The wind was whipping into him, pushing him, doing its best to topple him off the back of that boat. He steadied himself with two hands, holding onto the backs of the seats in front of him, then finally pulled himself up to his feet.
It was now or never.
Just before he went to run at Tarter from behind, his hand found an empty sheath where it meant to find the Ka-Bar knife. The ocean had claimed it as well. But there was no time for it to matter. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold Tarter with his arms; they were burnt, and David would still be fresh. His only chance would be to use the only parts of his body that had any strength left. In the battle to get himself up on the boat, his legs for the most part had been innocent bystanders. That was how he would have to do his damage.
Xander pushed forward over the seats and jumped on David’s back. Because David wasn’t expecting it, Xander was able to wrap his left leg around David’s waist like a belt; then he closed his right leg over his own left ankle, and as they fell to the left walkway of the boat, he had David in a body triangle. The most effective way to hold someone in place from behind. Xander also managed to slip his arm under David’s chin, catching him in a rear naked choke. If Xander had been fresh, there would have been no way for David to fight him, but as Xander squeezed, he could tell the pressure he was applying wasn’t near his best.
David began to thrash around violently. He was able to get a good push off the side of the boat with his left arm, rolling Xander onto his back. David went with him because Xander’s lock with his legs was inescapable. Over the roar of the boat’s engine, Xander heard a man shout—most likely the driver—but couldn’t make out what he said. The driver didn’t so much as slow the boat, however, because he likely knew that if he did, the police would easily catch them. David continued to fight Xander’s hands, doing everything he could to keep from being choked. Xander saw that the driver of the boat must have been shouting at the third man to get his attention. It worked because a large man stepped into sight. He had a gun pointed toward them, but he wouldn’t be able to shoot. The boat was all over the place, and he couldn’t risk shooting his boss.
“Let him go!” the man shouted.
Because he couldn’t risk shooting it, Xander knew the man would have to let go of the gun and get down there to help his boss. He also knew that if he let go of the body lock he had on David, he was in trouble.
This was going to get tricky.
Xander let go of the choke and began to launch elbows downward on the top of David’s head.
“Don’t just stand there, get him!” David shouted to the big man as he gasped for air.
The man did as he was told and slung his gun over his shoulder. Xander squeezed even tighter with his legs, putting extreme pressure on David’s midsection. If nothing else, it would make it harder for him to breathe. It was all Xander had at the moment. The big man dropped to his knees beside them so he could get a good shot at Xander. He threw his lunch-pail-sized fist down on Xander’s head. The lights around the bottom of the boat allowed Xander to see the fist in time to shift his head to the right. It sounded like a baseball bat when it struck the floor beside his ear.
Xander couldn’t punch the big man, so while he continued to hold David with his legs, he did the only thing he could and reached his right hand between the man’s legs until he found his groin, then used everything he had left in his grip to squeeze it like a vise. The man let out a roar of pain. Xander simultaneously hammered the side of David’s head with his left fist. David finally caught his hand and held it in place. Xander was now completely vulnerable.
The man slammed both of his hands down on Xander’s arm, breaking the grip on his groin. He just couldn’t hold on. He knew what was coming, and there was nothing he could do about it. He felt a heavy blow to his head, and purple stars burst in front of his eyes. On pure instinct, Xander managed to push off the big man with his right hand, scooting himself over just enough that the second fist barely missed his head. If that second attempt would have made contact, it would have been lights out.
49
King’s Reign
The position Xander was in wasn’t working. He couldn’t win the fight from his back. Not against two of them. He was going to have to let go of the body lock. He waited for just the right moment, right when the big man was once again drawing back his fist, and pulled his right leg off his left, brought it forward, hard, and caught the big man in the jaw. The man fell back, hitting his head against the rail, and dropped to the ground. At the same time, David felt the body lock release and turned into Xander, who was now in the worst possible position.
Without any hesitation David threw his first elbow, fast, right at Xander’s forehead. David was smart. He knew that elbows did more damage than fists when it came to soft tissue. Xander managed to get both of his forearms in front of his face in a defensive boxing position, and they absorbed the blow of the oncoming elbow. Another one rained down right behind it, then another.
“I’m gonna kill you, King! You son of a bitch!” David screamed as he kept pounding.
The blows hurt, but not like they would if they were bouncing off his head. Xander needed to turn this around, and fast. If the big guy woke up right now, it was over. He was going to have to use David’s aggression against him. One of the most important things in a fight is staying in control. Right now, David was angry, and it was showing in the way his weight was going off balance after each elbow he threw. Much like when Xander lost control in Paris and almost got himself killed by Akram Khatib.
