“Looking forward to it,” Ethan says, looking a wee bit too happy as he fits his Heckler & Koch in its holster. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a free for all. Makes senseyou’rerunning this circus, cousin.”
“Dinnae worry, I’m not aiming to take your job as clan assassin,” I say dryly. “But I’m glad you’re here.”
“Finder,” he corrects me irritably, “Ifindthings.”
“Aye,” I agree, “and then you kill them. Jack, take Theo and Hamish and start with the guard’s quarters and start shooting from there. Keep an eye out for our mystery arsehole who’s running this show. They’ll likely have a couple of big guys hovering around them.”
I always appreciate when I’m dealing with a load of arrogant arseholes. They canna believe anyone could be a threat to their meticulous fecking plans, and it makes it so much easier to take ‘em out.
“What are you doing here?” Captain Anderson’s standing at the control board, looking at us irritably. “I didn’t order food.”
He’s first.
The shot is clean and true, right through his head and cracking the glass behind him. Ethan’s good as always, he’s already taken out the navigator and ship’s engineer by the time I shoot the deputy captain.
“Excellent. We lock this room down so no one else can get inside and move on to the medical clinic.”
Ethan rolls one of the bodies away from the door with his foot. “Good. I’ve only used two bullets so far. Waste of an afternoon.”
“I’m sure you’ll more than make up for it.”
The sun’s already setting by the time we’ve cleared another floor. There’s a bad moment when one of the unknowing donors catches us throwing a body overboard.
“Dude, what the fuck!”
Ethan slaps his hand over the donor’s mouth, shoving him back into his cabin. “Listen very carefully. You are in danger. We are the good guys and we are here to protect you.”
“Y- you’re not pirates? Because I’ve heard-”
I step in and head-butt him, putting the unconscious man on his bed before we lock him in.
“Really? Ye thought we had time to reason with him?”
“Always the hard way with ye,” Ethan sighs. “Are we sure you’re not Uncle Lachlan’s secret love child?”
“If we had the time, I’d shoot ye for that.” My phone buzzes as we head up the crew stairway to the floor taken over by the medical clinic, squatting malevolently right in the center of the ship.
“Mason? What’s going on, ye should be moving Bella over to-”
“She’s gone.”
I can feel my heart stop. Just a stone in my chest.
Bella…
I dinnae have time to feel betrayal.
Focus, just fecking focus on the next step.
Mason’s phone chimes softly while he’s in the shower. I’m not the one to snoop on people’s phones but it could be an emergency.
It’s from Logan.
They’ve already taken Carol from her cabin. I’m heading up to the med bay with Ethan after we take out the captain.
Do NOT let Bella out of your sight. Keep her in your room, even if you have to handcuff her to the bed.
Do NOT tell her about her friend.
