Chapter 1
THWACK!
Glenn almost missed the sound with the early evening music blaring out from the bars along the boardwalk. Heading towards the man who was his mate with Smokey and Ghost tagging along, his thoughts were focused on finding his buddy’s student. When the familiar sound finally registered, his body immediately went into high alert, his tiger clawing to be let loose.
THWACK! THWACK!
Swiveling his head, Glenn caught the impact of the two bullets hitting the wooden pole next to him.Fuckinghell! Grabbing the arms of his friends, he dove down into the shadows, pulling Smokey and Ghost with him.
“What the fuck?” growled Smokey, spitting out sand after landing face first on the beach.
“Shut up!” demanded Glenn, peering into the darkness, trying to locate the shooter.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
“Someone’s shooting at us!” muttered Ghost as a shower of wood splinters rained down on them.
“No shit!” Unable to see anything from his location, Glenn crawled on his belly over to the small alley between two buildings. Without looking behind, he knew his buddies would follow, trusting him to lead them to safety. Once out of the line of fire, Glenn sat up, leaning against the side of one building. “Anyone hit?”
“Son-of-a-bitch!” Looking down at his jeans, Smokey growled.
“What? Did he get you?” Glenn asked, quickly searching his friend for a wound.
“No, but look at my jeans…fucking dirty as all hell. Now I’ll have to do laundry three days earlier than I planned,” muttered Smokey, trying to brush off the dusty sand.
“Some fucker was shooting at us and you’re complaining about doing laundry?” Ghost snorted.
“He wasn’t shootin’ at me!” claimed Smokey. “My money’s on Snow White.”
“Why would he be shooting at him and not you?” asked Ghost.
“Will both of you ladies shut the fuck up?” growled Glenn. Looking around, he weighed their options for getting out of the blind alley. Finally spying a fire escape ladder that ran up the side of the two-story building, his eyes followed it up to the roof. Once satisfied he’d found a way out, he glanced back at his friends. “Did either of you see the shooter?”
“Nope…I only saw where the bullets landed,” Ghost replied. “If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it was from a boat.”
“A fucking boat?” Smokey murmured. “That makes sense since he missed us…either that or he’s a newbie.”
“So you’re agreeing you are his target,” smirked Ghost.
“Stop twisting my shit, asshole. All I’m saying is if the shooter was a pro, one or more of us wouldn’t be sittin’ here,” Smokey growled.
Ignoring his buddies, Glenn slid down and belly crawled to the edge of the alley, raising his head slightly to searchfor a boat and whoever was using them for target practice.
THWACK! THWACK! THUD!
Sand flew up in his face, blinding Glenn suddenly. Scrabbling backwards, he sought shelter once again in the alley. “Son-of-a-fucking-bitch!” Blinking quickly, he tried to get rid of the sand grit in his eyes when a bullet hit the ground in front of him. Finally clearing his eyes, he glanced over at Smokey and Ghost. “Well, that answered that question. The only way out is up.”
“Did you see anything?” asked Ghost.
“You mean before nearly getting one between the eyes?” growled Glenn. “The answer is no. Let’s go. We won’t get any answers sitting here.” Rising, he kept his back against the building as he slowly walked over to the ladder. “I’ll go first. Wait for my signal that it’s safe to follow.” Grabbing the first rung, Glenn hoisted himself up, keeping himself pressed tight to it. Climbing slowly, he paused when he reached the top before peaking over the wall. Smiling grimly at the false front rising from the front of the building, he clambered over onto the roof, staying low. “Smokey, you’re next. Ghost, wait until he’s up here,” hissed Glenn.
“Aye, aye, captain,” Smokey muttered, reaching up and grasping the second ladder rung. “Shit, by the time this night is over, I’m gonna need a bath.” Pulling his body up, he knew there wasn’t any way to keep the rust and grime from grinding into his clothes. Finally, stepping onto the roof, he took a good look in the dim light at his filthy jeans and t-shirt. “Fuck!”
“Oh stop your bellyaching!” Ghost growled, climbing the fire escape. “When the hell did you ever care about beingclean?” Joining them on the roof, he looked at Glenn. “Now what, Snow White?”
Pointing to the side third story window on the building next door, Glenn said, “Through there.” Remaining in the shadows, he moved over to it, smiling when he saw it was open several inches. Grabbing the frame, he slowly eased it up, trying to mitigate any squeaking that might alert a person inside. When it was finally up halfway, Glenn hauled himself up and over the window sill, quietly landing on the floor. Looking at the bed against the far wall, he could see the outline of a body under the covers but saw no movement.
Standing, Glenn leaned out of the window, holding his finger to his lips. Gesturing for Ghost to approach the window, he held out his hand, grasping his buddy’s arm and pulling him in before returning to help Smokey. Once all were inside, Glenn headed for the door opposite the window, relieved to find the floor didn’t make a sound. Giving one last look at the sleeping person, he carefully opened the door, slipping through it and finding himself in a hallway.
