Outside the Wire

by Holly Copella

  A rifle fired loudly breaking the silence as the bullet splintered the tree alongside the hitman. He immediately took cover while the remaining hitmen crossed the property, closing in on the location of sniper fire. More shots were fired, forcing them to take cover wherever they could. When the hired killer behind the tree realized the sniper was busy with the other hitmen, he took advantage of the situation and slipped around the tree to shoot Jackie. To his surprise, she was gone!

  “Looking for someone?” Jackie asked from behind.

  As he spun around, she impaled him through the midsection with her sword and locked eyes with him. “Stay out of my way,” she snarled then pulled the sword free and watched him fall to the ground.

  Jackie casually stepped over the dead man and saw Zack waiting for her several yards away. As she walked toward him, her eyes locked on him, two of the hired killers stopped in their tracks and considered taking her out. Before they could even aim, they were under Bogart’s sniper fire and had to seek cover. Jackie stopped two feet before Zack, took a fighting stance with both swords, one above her head and one in front of her body, and stared at him with cold, hateful eyes. Zack paced in front of her like a caged panther stalking its prey. His eyes swept over her body more than once, taking in her unusual choice of outfit, knowing exactly what she was attempting to do. Every move she made, every stitch of clothes she wore was meant to assault his senses and throw him off his game. By the way he watched her and with how long he took to react, she knew it was working.

  To him, she was a stripper, pole dancing in front of him, and he just wanted to sit back and watch a while longer. She didn’t move from her attack position, knowing if she showed no reaction or expression it would draw him closer. Soon the temptation would be too great, and he’d want to engage his sexy pole dancer. All her hours of training came down to this single moment. Zack would soon play his hand, and she’d finally know if he was gone forever.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Beck crouched in the shadows behind the bushes alongside the house and peered in through the lounge window. The men within the lounge left in a hurry. Beck appeared curious and then touched his hidden ear transmitter.

  “Were we made?” Beck asked. “They’re running from the lounge with purpose.”

  “Negative,” Monroe responded through his ear transmitter. “Something’s happening in the back of the house. I can’t see what’s going on, but it’s caught their attention.”

  “Probably a major pissing match,” Beck responded. “You know how these assassin types are when they get together.” He then scoffed under his breath, “Mercenary wannabes.”

  They could then hear the sniper rifle fire, alerting them of something happening out back.

  “Bad news, Beck,” came Gil’s moderately calm voice over the transmitter.

  Beck tensed, shut his eyes a moment, and then touched his ear transmitter. “What bad news?” he asked, although he already seemed to know the answer.

  “Our kitten is fighting the tiger,” Gil replied.

  Beck sneered then cursed under his breath. “If she survives, I’m getting her fixed and declawed.” He then touched his ear device and spoke to the others. “Whether we like it or not, she’s given us the perfect distraction.”

  “Are we going in?” Monroe asked over his ear transmitter.

  “Yeah, we’re going in,” he announced. “I want a snatch and grab on the boss lady. We’re far enough into the country that it’ll take a while for someone to report shots fired to the police. Someone should probably keep an eye on the kitten and offer sniper support.”

  “Affirmative,” Gil responded with little reaction. “She’s got a bogey in the trees.”

  “Bogart,” Beck snarled then nodded with conviction. “Him, I’m going to kill.” He touched his ear transmitter. “Move in, team.” Beck headed for the glass lounge doors and easily picked the lock.

  †

  Gil and Darth slipped in through the rear kitchen door, only glancing briefly at the commotion in the backyard. Darth seemed eager to join in on the fun, and it took some coaxing to convince him otherwise. Gil shook his head, obviously disappointed with Jackie’s decision to go rogue. Darth followed him through the large, empty kitchen and both entered the grand hallway, where they ran into Monroe, who had slipped in through the study door.

  “I would have sworn she was here,” Monroe informed Gil while looking around. “Maybe she went upstairs at the first sniff of danger.”

