by Zoey Parker
I kept peering at the compound through the binoculars and trying to find a weakness to exploit. Nic had sent two signals so far to tell me he was alive and hadn't been captured, but I knew that could change any second. I could feel the Reapers behind me shifting restlessly. I shared their nervous energy, but as always, I couldn't let myself show it for fear of spooking them.
Come on, Bard. Every problem has a solution. This one is no exception. So take five guards positioned roughly forty feet apart from each other, add a seemingly-impenetrable bunker, and solve for X.
Suddenly, I spotted something on the ground between the outer wall and the bunker. At first glance, it looked like it might have been a flower. But there was something about its angle that made it seem stiff and unnatural.
I focused on it and saw that it was a tiny orange flag on a metal rod.
I turned and pointed at Boomer, gesturing for him to come over. He crawled up next to me and I handed him the binoculars, pointing out the flag. “Is that what I think it is?”
Boomer squinted for a moment and nodded. “If you think it's one of them flags the gas company uses to mark active lines so assholes don't dig into 'em, then yeah, it sure is.”
“If we could get down there, do you think you could tamper with it so gas would leak inside of the bunker?” I asked.
“You mean without those guards blasting us to confetti before we make it halfway down this hill?”
I smiled. “Yes, within that hypothetical. Could you do it?”
Boomer pursed his lips, thinking it over. “It'd be a bitch. I couldn't do anything to the line where it's flagged. That'd just make it leak outside. I'd have to follow it to where it connects with the wall and try to breach it there so it would funnel into the bunker. But if you're asking if it's impossible, then no, technically it ain't.”
“I'll take an improbable plan over nothing any day,” I said. This was the most important mission of my life and if the only way to make it work was a Hail Mary play, so be it.
“But you still haven't said what you're gonna do about the guards,” Boomer insisted. “If we try to rush 'em, the guys inside will hear the gunshots. Ditto if you use the Pig.”
“I know,” I replied. “When you were in Iraq, did you ever do any sharpshooting, Captain?”
I could see how surprised he was to be addressed by his former rank again. He smiled, nodding slowly. “Once or twice, Lieutenant Colonel, sir.”
“Were you any good at it?”
“Not to brag, but I once shot the eye out of a camel at 700 meters,” Boomer answered.
“I'm happy for you, but not for the camel,” I chuckled. “There are a couple of silenced pistols back in the duffel bag that Ditch is carrying. Grab one for yourself and another for me. Get your tool kit, too.”
Boomer nodded and scuttled down the back of the hill. He came up again three minutes later with the heavy tool kit and the handguns. The cylindrical black silencers nearly doubled the lengths of their barrels. I took one and peered down the sight at the guards.
My phone buzzed and I checked it. A third set of dashes from Nic. I returned them, relieved.
“We're going to have to time this perfectly so none of them have time to return fire,” I told Boomer. “You take the two on the right and I'll take the three on the left. The first drops on the count of one, the second on the count of two, and I'll drop the last one on three. Head shots only. Understood?”
“Yes indeedy,” Boomer replied. He already had his first target sighted.
“Good.” I zeroed in on my first guard. “Ready...and...one.”
Our shots were in perfect unison. The suppressors reduced the noise to the light thud of a door shutting. A hole appeared between the eyes of the first guard. My aim was already moving to the second guard just as he turned and saw the first one drop to the ground.
“Two,” I said.
There was a half-second delay between our shots this time as Boomer took a moment to find his target. My bullet hit the second guard in the back of his head. My aim fell on the third guard as he watched the second die, then looked in our direction. Even through the ski mask, I could see his horrified expression.
“Three,” I said.
I squeezed the trigger just as the third guard stumbled backward. My bullet hit him low in the chest and he hit the ground, raising his automatic rifle at us. I rushed to aim for his head again, but I knew there was no way I could hit him before he pulled the trigger and alerted the others.
Well, that's it, Bard. Pardon me for swearing, but you've just royally shit the bed and failed Nic, Growler, and all the other Reapers who depended on you. The most important shot you ever took and you couldn't even put the bullet where it needed to go.
Before I could shoot, I heard another silenced shot next to me and saw the top of the third guard's head come off in a red mist.
Boomer winked at me. “Guess I forgot which one of us was supposed to shoot the last guy. Stupid of me, right?”
I sighed with relief and clapped Boomer on the shoulder. “Good shooting, Captain. You keep this up, and you might just have a bright future in the armed forces someday.”
Boomer gave a mock salute. “Yes, sir. Kiss my ass, sir.”
“Okay, let's get down there. You funnel the gas leak and I'll watch your back in case anyone comes out.” I turned to the other Reapers. “The rest of you, cover us in case we need to head back here in a hurry. And get the surprise set up. We might need it.”
As I ran down the hill with Boomer, I checked my phone. There were no new texts from Nic.