Xander waited until David was in another full downward swing; then he violently bucked his hips upward. That motion, coupled with David’s overextending momentum, threw him forward just enough for Xander to slide out the back door between David’s legs. Both men scrambled to their feet at the same time. Both men were laboring for breath, and both were off balance from the motion of the boat. In his right peripheral vision Xander saw the driver of the boat swinging a fire extinguisher at his head. Xander jerked back, landing on his back. The momentum of the swing carried the man toward the side of the boat, and Xander was kind enough to help him on over the edge with a hard kick in the ass. As the man flew overboard, Xander jumped to his feet and grabbed the fire extinguisher from the floor of the boat. He tossed it at David, who was charging at him, and it did the job of slowing him down by forcing him to dodge it. This gave him just enough time to reach for the controls and pull the throttle back to neutral, pitching the nose of the boat forward, sending David onto his back. The boat came to a stop, and for the first time, Xander had solid footing.
Both he and David located the big man’s gun at the same time, and they both hurried for the left side of the boat. They reached the gun simultaneously, both wrapping their hands around each end of it. Unfortunately for Xander, he was on the business end of it and had to let go when David pulled the trigger. Bullets clapped into the back seats, and the loud report echoed over the water. David couldn’t point the gun at Xander because it was still strapped around the big man’s arm and neck, so Xander took advantage and head-butted David in the nose. The sickening pop of the cartridge snapping sounded loudly, and blood gushed from David’s nostrils.
David wasn’t at all deterred. He rolled to his left, into the open space around the front of the center console, and Xander immediately rushed him, tackling him onto the wraparound cushion behind him. Xander bounced up, then crammed a knee into David’s midsection and delivered an elbow to the side of his head. Xander turned to find the big man disoriented but rising to his feet. Xander crossed the open space between them, front-kicked the gun from his hands, then torqued his waist, pulling an overhand right above his head and whipping it down to meet the man’s jaw. The man dropped to his knees and the boat wobbled under his weight.
Another important rule in a fight, especially with multiple attackers, is never turn your back on anyone if you can help it. On that tiny boat, it simply couldn’t be helped. And Xander paid for it. David h
ad been able to get up faster than Xander had hoped, and Xander felt a thump on the back of his head. Those purple spots returned, and Xander dropped to a knee. He felt the bottom of a boot connect with the middle of his back, and before he could retaliate, he was on his stomach, lying face to belt with the big man he’d just put down. His head was swimming. His eyes found the shiny buckle on the big man’s belt, and it helped him uncross his eyes and focus. As David turned him over, out of the corner of his eye, Xander noticed something else on that same belt. And though he could have been imagining it, he swore he heard a helicopter in the distance.
“This is the last time you fuck me over, King.”
Through blurred vision, Xander saw David standing over him. His arms were raised above his head. Xander blinked, then saw the red fire extinguisher suspended there in David’s hands.
“This time tomorrow, I’ll be sipping mai tais on the beach while some dude is stuffing that little girl like a Thanksgiving turkey.”
David kicked Xander in the ribs. Pain seared all the way down his right side.
“Say hello to your mommy for me.”
He saw David’s arms jerk; the fire extinguisher was coming. Xander shot his hand toward the big man’s belt, extracting his tactical knife, and as David brought the extinguisher down, Xander shifted onto his side. The fire extinguisher slammed into the floor of the boat, just as Xander slammed the blade of the knife into the side of David’s stomach. David’s face was one of shock. He hadn’t expected Xander to have the knife. The fire extinguisher fell from his hands and clanked against the floor of the boat.
Xander extracted the blade from David’s stomach as he brought himself up to his knees. He punched him hard in the knife wound, and David’s legs buckled from the pain, dropping him to his knees as well. David made a move to grab for Xander’s arm but he was too weak to stop him. Xander slammed the knife into the side of David’s neck, and fell forward with David as he fell on his back.
Xander held the knife there for a moment. Partially to relish the fact that he had won the battle. Partially because he was too exhausted to move.
Xander watched as David was bleeding out. While he waited, and while David couldn’t talk back, Xander wanted to make sure he heard Xander’s smart-ass mouth one last time.
“Remember what I told you about history?” Xander whispered in his ear.
David responded with a blood-gurgling moan. Xander finally let go and labored to his knees. Defying his body’s need to collapse, Xander scooted forward and lifted the seat cushion on a section of the sofa. Inside, he found what he was looking for, and he tied the big man to the rail of the boat. Everything inside him wanted to kill him too, but they needed the man to wake up and spill any information he had about where the girl might be. With David bleeding out below him and Gabriela and Francisco already dead, there was no one else around to offer any information.
Then it hit him: nowhere in all the chaos back on the pier had Xander seen David Tarter’s beloved sidekick.
Jonathan Haag was still alive.
50
Target Practice
All of Santa Monica was in a panic. Police had done their best to evacuate the area around the pier and to keep those who wouldn’t leave inside their homes. The fire at the entrance to the pier was still blazing, and the normally busy street that ran directly behind it was empty, save for cops. Jonathan pulled back the bolt on his M24 sniper rifle and slammed in a new round. As he peered down the scope at the shifting Ferris wheel cart, he felt sick to his stomach.
“How the hell did I end up here?” he said to himself.
If he was any kind of shot at all, the poor girl would already be dead, and he would be on his way out of town. But shooting a sniper rifle at long distance had never been his strong suit. And being years removed since the last time he had even shot one made it worse. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he supposed the fact that he really didn’t want to kill the girl was playing a part in him missing the shot. But he really had no choice. Other than David’s brother, Tommy, she was the only person who could link him to the crime. And Jonathan could handle Tommy.