  “Don’t underestimate a woman of that caliber,” Gil replied. “She could be calling in the reinforcements. It’s too quiet down here.”

  “Yeah, that’s because everyone’s outside watching ‘the psycho Jackie show’ out back,” Monroe huffed then shook his head with annoyance. “I knew Holden was lying when he said she was sleeping late this morning.”

  “Darth and I have the backstairs,” Gil announced and indicated the kitchen behind him. “You take the main staircase.”

  Monroe nodded, and they headed in opposite directions.

  †

  Gil carried his semiautomatic while walking along the back hallway on the second floor with Darth leading the way, sniffing at each door. Gil checked several bedrooms and found them mostly dark and empty. He opened the last door and heard a gun cocking. Darth snarled in response. Gil leaped through the doorway, rolled across the floor, and sat up with his gun aimed at Riley. She held a gun on him as well. Although frightened, she held the gun with conviction and seemed willing to use it.

  “I don’t know who you are, but get out of my room,” she shouted at him.

  Gil stared at her a moment while keeping his gun trained on her. He then lowered the gun, immediately relaxed, and carefully straightened so as not to alarm the armed woman. Once his gun lowered, Darth stopped growling.

  “You must be Riley,” he announced. “Bogart mentioned you.”

  Riley appeared surprised by his words and lowered her gun while staring at him. “Bogart? You know Bogart?”

  He nodded then considered his next comment carefully. “Yeah, he’s, uh, well, a colleague.”

  “Did he send you for me?” she suddenly asked with enthusiasm. “I can be ready in five minutes.”

  “No, he didn’t send us for you,” Gil replied seemingly confused by the comment. “We were looking for your aunt. We wanted to ask her a few questions.”

  She eyed him suspiciously, suddenly not trusting him. “What’s the commotion outside?”

  “Jackie’s pissed,” Gil casually replied without showing much reaction. “She tends to throw a mild tantrum. I promise no one is here to hurt you.”

  “Bogart said if I helped him, he’d send his friends to take me away from this horrible place,” she informed him.

  “That’s why we need to speak to your aunt,” he informed her. “We believe she knows the man responsible for putting the hit on us.”

  “Did he get anything useful off her phone?” Riley asked. “She has everything on her phone.”

  “No, there wasn’t anything specific about who was after us,” Gil replied. “Where is your aunt?”

  “If there’s been a breach on the estate grounds, she probably went to one of her safe houses until she’s told everything is clear,” Riley reported. “It’s the Russian, isn’t it? She’s been keeping tabs on him. She doesn’t trust him. He’s kind of scary. Trust me, I’ve seen scary, and he’s scary.”

  “Yeah, he’s scary,” Gil muttered. “Do you know where her safe houses are?”

  “There are a few of them,” she replied then eyed him with a sly look. “I’m not telling you where they are unless you take me along. I need to get away from here. Bogart promised he’d take me somewhere safe and out of my aunt’s reach.”

  “We can’t take you with us,” he insisted. “It’s too dangerous.” He then reconsidered the comment. “Although it’s not exactly safe here either. We’ll take you to a nice five-star hotel. Once our necks are off the chopping block, you and Bogart can wo
rk out something more permanent.”

  She considered the comment then nodded. “Okay, I’ll tell you where the safe houses are on the way to the hotel.” Riley then grinned and almost blushed. “Is Bogart with you?”

  Gil stared at the love struck look in her eyes and groaned. “I really don’t get it,” he muttered.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Zack continued to pace in front of Jackie like a stalking predator. He finally stopped while facing her and reached inside his jacket. As he removed his semiautomatic, Jackie twitched. Had he actually been able to resist one, final sparring match between them? Was that how it was going to end? Did he intend to shoot her? Zack casually tossed the gun aside, moved into attack position, and stared back at her. Jackie understood and was willing to play his game one last time. She tossed her samurai swords aside and resumed her attack stance. Zack said something to her in Russian, still playing his Russian act in front of his new ‘friends’. He spoke fluent Russian even before his torrid love affair with a female Russian spy, so his new persona wasn’t surprising.

