.

I make my way to the crossroads in the corridor. I press myself against the right hand wall and peer around the corner into the main warehouse.

The plywood splinters inches from my head as a hail of bullets comes flying toward me.

“Shit!”

I dive back around the corner for cover. I look behind me down the corridor, to make sure everything’s alright. Chambers has stepped away from them both and is covering them tightly, but from a small distance. From the position she’s in, she has all the angles covered, and enough distance that they can’t surprise her.

Despite the gunfire, I manage to smile. She never ceases to impress me.

I hold my Carbine around the corner and fire blind, trying to buy myself some time. I peer around the corner again. I can see four out of the five guys, all behind cover of boxes and shelving, poised and ready to shoot on sight. The fifth guy must be closer to me, likely against one of the front walls of the office area, just around the right corner of the corridor I’m looking down.

I can’t take them all out in one move, because they’re too spread out. Plus, I have to make sure Manhattan and Pellaggio remain unharmed until I can figure out how to get them out of here.

I look at my options. I can either stand here trading pot shots with them, hoping I kill them before I run out of bullets, or…

I stand and look at Chambers, right in the eye.

“I need to ask you to trust me,” I say.

She regards me for a moment, her hard gray eyes unblinking. “I do,” she replies. “Do whatever you have to do to get us out of here.”

“Okay then.”

I walk over to them, take a hold of my rifle and slam the butt into both Manhattan’s and Pellaggio’s faces in turn. Both of them fall to the floor—Pellaggio is dazed but awake; Manhattan’s out for the count.

“Wait here,” I say.

She stares at me, bewildered. “Well, I could’ve done
that
,” she says quietly, sounding dejected that she didn’t get a chance to hit either of them herself.

I walk back to the corner and peer round at the main warehouse floor. I lean round and slide my rifle across the floor as far as I can toward the group of men.

“Adrian!” she says with a hushed urgency. “What are you doing?”

I wink at her and smile. “I told you to trust me.”

“You’re insane.”

“Yeah, people keep telling me that.”

“I wonder why?” she mutters, mostly to herself.

I poke my head around the corner. “You guys win!” I shout out. “I’m unarmed and I’m coming out.”

I take a deep breath and stand up, then walk out into the main warehouse.

The loading bay door is still open, and the afternoon sun is shining in. Outside, I see the two vans still parked near the bay doors. There’s a light breeze blowing through the warehouse, which is more likely a draft from in there than the actual wind from outside.

I’ve got my hands up, elbows bent, and palms open, facing the front—my body language giving a clear message of surrender and compliance.

“Take it easy, fellas,” I say, as the first of them emerges from cover. “I’ve got no weapon. Your boss has my friend and I know when I’m beat.”

They all congregate in a wide circle around me, similar to how they had when we first arrived. Except there’s only five of them now. They’re holding their weapons loose at their sides, sensing no threat from the surrounded, unarmed man.

Like I hoped they wouldn’t.

As they move in closer, their formation becomes more rigid. I stand facing the loading bay door, with two guys just behind me, at my four and eight o’clock. I’ve got two more just in front of me, at my ten and two o’clock, with the remaining guy dead ahead at my twelve o’clock.

I lower my hands and hold them out in front of me, as a further gesture of submission.

“Be gentle, boys,” I say, smiling.

As expected, the guy at my twelve o’clock steps forward to restrain me. I’m facing him square on, and as he approaches, I discreetly slide my right foot behind me about three inches, bringing my heel up so all my weight is on my toes, giving myself some extra leverage. I let him get within three feet of me…

I push off with my back foot and explode forward, catching him flush on the bridge of his nose with my forehead. Bone crunches under the impact as I crush his nose, flattening it into a crimson mess that erupts across his face.

As he starts falling, I use my momentum to fall forward into him and grab the barrel of his gun. I push with my body weight and swing him round by his rifle, spinning him so we swap places and his body is shielding mine. As he turns, I slide the rifle off his shoulder and hold it with my right hand by its barrel, like a baseball bat.

No one’s reacted yet, and I’m taking advantage of every valuable second of surprise that I’ve got left.

I grab the guy by the collar with my left hand and push him as hard as I can off to my left while stepping out to the right. The guy collides with his colleague who was originally on my two o’clock, temporarily neutralizing them both.

