by Mike Dagons
Roy had taken position as lookout, and was standing partially inside the car, holding the doors open. “Here they come!” he shouted when he saw them.
They had less than thirty feet to run to the elevator now, but it felt like a mile. “Look out behind you!” Roy shouted at them.
Matt didn’t need coaching. He dropped down and glided across the polished floor with the girl like he was trying to steal home plate.
Once again, Rayce skipped the thought process and reacted instinctively. Diving into a backward slide on her back, and emptying the Beretta, she only hit one target, but it made his buddies rethink continuing the chase for a second.
Rayce scrambled back to her feet on the run. Roy had got off the elevator and was helping Matt and Latrice get in. “Close the doors!” Rayce shouted as she jumped inside with them.
They heard the sound of automatic gunfire as the doors slid closed. Mr. Joshua had already entered his pass code, so the elevator immediately started its descent.
Everybody started cheering and slapping her and Matt on their backs, sharing congratulations all around. Matt couldn’t have been a day over seventeen, but he had handled himself like a man, and proved that he was no coward, not that anybody thought he needed to redeem himself.
He was still cradling Latrice in his arms, and it was easy to see that she was more than a friend to him. Rayce wondered if Tyler knew they were in an interracial relationship.
“Thank you, Matt,” she cried into his neck.
“You’re welcome,” he whispered.
“She’s going to need medical attention,” Rayce whispered to Mr. Joshua.
She had taken a pretty bad beating, and her maid uniform had been ripped down the front. It was pretty obvious that she’d been raped. Rayce figured the only reason she was still alive was because they weren’t finished with her.
“Doc Johnson was at the party. Hopefully, he’s already inside the safe room,” he whispered back. “It’s stocked with medical supplies.”
When the elevator stopped, Rayce moved in front of the doors. She was holding her Beretta by the muzzle like a club. When the doors opened, she peeped out to make sure it was clear, and then she stepped out and allowed everybody to rush down the short hallway ahead of her.
The steel door slid opened before they reached it, and she figured a man as security conscious as Tyler Basin probably knew they were coming before they stepped off the elevator.
They all rushed inside the safe room with her bringing up the rear. The door closed behind her, and immediately a gun was pressed to her head.
Chapter 37
Choc and D’Agon were crouching down behind the cars parked in front of the barn. They had put a lot of men to rest, but they were running out of ammo and there were still more than a few of the bad guys left standing.
Luckily, they had been able to put the fear of God in them, so they were reluctant about rushing them. But once they stopped returning fire that would all change.
“We can hotwire a car and try driving through the back wall in the barn. I’ll hold them down while you get the kids out of here,” Choc suggested.
“No way, man,” D’Agon replied. “We leave together, or we don’t leave at all.”
“We keep underestimating you kids, don’t we?”
“Yeah, you do. Now, you need to cut that shit out!” he grinned.
“Okay, we need a plan, because the muthafuckas are going to break through our little barricade eventually,” Choc said.
“We could call for help. The fellas could be here in ten minutes,” D’Agon said.
“I don’t want to do that unless we have no other choice.” Choc replied.
“So, you still believe we have other choices, do you?”
“Keep hope alive,” Choc grinned. “How much ammo you got?”
“Half a clip, and for the record, I think Basin was real smart to only allow everybody to bring one extra clip. Arrogant muthafucka,” he scoffed. “How much ammo you got?”
“About the same,” Choc suppressed a laugh. For some reason seeing D’Agon pissed was funny.
“Then we’re going to need to make every shot count,” D’Agon said. “Ready when you are.”
“Hit it!” Choc shouted, and they popped up from behind the car, and fired a few shots.
Choc caught a man in his periphery easing up behind them. He already had D’Agon sighted, and there was no time to warn him. Choc leaped over on D’Agon, putting himself in the line of fire and catching the bullet in his shoulder that was meant for D’Agon’s back. The impact spun him around, and his Glock flew out of his hand.