  Jackie didn’t speak Russian, but she had the perfect response to whatever comment he made. In Russian, Jackie proclaimed, “Fuck you!”

  Zack chuckled at her ability to curse in ten different languages. “Maybe later,” he casually replied in a thick Russian accent then smiled deviously. “Let’s see if you survive this first.”

  Jackie didn’t let his comment ruffle her. She maintained her attack position and kept her eyes locked on him. Zack was forced to make the first move. Unlike their usual, friendly sparring matches, Zack came at her with more aggression than usual. Jackie had been so used to his technique and routine; she wasn’t prepared for the fast roundhouse kick that came her way. He clipped her on the side. Even though it hurt, he hadn’t put a lot of effort into it. If he had, he would have done some damage. She couldn’t take that as a sign though. It could quite possibly mean he was just playing with her first. Perhaps he was trying to get into her head as she tried to get into his.

  When he came at her with a series of hard, fast kicks, she knew he was serious. She deflected his kicks with her legs and arms, realizing he was already onto the aggressiveness with which their matches usually ended. He was playing for keeps, and she needed to fight him as if he were the enemy. He threw several easy punches, anticipating her ability to block them. Zack was successfully getting into her head now. He was coming on strong then pulling punches, attempting to confuse her. She was already tired of the games and was through letting him lead in their strange, sick dance. It was time to show the old dog a few new tricks.

  Jackie flipped through the air, kicking him on her way through, and tossing him off balance. She landed in a crouched position and swept his legs out from beneath him. Zack hit the ground. Before she could spring to her feet, Zack was already back on his and kicking for her. His boot narrowly missed her face. While he went high, she kicked low and nailed him in the gut. He felt the hit, held his abdomen a moment, and then shook it off. Zack spun into a series of kicks, coming at her fast, forcing her to jump back several steps to avoid being kicked. When he spun into a high roundhouse kick, Jackie threw herself to the ground and kicked him in the thigh as he landed.

  He didn’t let the hit faze him and immediately kicked and punched for her. She successfully blocked the first two kicks and the first punch, but he struck her in the abdomen with the second. Jackie jumped with surprise and looked at him. The hit was barely harder than a light jab. She wasn’t sure what he was up to with the aggressive kicks and soft hits. Jackie spun into several fast kicks for him, forcing him to back up with each kick to avoid being hit. On the final kick, he caught her booted ankle and held her in place while she maintained her balance on one foot. He attempted to twist her foot around to pivot her, so she went with it and flipped, kicking him with the leg she’d been standing on. She nailed him in the chest and knocked him to the ground. Unfortunately, she was unable to catch her balance and hit the ground as well. She couldn’t deny it hurt, but she wasn’t about to let that stop her.

  Both returned to their feet and came back at each other with fast, hard kicks and punches. They returned to their more comfortable, typical sparring routine, although it was evident this wasn’t playing for fun. Jackie was waiting for Zack to take it to the next level and go for her jugular. Even though it didn’t happen, she didn’t trust that it wouldn’t once she let her guard down. After nearly twenty minutes of familiar fighting, Zack finally made his move. He caught her in a flip and tackled her to the ground, landing on top of her. She attempted to kick him from her position beneath him. He blocked her kick with his hand and grabbed the back of her thigh. Her eyes locked with his. He was feeling her up! Jackie cracked her forehead against his mouth, forcing him to release her. She rolled out from beneath him, sprang to her feet, and kicked him in the side. Zack rolled away from her before she could take another shot at him while he was on the ground then sprang to his feet and again faced her. Their battle continued.

  †

  Within the mansion, Beck passed the open foyer door and hesitated when he heard a car starting in front of the house. He stepped into the doorway and saw several guards hurry Melissa into the back of a black sedan right before it sped away past the other parked cars. Two cars immediately chased after the sedan. Beck cursed softly and touched his ear transmitter.

  “She got away,” he reported. “Everyone head to the backyard for kitten extraction.”

