He rolled over through the slick of his own blood. Pulled the pin on the second grenade. Hurled it down the gap on the other side.
Swept his gun from the floor and pushed himself upwards.
Rose above the top of the crate. Raised his gun. And started firing.
Gabriel saw the red figure rise, the gun rising with him, up towards the spot where his mother stood. He saw flame spit from the end of the barrel and a piece of packing case tear free from a crate halfway between them. The boom of the first shot echoed through the warehouse and the gun jerked up from the recoil, bringing the barrel closer to its intended target.
A second shot boomed out, this time from Gabriel’s gun.
A puff of red mist appeared behind the gunman’s head and it jerked backwards, like he’d been punched. Then he began to fall. Gabriel watched him crumple as the gunshot echoed through the cavernous hangar. It was only as the sound died away that he heard the metallic, clinking sound of something else, skittering across the concrete towards them. He shifted his aim and tracked the sound drawing closer, bouncing along the narrow channel between the crates. He realized what it was moments before it rolled into view right by the spot where his mother was crouched.
Kathryn turned to look at it but his body was already in motion, his legs pushing against the concrete, hurling his weight towards her as she began to rise. He connected with her like a charging linebacker, driving forwards and through her, using his momentum to carry them both as far from the grenade as possible before it detonated.
It was only as his head passed over her shoulder and his body slammed against hers that he saw the second grenade skip out from behind the crates towards the exact spot they were now heading.
Chapter 119
From round the edge of the office door Oscar had a clear view down the tunnel created by the rows of stacked crates. The grenade was halfway down when he spotted it, bouncing across the warehouse floor towards him. His reaction was instinctive. He stepped through the door, his hands rising up in warning, his head turning towards Gabriel and Kathryn. When he saw them locked together, unstoppably launched in his direction, he experienced a moment of divine clarity and everything slowed almost to a stop.
His eyes dropped back down to the grenade, turning slowly in the air, barely an inch above the ground. It bounced once, with a sound like a hammer striking stone, and continued moving towards him. He tensed his legs and shifted his centre of gravity towards it.
The grenade spun closer, struck the outer wall of the office then bounced back, coming to rest right in front of him.
He fell forward, flattening himself on the ground, smothering the grenade with his body.
Gabriel saw Oscar crumple and realized what he was doing. He reached out as their momentum brought them closer. Felt his fingertips brush the back of Oscar’s flight suit. Started to close his hand around the heavy-duty cotton.
Then the first grenade exploded behind him.
The pressure wave tore the flight suit from his grip, lifting him up and forward, over Oscar’s prone body and into the warehouse wall beyond. He hit it head first, with the full force of the explosion behind it, then slid heavily to the floor behind a crate. As he landed he felt consciousness being hammered out of him. He tried to shake his head clear. Tried screaming to shock himself awake. Then Kathryn crashed down on top of him, cracking his head against the concrete floor, finishing the job the wall had started.
The last thing Gabriel was aware of before he passed out was the ground shuddering beneath him and a muffled crump as the second grenade exploded.
Chapter 120
Arkadian had just raised himself up slightly, holding the phone above him, searching for a signal when the shock wave from the first explosion tore through the office. It slammed him against the horizontal locking bar of the fire door, swinging it open and spilling him out into the night. Pain exploded in his shoulder as he hit a patch of gravel, knocking the phone and gun from his hand. He bit down hard to stifle a howl of agony and rolled on to his side, away from the pain, taking deep breaths to smother it as he frantically scanned the area for signs of danger.
He saw Liv sprawled across the threshold of the open door, half in and half out of the warehouse. His phone lay on the gravel between them, shining a cold blue display light up into the night. He reached for it just as the second explosion shook the ground beneath him. He grabbed the phone and continued to look for his gun. Saw movement. Looked up at the fire door swinging slowly shut. Then he saw the man standing behind it.
Liv felt the second explosion more than heard it. It rumbled through the earth like muffled thunder, shaking her gently out of her daze. She looked up and saw Arkadian sprawled on the ground outside. He reached for his phone and picked it up. Then his eyes twitched up and past her, growing wide in shock at what they saw.
He jerked twice as two holes appeared in the front of his shirt then he flopped backwards on to the gravel revealing a gun on the ground, right where he’d been sitting.
Liv’s hands tore at the ground as she scrambled towards it. The square of light from the open door narrowing as it continued to swing shut behind her. She didn’t look round. Just focused on the gun. It’s grip towards her. The safety-catch off.
Her hand closed round it, a fingernail tearing against the ground as she hooked it through the trigger guard. She twisted round just as something heavy cracked across the back of her head, flooding it with light and blinding pain, then darkness. Then nothing at all.
Chapter 121
Sweat stung Kutlar’s eyes as he limped across the blacktop towards the guardhouse. He could feel the cool night air on his damp skin but it did nothing to quench the heat boiling up inside him. His wound was infected, he was pretty sure of that. He was also in shock from losing so much blood. He needed to get help fast or he might die after all. He couldn’t let that happen. Not now. It seemed like hours since he’d leaned on the horn and finally escaped from the van, but it was probably only a few minutes.
He’d heard the muffled exchange of gunfire through the pounding of his heart, then the silence that had followed the two explosions. Maybe everyone was dead. Even the guy who’d killed Serko. With no witnesses he could still talk his way out of this one. Just needed to get to the guardhouse and call for help.
The headlights lit him up from behind when he was just thirty feet away. The blood was pumping so loud in his head he hadn’t even heard the engine. Panic rose in his throat. He tried to run. Stumbling forward. Felt what was left of his stitches pulling and popping inside his leg.
The lights got brighter and lit up the side of the guardhouse just twenty feet in front of him. He could see the faint spray of red on the back wall. The guard hadn’t reached for a gun, but he must have one somewhere. If he could get to it, he might stand a chance.
He could hear the engine now, rising up through the thump of his heartbeat. The guardhouse pulled closer. Just fifteen feet now.
