Zed Days [Book 2]

by Nick Harland

  We snuck back out under the fence and made our way through the wooded area again. Eve said to Esme, ‘Had you ever considered auditioning for one of those gangster series, you’re a natural.’

  Esme smiled, ‘No, but Goodfellas is one of my favourite movies. I just channelled my anger and went with it. It was a bit wired to be honest. It made me feel like I actually meant it and that I could do it, it scared me.’

  Eve giggled, ‘So, a method actor then. It scared me for a minute too.’

  We had time to walk up through the wood so when we crossed the road we were out of sight of the other building. We snaked around a couple of other buildings close to the road until we were one building away from the one the other two men were hiding in. There wasn’t any cover between us and the building so we were relying on our diversion and Dylan not looking in our direction. There was a chance he would see us, as he’d probably look at what was happening, but it would only take us a few seconds to get behind the building and into cover again. We were relying on him not being ready to shoot anything and having his sights over the front of the building not the side. Eve thought it would be a really hard shot even if he got one off. I admit I was scared.

  We waited until we saw and heard the man running across the front of the base towards us. We knew there was a chance Dylan would just shoot him and we didn’t know if he’d even considered that, but he made it to the front of the building in front of us. The moment we heard more voices we sprinted from our spot to the back of the building the men were in.

  Dylan was quick and as we were running we heard a shot and time slowed for a moment while I waited to fall or see Esme or Eve fall. The bullet hit the ground in front of Esme but we were safe before he could fire again. We crouched against the back wall getting our breath and adrenalin under control. Esme said, ‘That was…’ but then another shot rang out.

  Eve reacted quickly, ‘He’s shot him. He knew it was a diversion. He’ll be on the radio in seconds. We have to go, now.’

  Eve ran towards the back door of the building and turned the handle but it was locked. Without hesitation she stepped back and shot at the handle twice before kicking the door in. The door swung open and she flattened herself against the wall the other side of it just before a shot came through it. I was next to the door on the other side and Esme was behind me. I reached my hand around the door frame and fired six shots randomly into the space beyond, there were no screams, just some smashing glass and the sound of bullets hitting metal.

  Eve shouted through the open door, ‘There are four of us and two of you. We have plenty of ammo and a couple of petrol bombs. You both know, even you Dave, that Dylan is a ruthless good for nothing bastard. He just killed one of you without even thinking about it and if it serves his purpose he’ll kill both of you the same way. Throw your guns towards the door and come out with your hands up. I guarantee you won’t be harmed.’

  A voice came back that definitely wasn’t northern, it must have been Dave, ‘I’d be dead on that god forsaken rig without Dylan and he’s worth ten of you. You’re stuck and I think you’re lying. If you poke your heads out into the open he’ll blow them off. We can walk out of here just fine and re-group. When we come back we won’t be so nice.’

  Esme whispered harshly, ‘We can’t let them leave, we need to end this now, one way or another. Cover me.’

  Eve knew she couldn’t stop Esme so she stuck her hand around the door and fired a couple of shots as Esme dove through and rolled over her shoulder towards the cover of some machine. The building had offices at the front with big windows but the back was open plan with a big concrete floor with various work benches and big metal working machines here and there, it smelt of old oil and sweat. Eve said, ‘I’m going to the next window and I’ll fire a few shots from there. They’re probably in one of the offices at the front and they’re wood walls not brick so I might get lucky. I’ll fire two wait a couple of seconds then fire again. You go on when I fire again.’

  The thought of running through a door with a gun trained on it scared the shit out of me but Esme was in there and she was right. If we let them go we’d be walking around for the next few weeks wondering when one of our heads would explode. I told myself they weren’t good shots and waited for Eve to fire. She smashed the window then fired twice. I took a couple of quick breaths and when she fired again I dove through the door towards Esme and was dismayed that at the same time she ran to the cover of a machine closer to the front.

  With all of us in different positions I didn’t know what to do next. Then Dave’s voice came, ‘See you later suckers.’

