The blood on my face is stinging my eyes, and I’m running out of clean T-shirt to wipe it with. This head wound is pissing me off.
I landed heavily, but the dead bodies cushioned my fall. My cast is definitely durable, although my right hand is hurting like hell. I look back up the ramp. I’m squinting in an effort to stop the blood flowing into my eyes. It looks like…
Yeah, both guys are standing at the top, looking down at me, their rifles aimed at me, and their stance relaxed, confident. They’ve got me dead to rights. I’m lying flat on my back, my gun’s God-knows-where, I’m really starting to feel dizzy from all the blood coming out of my head, although, right now, that’s probably the least of my problems…
Time stops as a hail of bullets sounds out without warning. I screw my eyes tightly shut and grit my teeth, bracing for the inevitable onslaught I have no chance to prepare for. This is it. I’m about to—
…
…
…
…
…
Huh?
What happened?
The shooting’s stopped, but I’m still breathing. I’m not that lucky, and it’s unlikely they’re that bad at shooting…
I use my left hand to wipe the blood from my face and slowly open my eyes. I raise my head slightly and stare up at the top of the ramp. The two men aren’t there anymore. Instead, I see Kaitlyn, breathing heavily, holding an assault rifle.
What the…?
“Oh my God, Adrian! Are you alright?”
I relax my head again and let out a heavy sigh. Then I smile. Then I start laughing.
Sonofabitch!
I hold my left arm up long enough to make the universal OK signal with my thumb and trigger finger. Then I close my eyes.
It’s been a long fucking day.
25
The sounds of the city drift in through the open windows on a lazy breeze as we navigate our way through the bustling metropolis of Abu Dhabi. The burnt-orange sun is a beacon in the evening sky, dominating the landscape as it begins its descent.
After Kaitlyn saved my ass in Qatar, we found the first aid station on the construction site. It was fully stocked, and there was even a change of clothes in one of the lockers. I grabbed a new T-shirt, given how torn and crimson-colored my old one was.
She patched me up pretty good, but I still look like shit. I have a bandage wrapped around my head, stained dark with blood from the cut I sustained in the crash. She’s right — I’m going to need stitches in that bastard. My right hand is pulsing with agony, too. It’s taken a real beating, despite the sturdy plastic cast protecting it. I’ve taken some painkillers, which helped for a while, but now it’s at the stage where only a few beers will do.
Not much chance of respite and refreshment though.
We requisitioned one of the spare Suburbans, left behind by the corpses we created. It’s packed full of weapons and tech, so we’re well armed now. We headed straight here, keeping to the speed limit to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. There’s no hiding from The Order — not yet, anyway… but there’s no sense in putting ourselves on anyone else’s radar unless we have to.
Kaitlyn’s been managing really well, all things considered. Her clothes are filthy, her hair’s all out of sorts, and I think our crash broke her glasses, but given she killed two people with an assault rifle this afternoon, she looks surprisingly composed. I don’t know how much of that composure is genuine, and how much of it is the result of a very strong, focused mind, trained to remain neutral when faced with extraordinary emotional trauma. Either way, right now it’s working for her, so I’m not about to question it.
I’ve said the best thing to do is stop in a public place and call her neighbor, explain as much as we can without going into too much detail, and ask him to meet us. Given The Order can see where I am at all times, I don’t want to lead them straight to Kaitlyn’s house and endanger the lives of the people around her. The more public I stay, the less chance there is of them blowing my head off. I’m putting a lot of faith in this kid being able to help us.
And God help Horizon if he can.
We’ve not spoken much on the ride here. She insisted on driving, and we haven’t stopped once. I think I fell asleep for a little while, which I felt bad about. The way I see it, the driver can’t rest, so out of respect, neither should the passengers. I felt the same way when it was just Josh and me, back in the day. She didn’t seem to mind though, and to be fair, given I woke up from surgery a little over eight hours ago, I reckon a bit of sleep was probably long overdue.
We stop at a red light.
“Any ideas where you want to go?” asks Kaitlyn.
I think for a moment. “We need somewhere busy… Maybe not too far from your house.”
The lights change and we set off again. She takes the first left. “I know the perfect place.”
We drive for another ten minutes or so before she pulls over outside a plaza, spitting distance from the coast. It’s a circular park with a fountain in the middle, illuminated for the evening by multi-colored lights underneath the water. There are sizeable areas of grass around the edges, with a café and a restaurant covering the area, both with seating outside. There are steps leading up from the sidewalk at regular intervals around the park. Across the street is Abu Dhabi beach. The lapping of the waves is audible over the traffic. The area is busy, but not overcrowded. It looks nice.
I turn to her. “This is perfect. I’m going to stretch my legs. You wanna make the call?”
She nods. “Yeah.” She takes the cell phone from the center console and types in a number. “My house is maybe fifteen minutes from here, so it won’t take him long.”
“What are you gonna say to him?”
She sighs. “I’ll need to give him enough information about what’s really happening, so he brings everything he needs, but I’ll skim over the finer details.”
I nod. “What if he’s reluctant?”
She shrugs. “Then I guess I’ll take Lily’s advice and use what God gave me…”
She gestures casually to her chest and smiles. I look, which is unavoidable, and then smile. We both laugh, but after a moment, we fall silent.
She puts a hand on my arm. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah… What about you? This is a lot for a normal person to take in.”
“It is, but I’m doing okay. I feel better knowing you’re here.”
I smile, but only for a moment. “Listen, I know you’re the expert on the mind and everything, but I’m the expert when it comes to this special kind of shit that we’re in. I know what you’re probably going through, whether you know yourself yet or not. What you did for me, back on that construction site… You saved my life, Kaitlyn. I’m grateful beyond words, but I know what you did isn’t normal to people like you. Killing someone shouldn’t be normal to anybody… What I’m trying to say is, at some point, the gravity of what you did is going to hit you, okay? I just want you to know, when it does…” I return the gesture and put my hand on hers. “…you can talk to me.”
She holds my gaze. I can see tears forming in her eyes, but she holds them back. “I’m fine, honestly. Besides, it’s normal for you, isn’t it? You manage okay, and I know how much of an emotional train wreck you are!”
She smiles at me.
I shake my head. “Are these insults included in the service I pay three hundred dollars an hour for?”
She laughs. “No, they’re actually extra. I’m going to invoice you when all this is over.”
“I can’t wait… But to answer your question, Kaitlyn — no, it’s not normal for me. It’s just all I know. It’s all I’m good at. It’s the only thing I was ever going to do with my life. But that doesn’t make it normal.”