Sure, Jonathan knew that Xander would assume he and David were in it together, because he knew they always were. But he wouldn’t have proof. Jonathan squeezed the trigger on the silenced sniper rifle once again, and once again he missed the cart entirely. The cart was moving, it was breezy, and it was a long way from where he stood in the room at the top of the Shutters on the Beach Hotel. But it was as close as he could get and still be out of the fray.
He was lucky to have a shot at her at all. David had told him to be ready to come and get them. That he would be the last line of defense if for some reason they couldn’t get to the boat, which was the other backup plan. When they saw the girl make a run for it from the house to the pier, they didn’t really have time to solidify anything spectacular. And now it was just in a scan of the pier with his sniper rifle that he had been lucky enough to spot the girl. He hadn’t heard from David in over a half hour, so he had to assume the worst. Especially since the power at the pier had gone down.
Once again, he pulled back the bolt, then slid it back into place, chambering a round. David had really left him in a spot with this one. But this was nothing new. He had been following David around from the time they were teenagers, and it had always left him in trouble. Not this kind of trouble, but never a good place. He didn’t know why he let him drag him into things like where he was in that moment. But, good or bad, Jonathan never really had anybody else in his life that he could count on.
Besides, this wasn’t about that now. This was about the rest of his life. And if this girl lived to tell, he would be thrown in jail forever. He looked back through the scope and once again found the cart. All he had to do was put a few holes in it; one of them would easily kill her. He had to adjust a little more for the wind. He dialed in the scope once more, determined to put an end to this nightmare.
51
Even Wackos Can Be Lovable
The engines on the boat were still idling in the water. And before he could get back to the console to radio for help, or drive the boat back to the pier himself, the sound Xander thought he had heard earlier was suddenly coming right for him. He was forced to assume the worst, because so far that was all that had happened. The thought of another fight drained even more of his already depleted energy. But this was always the point in a soldier’s life that separated him from everyone else. He had been trained to shut off the part of his body that said “stop” and keep on going.
As the helicopter approached, Xander turned back to the big man on the floor of the boat and pulled the AR-15 strap up over his head. When he turned back around, the helicopter was right in front of him. As Xander raised the AR-15, he pictured Jonathan Haag doing the same from the opening in the side of the chopper. A bright light flipped on, momentarily blinding him. He ducked behind the center console and once again raised the gun to defend himself. That was when a familiar voice came over the loud speaker, one Xander hadn’t heard in a while, but that goofy man’s Ukrainian accent was unmistakable.
“Jack says boss need help. Viktor jump in helicopter to come help. Looks like you already take care of bad guy. Did they not know that boss is good at killing bad guy?”
Viktor.
The tension fell from Xander’s shoulders. The weight of the evening finally gave way, and a smile grew across his face.
“I send down ladder. Boss lady says there is still work for boss man to do.”
Xander knew he meant Sam, but he couldn’t fathom what could possibly be left. Unless Haag had Carrie. Xander pulled himself to a standing position, and when the rope ladder fell from the helicopter, he climbed up.
“The news must not be too bad from Sam,” Xander said as he pulled himself inside and got his first glimpse of Viktor. Same crazy disheveled hair, same wide goofy-ass smile. “If it was, I’m assuming you wouldn’t be wearing that familiar shit-eatin’ grin.”
&n
bsp; Xander walked over and wrapped his arm around Viktor. Viktor let go of the controls to embrace him, and the front of the helicopter pitched forward. He quickly let go of Xander and scrambled to level it out. Xander just shook his head.
“Sorry, boss, there is no pause button on real helicopter.”
“Just give me your phone, you crazy son of a bitch. Sam say what the problem was?”
“She does not like Viktor, so I don’t get extra information.”
Xander nodded as he dialed Jack’s phone. He knew Sam’s phone was still lost somewhere with his own.
Jack answered. “Hey, Vik, tell me he’s all right.”
“Hey Jack, it’s Xander. I’m fine. Tarter is out of the picture.”
“X! Damn good to hear your voice, and even better to hear you ended that bastard. Never had a doubt. Sam will be glad to hear you’re okay.”
“What’s the problem back there? Viktor said that Sam told him I had more work to do.”
“You do, but it ain’t what you think. Kyle and Zhanna was talkin’ with SWAT when they heard the girl scream. You won’t believe this, but she’s stuck at the top of the Ferris wheel. Sam hoped if Viktor found you, and you were okay, that you’d be able to drop down and get her.”
Xander was relieved to hear that Carrie was okay. Finally, some good luck. If her cart would have been at the bottom of the Ferris wheel’s cycle when the power went out, she would be dead right now.
“So you’re telling me that Sam trusts Viktor to hold the helicopter steady over the Ferris wheel long enough for me to get Carrie out of there? No way. Coast Guard can handle that one. It will be much safer. Plus, I’m not sure at this point I could even lift her into the helicopter.”
King's Reign (The Xander King Series Book 4) Page 22