D’Agon killed the shooter before he could get off another shot, and then he scooped Choc up, and dragged him back inside the barn. He sat him down on the floor near the Bentley the kids were hiding under.
“Well, we right back where we started,” Choc grimaced.
“How bad is it?” D’Agon looked worried.
Choc leaned back against the front tire, and inspected his gunshot. “I’ll live, it’s a through and through, but I lost my Beauty.” D’Agon helped him take off his shirt, and wrap his shoulder with it.
“Y’all need some help?” one of the boys Choc had charged with helping the girl rolled out from under the car.
The kid was big, at least six three, and weighing around two ninety maybe, but still a kid. “What’s your name, kid?”
“Lucky Callahan, I’m Stevie’s older brother,” he spoke with a southern drawl.
“How much older?” Choc asked.
“A year, he’s going on seventeen. I’m going on eighteen.”
“You’re too young to get in this,” Choc said. “I want you to stay hid.”
“Mister, they trying to kill me and mine, so I’m already in it. And I’m old as him,” he pointed at D’Agon. “You letting him help you.”
“I am thirty, and I’m well trained!” D’Agon huffed.
“You look seventeen, and how well you trained is a matter of opinion,” Lucky shot back.
The kid’s competitive nature made Choc laugh. “Dial back the testosterone, Lucky. If you’re going to help, I need you working with Scott, not against him, okay.”
“Yes sir,” he answered respectfully.
“Scott? You want to give the kid a chance? We could use the help.”
“Yeah, if he can do anything but talk,” D’Agon growled.
“Can you, kid?” Choc asked.
“Yes sir, I can.”
The new noises right outside the door alerted them. Lucky pulled a pitchfork out a bale of hay, and moved behind the door.
“They’re coming in,” Choc whispered, and then he pushed himself up off the ground. “Strike back,” he told D’Agon even though he knew he didn’t have to. Behind that baby face was a professional killer, and he was going to operate like one.
The door flew open, and the man who came through it first got speared in his gut. He dropped his weapon, and Lucky scooped it up, and pitched it to D’Agon.
While Lucky was snatching the fork out the downed man’s stomach, three more men plowed through the door. He twirled fork around and used the wooden handle like a bat, swinging and connecting with a skull crushing blow.
D’Agon shot the other two, but they had friends, who rushed in firing on automatic.
Choc moved instinctively, sailing over the hood of the Bentley, and diving into them. D’Agon was there before they hit the ground. He dropped a knee into one man’s chest, and Choc rolled away with the other.
The loud sound of automatic gunfire erupted outside the door, and two more men rushed in. Lucky, intercepted one of them, and the other rushed to aid his buddy who was fighting D’Agon.
Lucky lifted the man up off the ground, and then body slammed him on the floor. Just do it! Jeff Basin’s voice popped into his head, and he stomped a foot down on the man’s throat, crushing his windpipe.
Choc wrestled with the man on the ground, rolling until he was on top, and then he started poundin
g him.
The man fastened his hand on Choc’s injured shoulder like a claw, driving his thumb into the bullet hole. Choc howled when screaming pain traveled down his left arm, making it tremble uncontrollably like he was having a seizure. A hard lick to the side of his face knocked him off his assailant. He fell over onto his side, and then tried to crawl up onto his knees. A hard kick to his ribs sent him sprawling over onto his back, and he lay there, weak and defenseless. What happened next, happened fast, and before Choc could clear his head, the shiny Glock was in his face.
D’Agon was caught up in his own fight and didn’t notice Choc was in trouble. He put the man he was scuffling with in a forward headlock, and with his forearm securely clamped under his chin, he ran up the barn wall, and then shoved himself off it with a flying kick that caught another charging man on his chin. He broke one man’s neck, and sent the other sailing backwards to the floor. Lucky was right there, coming down in the fallen man’s chest with the pitchfork.
