I nod. “Correct.”
“I mean, the chances of that working and us getting out of here are… next to nothing.”
“I agree.”
“And yet you’re still standing by your plan?”
I shrug. “Unless you can think of a better one…”
Kaitlyn clears her throat. “Ah… I know I’m not, like… y’know… one of you or anything, but would it not make sense to cause a distraction first? Get them looking somewhere else, and then hit them with the Range Rover from behind.”
I look at Lily and smile. That’s a good idea, and I concede I didn’t think about that. I was too focused on what’s right in front of me.
I wink at Kaitlyn. “You sure you’re not secretly an assassin?”
She smiles awkwardly.
Lily moves back along the wall, toward the fire exit. I look over at her. “Hey, where are you going?”
She glances back and shrugs. “To cause a distraction. Kaitlyn will be fine driving… you shoot whoever you can… I’ll meet you out front.”
“Lily, that’s… You talk about my plans being stupid! Pierce and God knows how many more men are still in there.”
“I’ll be fine, just make sure you’re waiting for me out front.”
“Okay, well at least take this.” I throw her my remaining spare mag.
She catches it and nods. “Thanks.”
Before I can say anything else, she disappears around the corner, heading back inside the hospital.
Shit.
I tuck my gun behind me and move next to Kaitlyn. I grab her arm in my left hand and turn to her. I take a deep breath. She does the same, knowing that the time for action has come. I look into her eyes and see her searching for every ounce of courage she can find, steeling herself for what lies ahead. She’s about to walk into a life or death situation and charge headfirst toward the threat. That’s never an easy thing to do, but I imagine that up until yesterday it had never even crossed her mind that she would be here.
And she wouldn’t be, if it wasn’t for me.
I’m a real piece of shit sometimes, aren’t I?
I’m like a cancer to the people around me, bringing danger and death to their doorsteps.
Well, I promise you this — when all this is over, I’m going to remove myself from the rest of the world. I’m going to find a quiet little corner where no one knows me and stay there, so I never endanger anyone again.
But first…
“Are you ready?”
She nods. “I think so.”
I smile, trying to reassure her. “You’re gonna be fine. I’ve got your back, okay? Don’t worry. This is what I do.”
We stand, poised just out of sight behind the corner. After a moment, I can feel her staring at me. “Adrian, what are we waiting for?”
I hold up my right arm and listen…
…
…
…
I hear a small explosion somewhere behind us, followed by muted bursts of gunfire.
I turn to her. “That! Come on!”
We run toward the Range Rover. I quickly try the door, but it’s locked. I take Kaitlyn’s gun from her, hold it by the barrel, and smash the butt into the bottom corner of the driver’s window. I quickly hand it back, yank the door open, and lean in and down to hotwire the car and disable the alarm before it goes off.
It’s… ah… It’s not that easy… with… one… hand…
And…
The engine splutters and surges into life.
Got it!
I stand up and take her gun from her one more time. “Get in!”
I aim at the far end of the parking lot as I move around the hood of the Range Rover. The team of men is disappearing toward the main entrance, which is good, but we need to be quick, otherwise Lily will be overwhelmed.
I jump into the passenger seat. “Go! Go!”
Kaitlyn hammers the gas, the tires screech, and we speed forward. There are two stragglers, who both stop and turn to look at us, moving to raise their rifles.
“Kaitlyn, don’t stop!”
She locks her arms and grips the wheel until her knuckles turn white. She grimaces and half looks away as she lets out a scream, venting against every natural instinct she has to hit the brakes. “Oh my God!”
The men don’t get a shot off. She bulldozes straight through the pair of them. One was sucked beneath the vehicle, and we bounced over his body. The other ricocheted off the hood and disappeared out of sight to the left.
She slams on the brake and makes a hard left, sliding out of the parking lot to the ambulance approach at the front. The six other men from the team are hustling inside, but the back three guys stop and turn to face us.
“Stop here!”
We come to an abrupt halt. I throw the door open, put one foot down on the ground, rest my left arm in the angle between the chassis and the open door, and empty the full mag of Kaitlyn’s gun into the three guys. I see numerous small splashes of blood from the impact of each bullet finding its mark.
I quickly look inside the car. “You okay?”
She doesn’t reply, but nods hurriedly. Her lips are pursed together, and I think she’s fighting against the onset of shock and tears.
“You’ve done good. Just wait here a sec. I’m gonna go—”
“Let’s go! Let’s go!”
I turn and see Lily running toward us, firing blindly behind her.
I lean back and open the rear door, jump back inside, and slam mine shut. I look at the main entrance as she reaches the car, seeing at least ten more men filing through, shooting from the hip, desperate to hit her.
Shots pepper the hood, though none of them are accurate enough to hit anything important.
“Kaitlyn, go!”
Lily closes her door, lying flat on the back seat as Kaitlyn shifts the car into reverse, flooring the gas pedal, and kicking up smoke as we speed out onto the main road. She slams it in gear, makes a U-turn as fast as she dares, and we speed away. The hospital quickly fading away in the rearview.
I shift in my seat and look behind me. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Lily’s laughing to herself, gasping for breath. “That… was… fun!”
I raise an eyebrow. She looks at me and smiles. “Sorry. I headed for the supplies closet and found lots of cleaning products. I made a small explosive cocktail and threw it down the corridor past your room. It got their attention. I took a few of them out and muscled my way through in the confusion.” She lifts her head slightly and turns to Kaitlyn. “Nice driving, sister!”
Kaitlyn doesn’t respond.
I look over at her and place a hand on her shoulder. “We’re clear. You can ease up off the gas a little. We don’t want to attract any attention, alright?”
She slows down a little, and after a moment, I see her visibly relax. Her shoulders drop, and her grip on the wheel loosens.
She’ll be fine.
I look back at Lily. “What about Pierce? Did you see him?”
“See him? I shot him!”
“Really? Is he dead?”
She shakes her head. “No, but he’s really pissed.”
I frown. “Where did you shoot him?”
“In the shoulder. I couldn’t really stop to aim or anything, but at least he’s having as bad a day as we are, which is something.”
I smile and turn back around, settling into my seat and staring at the road ahead. We have maybe a six-hour drive ahead of us. We need to get back to Abu Dhabi, find Kaitlyn’s neighbor, and convince him to help us hack The Order’s network and see if we can deactivate the signal that controls the bombs in Lily’s neck and mine.
I just hope we can make it before it’s too—
“Oh my God…”
I snap back into the moment and turn to Kaitlyn. “What’s wrong?”
“Behind us.”
I glance over my shoulder, out the rear window, and see a fleet of Suburbans following us. There are five vehicles in total, all with tinted windows, all identical. Just like the one Pierce gave Kaitlyn and I yesterday, back when he was on my side… Or, at least, back when I didn’t know he wasn’t on my side.