Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Justin scratched his chin in thought. “Care to lay down some cover while I see if they want to talk?”
Gabriel nodded while mentally reviewing what ammunition and other arms he had on him. “I can do that.”
“Don’t shoot until they start.”
He barely swallowed a tart reply and opted for a grumbled, “Fine.”
“And leave someone alive to answer questions.”
“If these are police officers?”
Justin gave him a mocking smile. “Deny everything.”
“Brilliant.” Leaning forward, he pulled his gun free and slid out the magazine out of habit before chambering a round. This did not feel like cops.
At the end of the block, Justin pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse and drove toward the rear, where the shadows gathered. They were a good distance from any prying eyes, but the sound of gunshots would undoubtedly carry across the open air.
As Justin started to turn the car to face the other that was approaching them, Gabriel jerked open the door and darted out, running toward cover. He ducked behind the large warehouse and peered around the corner, watching as Justin turned the car and dropped it into park. He left the headlights on, illuminating the immediate area as much as possible. It would help Gabriel, but if the men who had been following them left their lights on as well, Justin would be at a distinct disadvantage.
Luckily, Gabriel could see just fine as the sedan entered their section of the parking lot and stopped several yards away, its lights still on. Justin opened the driver’s side door and stood, keeping his body blocked by the door. He placed one hand down at his side and the other on the top of the door, clearly showing that he didn’t have a weapon.
All four doors of the dark sedan swung open, and Gabriel lifted the gun in both hands, taking aim at the man closest to him. He breathed in slowly through his nose, held it, and pushed it out through his parted lips. This was the easy part of the job, the part he was most familiar and certainly most comfortable with. There were four men, and they didn’t have any problem flashing about that they were armed. No one mentioned anything about being cops.
That certainly answered their question about whether the attackers had gotten what they wanted out of Dr. Weiss. Someone was still watching the place, waiting to see if anyone showed up to pull out what they couldn’t get. Interesting.
Of course, these men didn’t have that computer hacker or even mad scientist vibe. No, these guys were more of the “didn’t finish high school” hired muscle variety.
“You got it?” the man standing at the front passenger side of the car called. He had no discernible accent, just sounded like the average uneducated American to Gabriel. The sides of his head were shaved, revealing tattoos that Gabriel couldn’t quite make out while a shock of bleached-white hair ran the center of his head, threatening to fall into his eyes. A dark five-o’clock shadow lined his jaw.
He kept his gun drawn on the speaker, but he closely watched as the men from the back seat stepped forward, coming around their companions, their heavy footsteps echoing across the empty parking lot. All four men had a clear view of Justin, but Gabriel now had a clear shot at each of them.
They all wore jeans and dark shirts. Tattoos covered their necks and forearms, but Gabriel was too far away to make out anything important from the black ink.
“Got what?”
“The doctor’s research.”
“I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about,” Justin said with a little chuckle. “I’m just from the service.”
“The service? What fucking service?”
“The cleaning service. We’re scheduled to come by every Wednesday and Friday. I gotta tell you, I had a helluva time getting the blood out of the carpet. I mean, that shit really set in. And then trying to track down all the sofa stuffing and putting the right bits into the right cushion.”
“What the fuck?” the leader snarled.
“Hey! There was another guy in the car,” the driver interrupted before Justin could continue with his nonsense. “Where is he?”
A smirk lifted one corner of Justin’s mouth. “He’s around.”
“You know what…fuck this shit. Kill him. Find the other guy and kill him. We can just take the shit off their corpses.”
Gabriel growled low, squaring his shoulders, holding to Justin’s command to not shoot until the other men fired first. Justin opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue, but he never got the chance to speak as all four men opened fire on his location.
Justin ducked low, his own gun coming out to return fire. Gabriel squeezed the trigger again and again, expertly placing one bullet in the shoulder of the speaker, spinning him around before putting a bullet in the arm of the man closest to him. With ease, he picked off the remaining two men, incapacitating them without giving away his location. He glanced over to find Justin on his knees, his back to the rear door. One hand was pressed tightly to his side, pain digging lines deep in his face.