So, Howard’s plan was to rely on his partner, who had no experience and had just allowed herself to get ambushed.
He dropped the P95 and held both empty hands in front of him. If he could get between Heinz and the girl, he would try to take the fugitive down hand-to-hand.
Heinz grinned, more animal than man. Rain cascaded down his bloody chest. His sharp teeth glinted in the moonlight. At his knees, the naked girl sobbed.
“I’m coming over,” said Howard.
“Make it quick.”
Heinz watched Howard’s every move as he crept forwards. He made eye-contact with the girl, who silently begged him to save her. This was his opportunity to do so. Howard could end the girl’s nightmare right here and now. In the corner of Howard’s eye, Jessica continued to shuffle.
Heinz’s grin grew wider.
Howard crept closer, almost close enough to touch the girl. If he could just grab her, pull her out of the way…
“I think your partner is searching for something,” said Heinz, nodding towards Jessica.
Howard glanced at Jessica who froze.
“Is it this she’s looking for?” Heinz pulled Jessica’s Glock from behind his back and held it up.
Howard didn’t think, he just acted. As Heinz focused his attention on the gun in his hand, he forgot about the screwdriver over the girl’s head. Now was the time to shove the girl aside and take Heinz down. Heinz thought he had the power now that he had the Glock, but he wouldn’t have the experience or training to fire it properly.
Howard planted his feet, sprung, and went airborne.
Crack!
One second, Howard was flying towards Heinz, ready to push the girl aside and take down his man. The next second, he was changing direction, barrelling sideways, his vision completely tilted. When he hit the dirt, he was unsure which way he was facing. When he tasted wet soil in his mouth, he knew he was sprawled face-down. He heard the screams of a woman, then more gunshots.
More silence.
More gunshots.
More screams.
Then a lasting silence.
Footsteps. Twigs breaking. The sound of a hurried escape through bushes. A young girl screaming.
Howard remained face-down, fighting for breath and squirming in agony. His entire body felt white hot, but the pain was beginning to localise in his chest, just beneath the left collarbone.
He’d been shot. His first time. It hurt like hell, but somehow it was bearable. His mind was foggy and his body felt loose.
A hand tugged roughly at the back of his vest and rolled him over. The rain fell into his eyes, forcing him to blink. Part of him was glad; he didn’t want to see Heinz’s maniacal face again.
“Howard, are you alright?”
Howard felt himself being patted down. He blinked the rain from his eyes, trying to see. He was relieved to see Jessica kneeling over him. “Wha…what happened?”
Jessica held up the Ruger P45. “I may have lost my gun, but I managed to pick up yours. Heinz got away with the girl though.”
Howard groaned. The pain intensified.
“Try not to move,” said Jessica. “You’ve been shot, but you’re going to be okay. From the look of things, the bullet hit your body armour, but the force probably fractured a couple of ribs. Obviously at such close range, body armour is only of negligible use. It’s a pity that—”
“Jess…Jessica?”
“What?”
“You need to go after Heinz. He has your gun.”
Jessica sighed and let her head drop. “I know. I was so stupid. This is all my screw up.”
“Yeah.” Howard coughed and wheezed; it was agonising to breathe. “Just take the son-of-a-bitch down and we’ll talk about our mistakes later.”
“I can’t leave you here. What if he comes back?”
“He won’t.”
“He might.”
Howard grunted. “Call it in and leave me here.”
“Okay.” Jessica’s hands shook as she reached towards the radio on his vest. She thumbed the button on the side. “MCU officer Bennett, requesting immediate medical attention in…in the woods somewhere. Officer down, none fatal gunshot wound.”
Silence. They both looked at each other and frowned.
Jessica looked down at the radio and Howard watched as her face dropped. “What is it?” he asked.
She showed him the radio unit. The module at the top, the piece with the antenna, was missing. The plastic was badly splintered.
“It must have taken a hit from the bullet before it struck your vest,” said Jessica. “Let me try my phone… Damn it! No signal. It must be the woods.”
“You’ll just have to go for help yourself.”
Jessica shook her head. “That young girl doesn’t have time to waste, and I can’t leave you here wounded. Come on, get up.”
“I’ve been shot.”
“Not anywhere that matters. Come on, on your feet.”
Howard waited for her to start laughing, but she was deadly serious. She was staring at him like a disapproving school mistress. He swallowed a lump in his throat and tried to sit up. “Narghh! Shit, damn it!”
“Stop being such a Jessy. You’re a soldier, Hopkins, start acting like it.”
Howard managed to make it to his feet but immediately wobbled. Jessica caught him and steadied him. After a few seconds, he felt more secure. “I…I think I’m okay.”
Jessica handed him his gun. “The bruising is going to come out quickly and make it painful to breath, but just stay calm and you’ll be okay. I believe this is yours. I still intend on getting mine back.”
Howard chuckled, but immediately regretted it and grabbed his chest. “Argh…okay, but once you get your gun back, can you…try to keep hold of it?”
Jessica placed her hands on her hips. “I promise, so long as you can promise to avoid getting shot again.”
“I got shot one time.”
“And I’ll never let you forget it.”