  †

  Once the sniper fire ceased in the back yard, several men gathered to watch the fight, respecting that the bounty on Jackie belonged to the man working his ass off fighting her. Most cheered on Zack while a few were actually rooting for Jackie. Maybe they thought if she killed him, they could claim the bounty on her head instead. Or it could have been they just enjoyed watching a hot woman kick the Russian’s arrogant ass. As Zack was starting to pant from their epic battle, Jackie knew she had to use the last move she had in her newly acquired arsenal. She needed to get his attention and drive it home hard.

  She assessed his position then spun around and went into a backward flip meant to deceive him, so he wouldn’t know where she intended to land. She barely landed near him before flipping upward onto his body, wrapping around him like a python in his signature move. With her legs and arms twisted around various parts of his body, she flipped him backward then twisted him forward, riding his back as he hit the ground with her landing on top of him.

  She remained on his back a moment with her arm locked around his neck in the perfect setup to break it and whispered in his ear, “Now I’m you.”

  Jackie gave his neck a firm squeeze as if she’d break his neck then unlocked her arm and rolled off him, springing back to her feet. Zack panted a moment while moving to his hands and knees and looked at her where she stood over him. Both heard the nearly silent gunshot. Jackie clutched her bleeding leg and went down. Zack recovered from the assault and looked at the group of six hitmen behind him. His eyes locked on the man grinning deviously while holding the recently fired gun.

  “Game over,” the hitman remarked. “Collect your bounty, Russian.”

  Zack didn’t show any emotion. In a split second, he had his knife from his boot and threw it at the assassin. It struck the well-dressed man in the neck, dropping him to the ground. Zack approached the fallen dead man, snatched his pistol and Uzi from him, and glared with hostility.

  “No one interferes in my fights,” Zack snarled in his recently acquired Russian accent then walked back to Jackie.

  She clutched her bleeding leg and attempted to move back to her feet but couldn’t do it. Zack stood over Jackie a moment and watched her attempting to resume their fight, but she had nothing left. A gun was heard cocking behind him.

  “Finish her,” one of the men announced firmly. “Or we will.”

  “Fuck that,” another man cried out. “She’s worth more alive than dead. No one said what condition she had to be in just as long as she
has a pulse.”

  “I say we all take turns with her,” one of the men announced while grinning deviously. “Teach the bitch a lesson. If girls want to play with the big boys, they’d better get used to getting fucked by them.”

  Zack’s hand twitched the moment he heard the comment. Sexual assault and crimes against children triggered psychotic behavior in the hardened former SEAL.

  “Just finish her off,” the first man again ordered with irritation.

  Zack aimed the gun in his right hand at Jackie where she half sat clutching her bleeding leg. She pushed her agony aside and stared back at him while straightening proudly.

  “Yeah, finish me off, you fucking coward,” Jackie snarled. “I’ll give the Commander your regards.”

  The men behind him all laughed at the comment. Zack continued to stare into her eyes as his finger tightened on the trigger. Jackie drew a deep breath and held her head up high. Zack suddenly raised his left hand holding the Uzi and fired in a sweeping motion behind him without even looking. Each of the six men took several shots as the weapon fired in a semi-circle. When the Uzi fire ceased, none was left standing. Zack lowered both guns, shook his head with disgust, and cast the weapons aside. He then looked at Jackie with concern.

  “Are you okay?” he gently asked, losing his thick Russian accent.

  She was momentarily stunned by his double-cross then nodded while panting. “Just grazed me.”

  Zack groaned while shaking his head. “I always knew you’d be the death of me,” he remarked then extended his hand to her.

  Jackie accepted his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. He immediately pulled her into his arms and held her in a tight embrace. She returned the warm embrace while feeling tears welling in her eyes. Jackie always felt safe in Zack’s arms, and she wanted to hold on to the moment as long as she could. She pulled back to meet his gaze, gently touched his face, and then thrust her knee into his groin. Zack clutched himself and dropped to his knees with a groan.