  We heard a door creak open and bang shut and all of us ran towards the offices keeping low. Eve reached us and said, breathing heavily, ‘We can’t let them go but Dylan can see the front of the building and through the office windows.’

  Esme said, ‘Let’s get to the front door at least.’

  She didn’t wait to talk about it and crouching beside it she reached over and opened the door to one of the offices. The shot was immediate and the wood on the bottom half of the door splintered as a round exploded through it and hit the floor beyond. Esme raised her eyebrows, ‘Or maybe not.’

  We looked at each other, none of us knowing what to do next when another shot came that sounded different. It sounded like it came from the base. Esme said, ‘Now’, and jumped through the open door crouching and running until she was under a window on the front wall.

  Eve smiled and followed her but went the other way, ending up under the other window in the room. Esme peeped her head up to look then came down with a smile, ‘Go tower. They shot Dave. They even chose the right one to shoot. The person in the tower must have worked out that Dylan was shooting at us and taken a shot. The other guy has reached the warehouse opposite though.

  I was still by the doorway to the office and said, ‘What now, it’s Dylan we want, he’s still out there and we’re still pinned down.’

  Esme said, ‘If he can see me then I can see him. I might not have a sniper rifle but Henry is still accurate at this range.’

  I let myself relax and take a breath. I closed my eyes and let my thoughts do their thing. Letting go of the fear and adrenalin for a moment made it obvious. I said, ‘He’s in pretty bad shape himself. He’s only got one next to useless man and he’s not exactly able to move himself. We have a shooter in the lookout tower and you with a rifle. He doesn’t know which way to turn. Smash the glass above you and clear it out so you can rest you’re rifle on the window ledge. Eve, you do the same and poke the front of your gun there for a moment so he thinks you’ve both got rifles.’

  ‘Now Eve, hold up something in the window, anything. Then Esme, if he shoots at it you try and get sight of him. I’m going around the side of the building. If you hear me shoot take a shot or two cover me.’ I ran before Esme or Eve could stop me.

  I ran back through the back door and heard a shot as I did so. He was getting jumpy or he wouldn’t have taken the shot. I knew it wouldn’t be long before he retreated and I couldn’t let him. I ran down the side of the building to the corner where he would see me if I went any further. He had no reason to be looking there and if he was concentrating down his sight I figured he might not even see me at all. The hundred and fifty feet between me and warehouse over the road seemed very far but it was the only way and I’d be a moving target. I poked my gun around the corner of the building and shot in his direction. The moment I heard the shot from Esme I started sprinting towards the warehouse, zig-zagging as I went.

  The next ten seconds were a dream of adrenalin, gasped breaths, and gun fire. I’m not sure how many shots I heard while I ran and although I knew only one or two would be his every one made me flinch and expect to collapse in a bleeding pile of agony. I reached safety bent double and gasping for air but I didn’t have time to waste. If he had any sense he’d be retreating by now but he couldn’t just up and run because he knew he potentially had one or two rifles trained on his position.
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br />   I jogged around the back of the warehouse which brought me level with the back of the building Dylan was on. I knew I was far from out of danger. I still had the other guy to worry about and hoped he’d been scared enough to climb onto the roof with Dylan. I smiled knowing that would really piss him off and that he wouldn’t have time to deal with him.

  Then there were a few more shots and not knowing what was happening was difficult. Being away from Esme and Eve was difficult. I hadn’t said goodbye or anything. I thought about our bargain and wondered if this counted as breaking it. The buildings were off set and I couldn’t quite see the back of the next building or the ladder. I snuck down the side of the building then almost dropped my gun with the shock of Eve whispering close behind me. I span round but couldn’t have hit the side of a barn. It was still probably just as well I didn’t fire. Eve said, ‘Fuck, don’t do that. And never run off like that, you scared us both shitless watching you. Do you have any idea how close he was to hitting you?’

  I was so relieved to see her I smiled, despite the tirade of abuse, ‘No, but he didn’t and I guess he missed you too so it can’t have been that bad an idea.’

  Eve frowned, ‘We’ll talk about this later now get out of the way, you can’t hit diddly with that thing.’