Without a second thought, the man holding the Glock in Choc’s face pulled the trigger. Choc smiled when the weapon only made a loud clicking noise. He pulled the trigger again, and again, and when it failed to shoot, Choc kicked out, knocking his legs out from under him. He came down hard, and Choc slammed an elbow into his chest, clamped a hand on his wrist and relieved him of Beauty, and put the barrel to his head.
“Hold it!” Ceylon’s voice echoed.
Choc looked up and saw him standing there with a HK aimed at them both. “I’d like to ask him a few questions, Mr. Segal, if you don’t mind.”
Choc shrugged, and then lowered the Glock. He was too tired, and in too much pain to argue. Ceylon snatched the man up off the ground, and Choc stretched out on his back and closed his eyes to rest.
“Good job, kid,” D’Agon said, and offered Lucky his hand.
The kid took it. “Thanks,” he beamed proudly.
“Where you learn how to fight, Lucky?” he asked.
“Jeff Basin has been training me, so I can join Mr. Basin’s security team after I graduate high school next summer.”
“What about college? Don’t you want to go?”
“My brother, Stevie, got the smarts in the family. I’m going to work so I can send him.”
“What your parent’s say about that?”
“We just got my mom, and she got sick last year, and can’t work no more. She used to work at the factory, so she still got health insurance, but the disability checks ain’t much. Mr. Basin makes sure we get to work the parties every summer, so we can handle the mortgage on the house.”
D’Agon nodded with a smile. “You’re a good man,” he slapped him on his back.
Ceylon flex tied the man’s hands behind his back, and then he shoved him to one of his men.
“Thanks for your help,” he helped Choc up off the ground. “A medical team will be in here in a few minutes. They’ll fix up your arm.”
“Thanks, I’d appreciated it. My girl, do you know if she’s alright?”
“Yeah, they made it to the elevator to the safe room. Severe is alright too, in case your wondering. She met up with some of your friends in the woods.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Choc’s hand tightened on the grip of the Glock, and Ceylon noticed.
“That Glock you’re petting misfired a minute ago,” he said, and Choc understood it was a warning.
Keeping the barrel pointed at the ground, Choc pulled the trigger. Immediately, three 9mm rounds shot from the muzzle, and kicked up plugs of dirt at his feet. “Only a fool relies on luck in our business,” he answered coldly. “It never jams in my hand.”
“Noted,” Ceylon smiled, and then turned and walked away.
D’Agon came over and sat down on the Bentley beside Choc, and Lucky went with the kids.
“We made it through the war,” D’Agon sighed. “You think Severe is okay?”
“Mr. Battle says she met up with OUR friends in the woods. I don’t know what the fuck that means for us, but I think we should get Rayce and get out of here as soon as we can.”
Chapter 38
“Is she with you, Joshua?” Tyler asked.
“Yes sir, this is Avenia. She helped us make it down here. Her friends are out there risking their lives to save the valet children.”
It was easy to see why his staff was so loyal to him. He hadn’t hesitated to let them in even though he didn’t know if she was helping them or holding them hostage to force him to open the door.
“Thank you for your help,” he holstered his gun. “I hope you understand the need for caution,” he said.
“Sure thing,” she smiled.
“I owe you and your friends a debt of gratitude, Avenia. If there is ever anything I can do for you, call me.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Mr. Basin.”
“I owe you the lives of these people who happen to be very dear to me. Call me and collect anytime you want.”
“Yes sir, thank you.” The man thought he was God, so she decided not to argue.
“We might be here for a while. Please, make yourself comfortable. There are cold drinks in the canteen refrigerator,” he said, and then pulled Mr. Joshua to the side for a quiet talk. Shirley Basin got up and assisted Matt with Latrice. A man she guessed was the doctor followed them into a separate room.
Rayce looked around the room, which looked more like an expansive bi-level club rather than a subbasement safe room. There had to be at least forty people in the room, and it was easily big enough to hold another forty comfortably.
