Page 11 of Secret Redemption

Chapter Six

Zack gripped the Browning in his hand and signalled to Frank, who nodded that he was ready. Opening the door, he checked the hallway, which was clear, then moved out into the corridor and scanned the area, listening intently for the slightest sound. Never had an extraction meant more. In all the times he had done this, he’d never had his whole world at his back and depending on him. He dismissed the thought and concentrated on the job at hand.

They got to the stairwell with no problems. Easing open the door, Zack listened for any sound, it was silent, so he moved in slowly, his brain alert for the slightest sound. Ava moved just as silently behind him. He chanced a glance behind and saw Ava’s hand lay protectively over their son’s head.

Frank was last through the door and just as alert as Zack. They had made it halfway down the stairs when Zack heard a sound like a door slowly closing. He pushed Ava back against the wall, and put his body in front of hers as a shield, before looking over the bannister to the level below. They only had two more flights, and then they were on the ground level. He couldn’t see or hear anything suspicious, so they continued their descent.

They had just reached the ground floor when the fire alarm started ringing shrilly. Riley woke at the sound and started to cry. Zack looked at his son’s tears and vowed to rip out the throat of the person who had made him cry.

Pushing open the back fire-exit door he stayed low and kept Ava and the others back until he was sure it was safe. As he stuck his nose out, a bullet whistled past his ear and missed him by inches.

“Motherfucker,” he cursed and returned fire in the direction the bullet had come from. Pressing the button on his buddy watch, he sent out the alert for more help. If it was just him, he would have just barrelled into the fight and fought his way out. He wouldn’t risk his family though.

He quickly got a response from his team. The watch flashed up a message telling him that Daniel and Sly were two minutes away, the rest of his team not far behind. Thank fuck. He sat tight and waited. Time seemed to go backwards, never had two minutes felt so long.

Then he had the signal and heard gunfire along with the sound of sirens. Telling Ava to stay put with Frank, Zack slipped outside to join the melee. He immediately noticed two men he didn’t recognise, both were dead. Daniel was hand to hand fighting with a guy to his left. Sly had disarmed the man he was fighting and seemed to be having fun. Every time the man swung, Sly ducked, and the man missed, swinging wide. It seems Sly has found a use for hearing people’s thoughts after all.

Zack saw a man try and slink away, oh no you don’t, motherfucker, and immediately gave chase. The man turned and fired, hitting Zack in the upper arm. The stinging pain was instant. Realising Zack was hit, the man turned, perhaps foolishly thinking he could take Zack out now that he was injured. That pissed him off, and he was about to tackle the man and teach him a lesson when the man went down.

Zack stopped suddenly and turned around, wondering who had taken the shot. Looking around quickly, assessing the danger, he noticed Zin standing five hundred metres away. Zin stepped forward, and Zack stood firm, his weapon at his side as he tried to figure out what was going on. Zin had lowered his weapon and was just staring back. Zack couldn’t figure out what his game was.

Why would he kill that man and protect him?Why had he turned on his team like he had? Zack felt bitterness crawl up his throat, and the disappointment was so heavy he could taste it. They stared at each other for a beat that felt like an eternity. Zack twisted around for a split second when he heard running behind him, and when he looked back, Zin was gone. He glanced about quickly but knew he wouldn’t see him.

“Sitrep,” he barked as Daniel came towards him.

The two men walked back towards the hotel side by side as the sirens got louder. “We have four, five including that one, all dead,” Daniel said thrusting his thumb at the one they were walking away from. “All seem to be Russians from the same group that attacked Skye.

“Any of our guys hurt?” Zack demanded.

Daniel shook his head in the negative. “No, boss. Just you”

Zack stopped and looked at his arm. It was a just a scratch, it could get patched up later at home.

They rounded the corner, and Zack saw Frank cradling his son against his chest. The boy looked terrified, and Ava and her mum were fussing over him. He strode straight over to the group and was unprepared when Ava saw him, and burst into tears, flinging herself at him.

He caught her, wrapping his arms around her as she clung to him. “Oh my god, I was so scared,” she said. “When I heard the shot, I thought—”

“I’m okay,” he said softly into her hair. The feel of her in his arms felt so right, the selfish part of him wished this had happened earlier. He released her, and she stepped back towards their son who was watching them closely, as was everyone else.

“Your arm,” she accused.

He shrugged, “Lucky shot, it’s a scratch,” he said and looked at Frank. “Frank get them in my car. I don’t want them in the open.” He threw the keys to Frank who caught them easily. Luckily his car was parked in a safe spot, not a hundred feet from where they currently were. He started to follow but stopped as his team walked up to him.

“What the hell is going on?” Dane asked. “Is the kid okay?”

“My son,” Zack said with emphasis on the word son, “is fine. Just frightened.” His men were looking at him with shocked expressions on their faces. Except for Sly.

Zack looked at Sly then, and he smirked back at him.

“Motherfucker, you knew!” he accused. He stepped forward, and Sly stepped back, with his hands up.

“I only found out this afternoon when Ava walked past me, she was obviously panicking, and I heard it loud and clear.”

“I am so firing you when this is over,” Zack growled. “But we’ll save that little talk for tomorrow. I don’t want anyone gossiping about this in the meantime. We aren’t teenage girls, and we don’t talk about this shit. Understood?”

He looked at his men, and they all wore similar expressions of suppressed amusement. Assholes needed to learn some fucking respect, he thought grumpily and knew damn well that within of minutes of him leaving, he would have Lucy on the phone busting his chops over the situation.

With a disgusted look, Zack turned away and started to walk towards the car when he heard the fuckers laugh. He stopped and turned, and they immediately turned serious.

“Sort this shit out with the locals,” he shouted and then smirked as he saw their faces fall. Ha, fuck them, now who was laughing. They would be here all night.