I prayed that we weren't already too late.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Nic
As I tried to find my way through the maze of concrete hallways, I sent a third text to Bard to let him know I was safe. I got his response a moment later.
I peered into every room I saw to make sure Lauren wasn't in them. A bunch of rooms were filled with Bonaccorso soldiers, most of them wearing ski masks. Some of them were playing cards, while others read newspapers, paced around, or fidgeted with their guns. Most of the rooms were dead quiet. A couple of the Bonaccorsos waved and I waved back, but no one tried to make conversation.
They must be pretty nervous, I thought. That, or Eddie wasn't very popular.
I noticed that the hallways mostly stayed empty. I'd seen three guys leave their rooms so far, but each of them just headed to the nearest bathroom. It looked like a lot of them weren't freely entering and leaving the bunker regularly, and I hoped that meant it would take a while for them to notice Tommy's dead body up near the entrance.
I checked my phone again and saw another text from Bard. “Guards outside dead. Working on causing gas leak. Will let you know.”
I texted back. “Good plan. Good luck.”
I just hope I figure out a way to find Lauren and get her out of here safely before one of these morons lights a cigarette, I thought.
I heard a harsh voice down the hall. “Hey! Asshole!”
Fuck. So much for not being recognized. I turned around.
A short, balding Bonaccorso in wide suspenders marched toward me, jabbing a finger at me angrily. “What the fuck, Eddie? You heard what Big G said about tonight. No fuckin' around on cell phones! We probably got a million goddamn bikers ridin' out here tonight an' the boss wants us focused, not textin' dick pics to bimbos an' playin' stupid games!”
“I'm sorry,” I stammered.
“Don't give me sorry, just give me the fuckin' phone,” he ordered, holding out his hand.
“You're takin' my phone? Seriously?” I asked. If he looks at my texts, I'm fucked. If I don't give him the phone, I'm fucked. If I try to attack him and he screams for help, I'm fucked. Basically, no matter how you look at it...
“Yeah, seriously!” he insisted. “You're not even supposed to have it with you tonight. Now give it here!”
Of all the bad options at that moment, I knew the worst would be to hesitate and make him suspicious. I shrugged
and handed my phone over. “Okay, just be careful with it, huh?” I asked, trying to sound plaintive. “I just got it.”
“Yeah, I'll wipe my ass on it, how's that?” he grunted, shoving the phone in his back pocket without looking at it. “Now go find somethin' useful to do.”
I watched him go and sighed with relief. Jesus, I'm not even forty and the way this is going, I'll probably have a goddamn heart attack before the night's over.
Still, now I couldn't let Bard know I was alive and he couldn't let me know when the gas leak started.
I walked to the end of the hall and pushed open a door to look into a room. It was too dark to see and I groped for a switch, turning the light on.
Lauren was sitting with her back to the door. She was duct-taped to a metal chair. Just seeing her alive and in one piece made me happier than I'd ever been.
I walked in, closing the door behind me. Lauren started to struggle against the chair, begging. “Please, don't hurt me! Just leave me alone and don't do anything to me, please!”
“Shhhh,” I said, walked around to the front of the chair. I crouched down in front of her and took off the ski mask. “I wouldn't hurt you, baby.”
Her face filled with relief. “Nic! Oh, thank God! They said they were going to...”
“Yeah, well, it's a good thing they didn't,” I said. I pulled out my pocket knife and sawed through the tape until it was loose enough for me to pull her out of the chair. “Now let's get you the hell out of here.”
We started toward the door, but before I could turn the handle, it opened. Giovanni's massive body blocked the frame as he sneered at us, pointing a gun. An older woman in black stood behind him, along with two masked Bonaccorsos holding assault rifles.
“There. You see, Marie?” Giovanni asked the woman. “I told you that vendetta would be satisfied, and at last, here we are. Drop your gun and the pocket knife please, Nic, or we'll have to kill you both.”
I let my knife and Eddie's rifle fall to the ground.
Giovanni turned to his two bodyguards. “Rocco, you stay here and frisk him for other weapons. Al, go find Philly and Bam-Bam and tell them to get their crews outside. I doubt this stronzo came alone, even though it would have been the honorable thing to do.” Al nodded and headed down the hall.
Giovanni and Marie stepped into the room. Rocco closed the door behind them and body-slammed me against the stone wall, running his hands over my clothes. He was extremely broad-shouldered and his hands felt like iron. I could see why Giovanni had chosen him to stay. If I tried to out-fight this guy, I'd lose.
Rocco found the .38 in my pocket and yanked it away.
“Honorable?” I spat. I hoped I could stall him long enough to come up with a way out of this. “You torture a man for no reason and kidnap an innocent woman and you talk to me about honor? Where do you get your balls?”
