Page 17 (1/2)
"No, I didn’t press anything," Riley’s voice finally said, flat and cal to have company up top, and they won’t be rent-a-cops"
"On the plus side, they ht assume that we are, at least for a second," Bryn said "If they know that security’s on the premises and just descended"
"You think it’ll slow them down any? Because if it’s Jane’s people, they’re not worried about innocent bystander breakage"
That was true Worryingly true Bryn counted the seconds, and when she reached seventy she quietly said, "Get ready Stay against the sides"
Joe and Riley took the left, and Bryn took the right, and as the light spilled into the elevator’s cab through the grate, so did a rattle of noise, and the sht in a burst of adrenaline, and tirate was too slow; they’d be hit multiple times, probably in the head, before that could happen So she si it loose fro toppled fast and heavy--landing on and s two of their attackers to the floor of the lobby Bryn didn’t pause; she jumped out, ai each gunman with split-second accuracy
Seven shots, delivered as fast she could pull the trigger, and seven people went down, hard Riley was shoulder to shoulder with her, also firing, and before Joe had even moved out of the elevator, the lobby was silent, save for twitches fro bladders and bowels unpowder
Jane’s people, but Jane wasn’t with them And none of these, as far as Bryn could tell, were Revived; at the very least, the head shots had put them down and out for now Bryn bent and scooped up two assault rifles; she tossed one to Riley and slung the other over her chest, and looked around the place It was sift shop off to the left that sold T-shirts, hoodies, and--inevitably--salt-related items such as lamps and table condiments She was more interested in the sh, and vaulted the counter and through the swinging doors to the back, where the refrigerator was kept They did sih, the raw rabbed several tubular packs of raw ground beef, and shoved them in her pack
Riley knehat she was doing, even if Joe wouldn’t have; they exchanged nods, and Joe went on checking their downed enemies for pulses He looked up when he reached the last one and shook his head "Okay, officially it’s a bloodbath, and ladies, I aet the hell on the road We’ve just beco-looking trucks outside belonging to Jane’s people, but she had no doubt they’d be jacked up with GPS; stealing theht to theh, she picked up the phone and dialed 911 "Seven gunround Salt Museuuards alive but in need of assistance below" She hung up as soon as she was sure the operator had gotten the information, and joined Riley and Joe, already halfway across the parking lot
They headed out on foot
There was no real cover out here, but they used what there was--trees, mostly, and so back toward the h speed The ti enough for the three of them to pile in
Brick looked up from his map as Bryn slammed the door shut, and the truck accelerated s we couldn’t handle," Riley said Joe didn’t say anything, but there was a tight muscle in his jaw He hadn’t liked any of that, but he was professional enough to keep it to hi," Brick said, "but they split up chasing the other vehicles The ones you killed back at the e of this side of the box"
So, he knew there had been trouble, and the question had just been to establish how fast they’d lie to hiaze brushed over Bryn’s, and she saw the FBI agent are of that, too "Sorry," Riley said "But Ia messy trail of bodies," he pointed out "And soht to ht now"
"Are we breaking up, Brick? Because I’d like to keep un," Joe said He sounded flippant, but he wasn’t The atris ht come to violence
And then Brick so "Date night’s not over yet, Joe," he said "I’ll let you hang on to it for a while But fair warning: don’t you ever lie to ain, any of you, or this ride ends Got me?"
"Yes, sir," Bryn said Riley was a little late, but she nodded, and so did Joe "Sorry It’s been a little bit ht we knee were getting"
"No plan ever survives the first engagee the plan and keepit, Bryn Chin up"
She forced a smile, one she didn’t much feel, and closed her eyes for a while, as the SUV rocketed toward the next destination
• • •