The walls were stone, and the floors were marble trimmed in bleached oak. Indoor waterfall fountains strategically placed throughout the room, generous recessed lighting, and daylight bulbs made it easy for her to forget she was in a windowless basement. Everyone was relaxed and seemed right at home. Some people were lounging on sofas. Others were sitting and socializing. There were bar tables in the center of the room, and on the mezzanine level. Some of the people sitting up there were playing cards and board games.
Rayce strolled through the room slowly, casually observing the party guests. She didn’t see any other auction guests, and figured she was the only one who had been invited inside. It made her stand out, and she actually felt a little out of place.
The canteen located in the far corner caught her eye. She was thinking about going over to see what kind of cold drinks were in the refrigerator, like Mr. Basin had suggested, when she got an eerie feeling she was being watch.
She looked around and her eyes met his. “Please, join me.” He stood up and offered her a chair.
“Thank you,” she said, and then sat down at the table with him.
“Can I get you something to drink? We probably have anything you want.”
“You got a cold beer?”
“Domestic or import?” he asked.
“Domestic,” she replied.
She watched him walk over to the industrial size fridge. He was tall, dark brown, and very, very, handsome. He wore his hair cropped low, and sported a neatly trimmed goatee that made him look pimpin’.
He strolled back across the room to the table and put the unopened beer bottle down in front of her before he sat back down. “I’m Jeffrey Basin,” he extended his hand to shake.
“Avenia Hall, nice to meet you,” she accepted it.
He was the youngest brother, and the only child Basin had with Shirley. Mark was the enforcer. Steven had been their numbers cruncher, the trusted accountant, but all of the family’s income and distribution went through Jeffrey. He controlled the bank, and he was groomed to be the next in line to rule the Basin Empire.
Jeffrey was a gifted computer analyst and financier, but he was also a well trained assassin, like his brother Mark. Unlike his brothers, Jeffrey Basin kept a low profile. Very little was known about him, and he was seldom seen out and about.
“This is a nice safe room,” Rayce said.
“You’re only looking at a small portion of
it. This is the lounging area. Medical is over near the entrance. There are privacy rooms with private baths, cubicle sleeping quarters, and communal baths through the door on the right side of the snack bar. The door on the other side leads to the cafeteria and the kitchen.”
“There’s a real kitchen down here?”
“Yes, it’s behind the cafeteria, through that door.” He pointed to the double steel doors behind the canteen.
“You’re lying,” she chuckled. “So the canteen is not the only place to get food?”
“No, it’s the snack bar, and now that Mr. Sherman is down here, the cafeteria will probably be opened for breakfast,” he chuckled. “My father enjoys comfort even when he’s under duress.”
“I’m impressed,” she laughed.
“I’m impressed by what you did, Rayce. Risking your life to save a bunch of people you barely know is not what I expected from a playboy’s bodyguard. It’s not what I expected from a playboy either,” he added with a smirk.
“So what you trying to say, Jeff?” she cocked an eyebrow.
“You’re not from around here,” he joked, and made her laugh.
“You’re awfully laid back to be in the middle of a crisis,” she observed.
Jeffrey leaned back and relaxed in his seat. “It’s not always this much excitement at our parties, so I’m not laid back. I’m in awe.” he smiled mischievously.
Rayce turned in her chair so she could look directly at him. He was more like his father than his brothers, and not just his looks. He had the same cool and confident attitude, and he was very charming.
“So you’re really a bodyguard, huh?”
“And you’re the boy wonder. Just because I’m not from around here don’t mean I ain’t heard of you,” she held his gaze until he cracked an amused smile.
“You know that I thought you, William Segal, and Scott Pearson were video game characters until you walked in here. Avenia Hall in the video game even dresses like you.”
Jeff Basin was good, but Bender was better. “The video game was designed after the real life Segal. What can I say? My boss has a big ego, and he likes playing with himself.”