4
Howard pulled off his tactical vest and body armour as they walked because it was causing him pain. Once he was down to a simple black vest he could move easier. The adrenaline coursing through his body kept the weather from chilling him too badly. In fact, the cold wind and stinging rain kept him alert. In his right hand he held his P45; he wouldn’t be parted from it again.
“He can’t have gotten far,” said Jessica. “He’s dragging a hostage.”
Howard checked the glow-in-the dark hands on his watch. “We’ve wasted about ten minutes and I’m slowing us down. You should have left me.”
“What, and embarrass the MCU? We need to finish this mission together. We’ll lick our wounds later, in private.”
“Easy for you to say. I’m the one with all the wounds to lick.” As if to drive home his point, a twinge of agony in his chest caused him to double over and groan.
Jessica ran to his side. “Are you okay? Look, maybe you’re right. I should go get help and—”
Howard straightened back up. “You mean like I told you before you dragged my arse off the ground? No, no, I’m not stopping now, I’ve just gone through the agony of getting going. But the mission has changed. We see Heinz, I’m going to employ lethal force. He has a firearm now, so the parameters of the mission have changed.”
Jessica rubbed at the bump on her temple. “Palu’s going to chew me up and spit me out for losing my weapon, isn’t he?”
Howard huffed. “You have no idea, but you’ll come out the other end of it. Just learn from it. Don’t go running off on your own again. We had a woman like that in our ranks for a while once, remember? You don’t want to end up like her.”
Jessica nodded. Sarah Stone had been a temporary officer of the MCU; a raging bull of a woman, badly scarred both physically and emotionally. She’d disappeared off the face of the earth a few months ago, likely the victim of a revenge killing by the terrorist cell she’d helped decimate. Sarah Stone had been a good lesson on how being alone meant
being vulnerable. If the woman hadn’t been such a loner, she might not have been singled out and abducted. It might have also given the MCU half a chance to track her down.
“I think I see light up ahead,” said Howard. He lumbered over to a towering poplar and leant against its trunk.
Jessica moved up beside him. She could see the light as well, a faint twinkle coming through the edge of the treeline. “The abbey?”
“Maybe. Sergeant Young said he had men stationed there. Heinz is unlikely to go anywhere near it.”
“He has to go somewhere,” said Jessica.
Gunfire sounded off in the direction of the lights. Howard looked at her. “Looks like I was wrong.”
Jessica pulled at his arm. “Come on.”
Howard managed to jog and they made it to the edge of the woods. They exited onto a pathway that could have originated from the one they’d started on. Before them lay a vast lake. Beyond it was the imposing stone facade of the town’s ancient abbey. Its towering spire pierced the air like an upwards facing spear.
“That place doesn’t look too cozy,” said Howard.
“The perfect place for a guy like Heinz, then.” Jessica took a deep breath. “The gunshots came from over there.”
“Maybe the local police managed to take him down.”
Jessica nodded. “Perhaps, but only one way to know for sure.”
Howard pushed himself upright from the tree trunk. “That means more walking, doesn’t it?”
Jessica helped him get moving. “The drinks are on me after all this is over. Soon as we get Heinz pinned down, we’ll find a way to call back-up. I still want Heinz alive, if possible.”
Howard no longer cared. Heinz was already a killer, but now they’d made him an armed killer. The gunshots at the abbey might not have been aimed at Heinz; they may have come from Jessica’s gun. More innocent people might be dead, and that would be on them.
They kept to the edge of the lake, eyes pinned on the abbey. The lights affixed to its stone walls lit the building from the bottom, bathing its base in shadow. It was the type of place ripe for stories about hauntings and grizzly executions, the perfect place to set a ghost story; only they weren’t heading into a ghost story, they were heading into a slasher flick. Richard Heinz was both evil and insane.
The abbey was perched on a rise. The pathway snaked round the lake and eventually led up that hill. Standing at the bottom of it now, Howard and Jessica looked up at their destination. It was quiet, still, foreboding.
Despite his pain, Howard put his arm out and placed Jessica behind him. His black t-shirt helped him blend with the shadows better than the white blouse beneath her blazer. He also didn’t want her running off half-cocked again, so he’d feel better with her behind him.
Out in the open, the rain was relentless. Thunder rumbled in the distance and the wind whistled across the lake. The dark wood seemed to close up behind them as they left it. The bullet wound in Howard’s shoulder cried out, but it was the fear in his belly that was hardest to overcome. It was only the feeling of Jessica placing a hand on his back that managed to get him moving up the hill, but once he started nearing the abbey, he knew he was heading into danger. It wasn’t his first time, but it might be his last.
5
The adrenaline that coursed through Jessica’s system when she’d first encountered Heinz was beginning to wear off, and in its place was a growing sense of dread. Howard was hurt. He wasn’t losing blood and nothing major had been hit, but she knew the pain would be enough to drop most men. Howard wasn’t most men, of course, but he was still human. He wasn’t in a fit state to take down Heinz on his own, which was why she needed to step up. Her recklessness had placed a gun in Heinz’s hand. Her gun had been used to shoot her own partner; it was negligence of the highest order.
