Page 7
As he turns his back to us I wonder if he's brave or stupid.
Jac and I glance at each other, our eyes communicating a question.
Who the fuck are these guys?
Every shipment, it's the same men.
The third guy—who's been standing quietly and out of the way—walks over to the padlock keeping the cargo container locked. He twists a small key into the lock. It glints as it snaps open. He moves away, opening his arm towards it in a gesture of handing it over to us.
“Well, there it is,” Baldy snaps through the silence.
“Move the fuck out of the way,” I demand, which makes him laugh in response.
“Your men weren’t available tonight, so they sent us,” he smiles widely.
“Is something fucking funny?” Jac grills, pulling his gun out of his pocket and pointing it at Baldy.
“Woah, man.” Beanie Hat throws his hands up. “It’s the truth,” he placates in the same accent. “Put the gun down.”
Telling Jac to put his gun away is like trying to tell an addict to quit.
“Move,” Jac warns.
They all glance at each other before slowly backing away from the container.
Jac walks backwards behind me as we move towards the container, watching them closely with his gun pointed at them.
I unlatch the heavy, gold-plated steel, and the container doors groan open. The streetlamp glow doesn't reach inside, so I pull out my burner phone, turning on the flashlight and shining it into the container.
Empty.
I turn, gun pulled out of my jacket and pointed at the smug-looking men. “It’s fucking empty.”
The first gunshot rings out from Jac’s gun, the sound ricocheting around us.
More armed enemies emerge from the other containers as everyone searches for cover.
I spin around the back of the open container door on the left, bullets pinging off the metal surface. They stop momentarily, so I use this opportunity to peek around the container.
Engines roar as our men pull in through the barbed fences, and their black-clad frames file out of the SUVs.
"Jacques," I call out as the bullets resume clanging.
"I'm good. Get the fuck out of here!" he yells back.
“There‘s too many of them!”
I peek the gun out over the side of the door, firing blind bullets.
There are multiple grunts, cracking of guns, and tyres screeching.
There’s nowhere for me and Jac to go; we have to wait it out and hope our bullets hit their targets.
Rapid footsteps echo, and I re-emerge from behind the container, seeing Beanie Hat fleeing towards a darkened area.
I aim and shoot, piercing him in the back of the head. Blood, small fragments of skull, and skin spray as he drops to the ground.
Then, silence.