As I make my way right, I swing the rifle and connect with the ten o’clock guy, smashing the butt into the side of his head. Maintaining my swing, I follow through and round, spinning a full circle counter-clockwise as I duck low. As I come around the second time, I hit the eight o’clock guy on the outside of his left knee. The impact takes both his legs out from under him, causing him to drop to the floor.

I come to a stop on one knee and flip the rifle around in my hands, ready to shoot. I fire two short bursts at the four o’clock guy before he has time to process what’s happening and react. I hit him in both legs and he goes down hard, screaming in pain.

I stand and look around. The guy at my two o’clock is just getting to his feet, pushing his semi-conscious colleague off to the side. I walk over as he gets to one knee and thrust my right knee forward, catching him sweetly on the side of his face, on the bend of his jaw. He’s out before he hits the floor.

Slowly circling, breathing heavy, and trying to control my adrenaline, I look down at the five bodies. Satisfied it’s over, I look back at the corridor and see Chambers standing at the crossroad with her mouth open, staring at me. We lock eyes for a moment, but I turn away. She’s not going to like this, but it’s not over quite yet.

This is war…

I level the Carbine and fire a three-round burst into each of the five guys’ chests. Their bodies twitch on the floor as the bullets drill into them.

I look at each of them in turn, making sure they’re dead.

Now it’s over…

I hear a noise behind me. I spin around to see Chambers on all fours, holding the back of her head. I start running toward her and hear a gunshot from behind her, out of sight. Pellaggio appears behind her, pausing to stare at me and smile.

“Hey!” I shout. “Don’t you even think about it, asshole!”

I try to aim with the Carbine, but I can’t get in position for an accurate shot while I’m running and I don’t want to risk hitting Grace. I make it to her just as he turns and runs down the corridor that leads out back.

“Shit!” I yell in frustration.

I crouch down to check on her and look to the left. Manhattan is lying on the floor with a bullet hole in his chest. I look back at the exit again. Should I go after him? I put my hand on Chambers’ shoulder as she groans from what I assume is a blow to her head. No… I’ve found him once and I’ll find him again.

“What the hell happened?” I ask, concerned and confused in equal parts. “Are you alright?”

“It was... Pellaggio,” she says, holding her head. “He got the drop on me—I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I grab her hand and squeeze gently, offering some comfort and reassurance. She looks up at me and smiles, groggily.

“What happened to him?” I ask after a moment, nodding to Manhattan.

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I must’ve blacked out for a moment when Pellaggio hit me on the head.”

“I don’t understand,” I say, frowning with confusion.

“Adrian, it wasn’t me,” she says with a sigh. “It was Pellaggio.
He
shot Manhattan.”

Outside, I hear the faint sound of doors slamming shut.

Pellaggio must’ve made it to the vans…

I look at Chambers, who’s staring toward the main doors, clearly having heard it too. She just waves me away dismissively before I have chance to check she’s okay.

Gun in hand, I turn and sprint across the warehouse floor toward the loading bay doors. At full speed, I exit and jump down the small ledge just as the van is pulling off. Pellaggio leans out of the passenger window, producing a pistol and firing in my general direction. I skid to a halt on the gravel and drop to the ground in one movement to avoid the bullets. The second he stops firing, I’m straight back up. I level the gun and take aim, but the van’s too far away for it to be worth my effort.

Pellaggio is in the wind again, at least for now.

“Fuck!” I shout out. My voice echoes around the otherwise deserted industrial estate.

I walk back inside and over to Chambers, who’s managed to get to her feet.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m fine. No luck?” she replies.

“No, he’d already got away.”

She looks down at Manhattan. “He’s still breathing. We should get him to a hospital.”

“Or we could leave him here to die? Saves me a bullet later.”

“Adrian... He’s got valuable information on Pellaggio’s plans, and now he’s just been shot by his little protégé, he might just be a bit more willing to tell us about it.”

“Fair point.” I take my phone out of my pocket and hand it to her. “Here, make the call,” I say.

I leave her on the phone and walk down the corridors at the back of the warehouse. I might as well explore each room back here—I might find something useful. Some clue about what’s coming next from Pellaggio.

I spend a few minutes and try all the rooms on this corridor, except the one I found Chambers in, as I know there’s nothing in there.

No luck.

I head down the opposite corridor, starting in the room across from the one I’d woken up in. It’s where I dumped the first guy’s body. I’d left without looking around but it looks like I’ve hit the jackpot here.