  She shoved passed me and snuck to edge of the building. Then she shot into the air and ran to where she would be able to see the ladder. I was close behind her and shot wildly several times at the roof as I did, there were no shots back. When we were settled again I smiled and looked at her arse, ‘I love you, and you have a fantastic arse.’

  I heard the smile in her voice, ‘Fuck you’re annoying, but I love you too, and I love that you love my arse. He’s run out of time, we’ve got him surrounded.’ Then she shouted, ‘You should have run when you had the chance, when you started losing men, but you just can’t get passed your ego can you. You always assume you’re going to win. Well now you’re surrounded and basically fucked and just so you know, I’m going to kill you the moment I see you. The time for repartee is over.’

  Dylan’s voice drifted down from the roof, ‘You win some you lose some but it’s not over yet. I can’t produce a fat lady singing, but perhaps a fat man will suffice.’

  We heard scrabbling then a shot, then the man who’d made it to the building flew off the roof towards us, screaming all the way down. As he landed, Dylan appeared at the top of the ladder and he was surprisingly agile for his age. He flung himself onto the ladder, gripping the outside with his feet and started to slide down it holding onto it with one gloved hand while shooting an M9 at us with the other. It was a move from an action movie and I couldn’t believe he was trying it. I guessed it must have been something he’d do to show off on ladders on the rigs, but this was different.

  Eve recoiled pushing me backwards and shouted, ‘Fuck.’

  I noticed she was holding her side and there was already blood appearing from between her fingers. Then there was a yell, a cracking sound, and another louder yell followed by groaning. I peeped my head around Eve and saw Dylan at the bottom of the ladder clutching his ankle, which was at a decidedly odd angle. He had dropped his gun which lay a few feet away from him. I strode towards him with my gun pointed at him and was about to pull the trigger when he yelled pitifully, ‘Please don’t.’

  I froze. I had no idea what to do. Thoughts raced through my mind. He deserved to die but I’d be killing a defenceless man. I watched him rocking and groaning and lowered my gun a little. As he jerked to move there was a shot from behind me and then another. His chest and head spewed blood from the bullet holes and his body jerked with the impacts. As he finally lay still I saw a glint of bright metal fall from the hand he had been holding his boot with. He had a fucking hold out gun in his boot.

  I turned and fell onto my knees beside Eve who was slumped against the wall holding her bleeding side with one hand and holding her gun with the other, still trained on him. I gently removed it and shouted at the top of my lungs, ‘Esme it’s over, bring a stretcher.’

  I looked at Eve who smiled back at me, sweat running from her forehead. I said, ‘You saved me, but he got you.’ Panic gripped me and platitudes filled my head as I put my hand gently over the one she was holding over her side. I chose one and said, ‘It’s ok, you’re going to be ok.’

  Eve half groaned, half giggled, ‘I know you idiot. It hurts like fuck and the bleeding is nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s just a flesh wound. I’ll be sore for a while and I’ll need a few stitches, but I’ll be fine. I can manage without a stretcher but what the hell, it’s been a busy day.’

  We heard other shouts and I put my head next to hers and kissed her neck, ‘I fucking love you, and now I owe you my life. Now I have to do everything you say.’

  She giggled again then groaned at the pain it caused her, ‘Like you didn’t before.’

  I laughed and saw Esme race around the corner and gasp as she saw Eve. I held my hand up and said, ‘Don’t or she’ll only humiliate you too. It’s just a flesh wound, she’s going to be fine.’

  Esme knelt the other side of Eve and kissed her, ‘If you two fucking leave me like that again I’ll shoot you both myself, and they won’t be flesh wounds. We had a deal remember?’

  I replied, ‘I know, but it was your idea and you were right, we couldn’t let him escape and it was the only way. One of us had to run for it.’

  Eve startled us both by yelling, ‘Fuck!’

  I said, ‘What now, I thought you were ok?’

  Eve smiled and said, ‘I am, considering I’ve been shot, but I forgot to ask him where he parked the car?’