Chapter 19
Xander
“CanI at least have a fucking gun?” Giovanni snapped, glaring at me as he stopped in his tracks.
We’d been walking down a dark corridor. It was off route to where we’d originally wanted to go, but now our new route.
I stopped too and returned the seething look he was giving me.
It was understandable as fuck why I wouldn’t trust him with any kind of weapon around me. Realistically though, he did actually need to protect himself, given what just happened.
Frowning, I pulled out a long reach knife and held it out to him. At least, if he got any bright ideas and went rogue on me I’d be able to handle him better with a knife than a gun.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he barked and glared at me.
“Take it or leave it pal, you’re the one who fucking tortured me.” I wasn’t about to just forget that, not for a second. “Want me to trust you with a gun?”
He bared his teeth like a wild animal and took the knife. He looked it over with disdain and shook his head.
Ignoring him, I started walking again and he caught up.
As we’d proceeded down the path some little lights came on. It was all very ominous and tension grew with every step I took. I’d been waiting for something more to happen and nothing had. It was ten minutes ago that we’d gotten separated from the others and three of our marines killed. Just like that.
What else was going to happen?
“It’s too quiet,” Giovanni observed.
I couldn’t even give him the cold front of silence I’d been sporting since he’d come on the scene. He was right.
“I know,” I agreed.
He stopped again and looked around. “Something’s wrong. Something doesn’t feel right. It’s like we’re going and it feels like a damn trap. They must know we’re here.”
I gazed at him. maybe the tension was screwing with my abilities. Yes I could sense that something was off and agreed that they must have known something was wrong, but I didn’t get the sensation of the trap.
“What are you thinking?” I asked him.
“This is the trap, where’s the bait? We’re in the mouth of hell, where are the demons? Even with your … whatever it was you did with the security and surveillance cameras someone would have checked out the stair well and seen the dead marines. But there’s no one looking around. Nobody checking things out.”
As he spoke it dawned on me why that could be. Why it was that nobody might be checking things out.
“They can see us,” I breathed. A jolt of panic rushed through my body.
He nodded. “I believe so and we’re heading to God knows.”
I tapped my wire to speak to Wes. “Wes are you there? Can you see what’s up ahead?”
I narrowed my eyes when there was no answer.
Giovanni widened his.
I looked at the wire clipped to my collar and checked the connection. It seemed fine.
“Wes, come in Wes. Come in.”
“EMP. They’ve sent some kind of electromagnetic pulse to fry the connection.” Giovanni growled. “I use something similar when I suspect undercover cops and feds at the Marchesi.”
“Fuck.”
