I glance at Turner again and he’s ready to make his move.
I’ve got to play this just right…
I lunge forward, driving my left shoulder into Soo Yung’s thighs. I aim blindly behind me with my right and fire off a couple of rounds at the men behind me — the blast of the Desert Eagle is deafening in the quiet apartment. I don’t see if I hit anyone.
As we hit the deck, Soo Yung grunts under my weight. A thunderous blast sounds behind me. I roll onto my back and look over to see Turner standing with a sawn-off double-barreled shotgun in his hand. Smoke is whispering out of the ends and the old man is on the floor — his head has pretty much evaporated and there’s a large pool of thick crimson all around him.
I take my aim at Turner just as he fires at the three men in the center of the room. His blast takes out two of the men at the same moment I fire, hitting him in the shoulder, and nearly severing his left arm. He flies backward to the floor and I scramble to my feet at the exact moment Soo Yung does.
Side by side with little room to maneuver, I drop my gun and grab him with both hands around the head, clasping them together and pulling him down toward me. I drive my right knee up to meet him and feel his jaw dislocate from the impact. I let go and he slumps to the floor, dropping his weapon.
I crouch to retrieve it as a bullet flies over my head. I spin around to see the remaining Triad member taking aim at me. I raise the Browning that Soo Yung dropped and fire three rounds, hitting the guy in the chest.
I stand for a moment, holding the gun ready while I let the scene settle. The echoes of the gunfire fade away and I hear a groaning off to my right. I look over and Turner is slumped against the wall, sitting upright on the floor holding his left shoulder.
“Well, that was fun,” I say to him.
He’s lost a lot of blood and is fighting to stay conscious.
“What the… fuck, man?” he manages to say. “Why did… you… do this?”
I walk over and squat down next to him, gesturing with the gun as I talk.
“Well, initially, this was about the Remington,” I explain. “The one you sold the other day? The guy who bought it used it to shoot a friend of mine and I want to find the sonofabitch.”
“That’s not… my fault…”
“I never said it was. But along the way, I managed to piss off these Red Dragon assholes. When I found out they do business with you as well, I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone.”
He smiles; his mouth is filled with blood. “You’ll never… get out of here… alive,” he says.
“Don’t you worry yourself about that — I’ll think of something.”
I place the barrel of the Browning Hi-Power against his left temple and rest my finger on the trigger. “Any last words?” I ask him.
He turns his head slightly and looks at me. “Fuck… you…”
I smile. “Original…”
I squeeze the trigger and blow the right side of his head clean off. He falls away from me, landing heavily on the floor among the parts of his head and brain that’s exploded across the floor.
I stand and walk over to Soo Yung, who’s out cold but not dead. I tap his foot with mine, but I get nothing.
I look around the apartment. The three half-naked women are still sitting on the sofa, very much alive, if only in the biological sense of the word. The one on the left is covered in the blood of… someone — I don’t know who. They’re giggling to themselves, seemingly unaware of what’s been happening around them.
I should really try to help them get out of here… but I just can’t find it in me to do it. These three are nothing but a colossal waste of life. I’ll let fate decide what happens to them.
I walk out of the apartment and into the corridor. There’s a sea of bodies — both Red Dragon and Turner’s men, leading from the doorway down to the elevators and the stairs.
Jesus — it’s like a goddamn slaughterhouse in here!
I navigate the minefield of corpses and stand at the top of the stairs. I look over the handrail, all the way down to the first floor. From what I can see, pretty much every floor is the same. I can hear voices below — sounds like some Triads are still alive, which means they’ll be coming to re-group with their Boss. I look at the Browning in my hand, which has maybe seven rounds left in it.
Hmmm… the numbers are against me. How the hell am I getting out of here?
Oooo, light bulb moment!
I rush back to Turner’s apartment, stepping over Soo Yung’s still unconscious body and over into the kitchenette. I quickly raid the cupboards, looking for something useful. I find two bottles of vodka and a pack of cigarettes with a lighter.
I smile. These will do nicely.
I tuck the Browning in my waistband at the back and move over to the oven, turning all the gas burners on full. I grab both bottles of vodka in one hand and the lighter in the other and turn to walk out of the apartment.
I glance over at the women on the sofa. Two of them have passed out and the third one is looking at me curiously.
“You might want to consider getting out of here,” I say to her, but she doesn’t reply.
I shrug and walk away. “Suit yourself…” I mutter.
I walk toward the door but Soo Yung stops me, grabbing my ankle as I walk past. I look down at him and see he’s trying to say something, but he can’t get the words out because of the dislocated jaw. I kick him in the face with my other foot.
“Piss off,” I say to him.
I stand in the doorway and tuck one bottle under my arm, as I open the other, and pour it on the floor just inside the room. Walking backward down the hall and toward the elevator, I pour a thin trail of vodka as I do.
I reach the handrail by the stairs and can hear shouting below me. I quickly glance over the edge and see at least ten guys running up the stairs toward me — all Triad.
I empty the bottle and open the second one, pouring a small pool of it at the top of the stairs before trailing it back to the elevators. I place it on the ground and, using my fingertips, force the doors of the elevator open. I slide them apart and look down the ten story shaft, glimpsing the roof of the elevator below. I let out a heavy sigh.
Heights have never been a favorite of mine… I haven’t really thought this through have I?
I hear the noise of the men getting closer behind me.
Well, no time for fear now.
I finish emptying the second vodka bottle on the floor by the doors and without thinking, I step out into the abyss, grabbing hold of the thick cables running down the center of the shaft. I grip them tightly and wrap my feet around it. Putting one hand underneath the other, I slowly move myself down. I stop when my head’s level with the floor and get the lighter, flicking it on and holding it for a moment, watching the flame flickering in my hand.
I glance down and close my eyes briefly, steeling myself for what is going to have to be a very quick descent.
I open my eyes again and throw the lighter up through the doors. I hear the faint whooshing sound as the trail of vodka catches fire.
Time to go!
As quickly as I dare, I climb down the cables. My hands soon start to sting and burn, but I ignore it. I’m keeping count of how many sets of doors I pass, so I know how far down I am without having to look below me.
I’ve just passed the fifth floor.
I hear screaming above me. I’ve got just a few more seconds before that trail of alcohol leads the flame into the apartment filled with gas… With a bit of luck, the remaining Triad men will make it in there just in time.
Third floor.
The cable shakes as I hear the explosion, almost causing me to lose my grip. Looking up, I see a huge fireball enter the shaft and force its way down toward me.
Oh shit!