“I buy them wholesale,” Giovanni chortled, “because men like you spend so much time breaking them. But no matter. It all ends tonight. You will die for what you did to Marie's husband and then the rest of the greasers you ride with will be exterminated for going to war with me. I'll find some new gang of biker trash to supply street drugs and do my dirty work when I need them to, and life will go on as though none of you ever existed.”
“Giovanni, listen to me,” I said. “This all started from a stupid mistake. You know that. Vole said the wrong thing, one of our guys overreacted, and it led to something tragic. We all feel terrible about it. But look where the fuck it's led us. All this blood, and for what? You're the most powerful boss in Chicago and you're hiding in the mountains like some kind of goddamn nut. You think this will make other bosses respect and fear you? No. It'll make them think you're a fucking whack-job who's lost all control. The only way to show them you're still someone they can deal with is by showing them you can be reasonable and make peace when you know that a war has gone too far.”
“Yes, and if a fly could talk before it was swatted, it would probably give me a list of reasons not to kill it,” Giovanni replied dismissively. “You still think there's any way I will let you leave this place alive, and you call me crazy. The only peace you'll find will come after you've been taped to this chair and torn apart until you're dead.”
“Fine,” I said. “You want me? Here I am. Let's do it. But now that you have me, you let Lauren go.”
“No, Nic! You can't let them do that to you!” Lauren cried.
“This woman isn't going anywhere,” Giovanni said. “In fact, she's going to be the very first piece we cut off you. We're going to stab her through the stomach to kill your child and make you watch helplessly while they both bleed out on the floor just a few feet away from you.”
“But you said you'd let me and my baby live!” Lauren sobbed. “You promised!”
“What good is a promise when it's made to a puttana?” Giovanni asked. He grabbed Lauren's arms and Rocco seized my shoulders, forcing me down into the chair.
Marie picked up my knife and walked toward Lauren, baring her teeth at me in a demonic grin.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Bard
As Boomer and I ran up the hill, I texted Nic. “Gas leak worked. Get out ASAP.” I waited several seconds, but there was no answer.
I felt a moment of panic and fought to control it. Either Nic is alive and fine but he can't respond or he's captured or he's dead. Whichever one it is, I thought, you can't change it from up here on this hill. You can only do your part and trust him to do his.
As soon as we made it to the top and hunkered down with the other Reapers, I heard loud voices and saw an army of Bonaccorsos coming around the sides of the bunker with their rifles ready. I felt the Reapers' fingers tightening on their triggers.
“Steady,” I murmured. “Let them all think it's safe to come out.”
The Bonaccorsos kept coming until it looked like they numbered thirty in all.
“Steady,” I said again. “Let them get confused. Let them cluster in.”
Sure enough, the Bonaccorsos stopped looking into the darkness around them and started looking at each other, speculating out loud about where we were. I saw one of them glance in our direction and start pointing, alerting the others. They raised their guns.
“Now,” I said, squeezing the trigger on the M60. Around me, the other Reapers opened fire. Bullets rained down on the crowd of enforcers. The ones in front dropped in their tracks while the rest scattered, ducking for cover or firing back wildly.
I kept the Pig aimed squarely at the center of the group. “Work the flanks!” Boomer shouted to the others above the gunfire. “Keep driving them back to the middle!”
About a dozen of the gangsters made it to the outer walls of the bunker. The thick concrete protected them, but most of them were too scared to break cover and shoot back. The few who did revealed their positions and got another barrage.
The rest of the Bonaccorsos died in the dirt as the 7.62 millimeter rounds blasted off their limbs.
Giovanni thought he knew about war, but tonight he'd learn what it really looked like.
I paused to check my phone again as the other Reapers kept firing. Still no text.
Come on, Nic. Get out of there.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Lauren
Gunshots were thundering outside and I could hear people screaming.
“Sounds like World War Three out there,” Giovanni said mildly, as though he were commenting on the weather. “At this rate, your Reapers should all be shot to pieces in the next two or three minutes. Marie, I hope it won't affect your concentration?”
Marie shook her head, raising the blade.
I saw the knife coming toward my belly and shrieked. I felt my insides melting with fright as I pictured the blade going into my body and stabbing the child inside of me, over and over again. I felt Giovanni's hot breath on my neck and his crotch stiffening against my buttocks.
Oh my God. He's going to stand here and hold me while this bitch cuts me open and ki
lls my baby and it's making him hard, this fucking monster. I'm going to die feeling his dick pressing against me while Nic watches. Oh fuck, I'm going to be sick...
I felt a hot flush and opened my mouth, vomiting all over Marie.
Marie pressed her lips together and whimpered. She put the knife down on the table and picked up a napkin, wiping off her face. Giovanni cursed in Italian and for one strange moment, it almost seemed like he was about to let go of my arms in disgust. Instead he held me farther away from him.
At least I don't have to feel him up against me anymore.
“Now I'll have to get this suit cleaned,” Giovanni said.
