I elbow the fucker in the face and manage to create enough room between us to kick him back so I can shoot him.His body goes slack and crumbles to the floor.Scanning the rest of the room I make sure it’s empty before I step back out.
“Clear,” Jocko rumbles and I give him a nod.
Jerking in the direction of the basement, I grunt, “Going down.”
“I got your back,” Jocko states while Midas and Elric continue down the hallway.
This is the place I recognize from the security camera, where Lu killed Gideon.I keep aiming my gun as I move toward the room.The door is open and when I glance inside there’s a load of blood on the floor.
I signal to Jocko and he nods, seeing the bloody footprint trail.We follow and it leads to the back, up the stairs, and into another room.The sound of a shower catches my attention and I glance back at Jocko.
“Check the bathroom, I got your back,” he whispers.
Moving without a sound, I place my back against the wall and quickly take a glance inside.Steam is filling up the bathroom, but the space looks empty.I glance back at Jocko and give a little shake.
He moves his gun up and down as if to signal to move forward.The door connecting to another room catches my attention and I walk toward it.Keeping aim, I grab the handle and open it while pointing my gun forward.The room is dark and yet again it looks empty.Movement to my right swings my gun in that direction and I instantly recognize Lu.
“Did you find Gideon?”I whisper.
She gives a tiny shake with her head.“Only three security guys.”
“Fuck,” Jocko grumbles.“Come on, we need to go through a few more rooms.The others haven’t given the all clear either.Those fuckers must still be here.”
“Shower’s running,” I tell her.“Blood in the basement room.They must have been busy when we entered.They couldn’t have left otherwise Lenz would have mentioned it.”
“Let’s sweep the room one more time and find the others,” Lu suggests.
I nod and step in the direction of the closet.Glancing over my shoulder, Jocko looks ready and I nod before opening the door.Nothing.We do it two more times with the other closets and then move toward the door.A small rustle draws my attention and it’s then I notice a shadow in the bathroom behind the curtain.
Aiming my gun in that direction also triggers Jocko, who I’ve worked with for years.Maybe not for the government, but we’ve done a lot of shit together with our brothers.I step inside the bathroom and squeeze the trigger when the shadow becomes an arm with a weapon.
A grunt rips from the shadow, as the body takes down the shower curtain along with him.The blood mixes with the water and I lean forward to turn it off.
“It’s the old fucker, Dudley, he’s dead,” Jocko remarks.
“10-4,” Lenz grunts through our earpiece.
We stroll out and find Lu who is keeping an eye on both sides of the hallway.
“All good?”I whisper.
She shrugs and doesn’t even look at me when she whispers, “I don’t know.I thought I heard something.”
Jocko snorts from beside me.“Yeah, VP here killed Dudley.”
Lu glares at us and I see the shift in her eyes right before she swings her arm up to throw one of her throwing stars.It seems as if it’s going right for my head.The murderous look on Lu’s face catches me off guard.
It’s only a fragment of a second while time seems to go so fucking slow as I catch Jocko’s reaction from the corner of my eye.I can see his determination while my brain is still processing Lu’s reaction.Even if she threw the star directly at my head.My dying thoughts would still trust her unconditionally.
And it’s why I shove Jocko’s arm to mess with his aim as he fires a bullet at my old lady.