Howard had taken point—no doubt to protect her—but he was slow and laboured. The young girl Heinz had stripped naked didn’t have time to waste. They needed to get moving, but Jessica couldn’t afford to rush off again. Last time she’d been armed and Heinz still got the jump on her. She needed to stay calm and let her brain do the thinking instead of her heart.
Modern security lamps were fixed on the abbey’s walls and green-painted aluminium benches lined the path leading up to it, but otherwise it was like stepping into the past. The harsh grey stone was the type seen only in ancient churches and ruins. Its windows were carved squares lacking glass. Its square tower looked like it could come down at any moment—yet it had stood for centuries.
“Any sign of Heinz?” whispered Jessica.
“No, it’s quiet. I don’t like it.” Howard had his gun unholstered, risen to shoulder level.
They entered the abbey’s boundaries. Parts of the old buildings were only foundations rising three feet out of the mud, but the main tower and the attached cruciform church still stood fully erect. Further on, there was a modern bridge built over a narrow stream which seemed to lead to a crop of modern glass-and-red-brick buildings.
“Wait here while I clear the church,” said Howard.
Jessica nodded. She hovered a few metres behind Howard and watched him disappeared into a rectangle of darkness. The rain hitting the old stone made a hissing sound, making her feel like her hearing was malfunctioning. She wanted to shout out for Howard, but doing so could compromise him. She had no choice but to wait.
Eventually enough time had passed that waiting no longer was an option. Jessica pulled the CS canister from her belt and took a step towards the dark rectangle, dreading what she would find inside the abbey.
“Jessica!”
She flinched and wheeled around, wondering where the voice had come from.
“Up here!”
Jessica looked up and saw Howard staring down at her from the top of the abbey’s square tower. “What are you doing up there?” she hissed.
“The church is clear, but I saw a staircase and headed up. Seemed like a good place to recon.”
“Can you see anything? Can you see Heinz, the girl?”
Howard left then reappeared a moment later. “I don’t see…wait, hold on.”
“What is it?”
“I think I see something. I’ll be right down.”
Jessica waited patiently. When Howard returned, he was huffing and puffing. Climbing fifty feet of old stone steps probably wasn’t the best idea in his condition. “You okay?”
Howard nodded. He took a second to catch his breath, clutching his chest. “I’ll be…fine. I’m just feeling a bit…out of…breath.”
Jessica didn’t say anything. Her partner needed help, but perhaps not as much as the girl they were trying to save. It was a matter of triage.
“I saw something over there,” he eventually said, pointing past her. “There are more buildings, looks like a visitor centre or something.”
“What did you see?”
“I’m not sure yet, just…something. A light.”
There was more to it, that much was obvious. Howard looked worried and it was clear he didn’t want to waste time speculating. They headed for the visitor’s centre immediately.
They crossed over the little bridge and joined a path leading away from the abbey, towards the modern buildings. The first building they came upon was a heritage museum, but Howard didn’t stop there. He continued towards a building which turned out to be a set of stables. As he’d suggested, there was a light coming from there, from inside one of the stalls. A shaft of light rose upwards and bounced off the open door.
They both took things slow. Howard had his gun at the ready and was staring hard, unblinking. Jessica had his back, her CS canister her only defence.
Howard moved up to the edge of the stall and took a ready position. He made eye-contact with Jessica and then nodded. Stepping into the doorway he thrust out his gun, then lowered it and shook his head with disgust.
Jessica stepped up beside him and looked into the stall as well, then covered her mouth. Two police officers lay inside the stall, the
ir white shirt’s stained red. The light source came from the men’s torches. One of them lay across a lifeless leg, which was what Howard had spotted from the tower.
Jessica stepped inside and flicked on her own torch. She shone it on the two dead men and examined them. The first had died from a stab wound to the temple, clear from the screwdriver handle jutting out the side of his head. Heinz must have driven it with unbelievable force to shove it all the way up to the handle. The second officer had died from a gunshot wound to the gut. Luckily the shock would have protected him from the pain until he passed on.
Howard rubbed at his forehead with the back of his free hand. “Heinz must have gotten the jump on this first guy, stabbed him in the head, then used the gun when the other officer got alerted. Probably dragged their bodies in here to cover his tracks.”
“My gun,” said Jessica. “These men are dead because of me.”
“No,” said Howard. “Heinz had the screwdriver long before he got the jump on you. The guy’s out for blood regardless of the methods he uses. Your gun didn’t convince him to kill.”
Jessica worried she was going to throw up, not because of the gory scene they were standing in—she was a doctor, she could handle it—but because of the guilt working its way into her gut. “I need to save that girl,” she said.
Howard looked at her with understanding. “Save the girl and you balance the books.”
Jessica nodded.
Squawerk!
Sergeant Young, all units report in, over.
Howard stared down at the dead police officer and didn’t move. Jessica leapt down beside the man and patted him down. She found the radio on his belt and yanked it free. She hit the talk button. “MCU Officer Bennett responding. Your officers at the abbey are KIA, Officer Hopkins is injured. Send immediate reinforcements and medical care.”
The BIG Horror Pack 2 Page 130
