She kept her gun up as she advanced on the downed man. “Just remember I was here. The only reason I smacked you around was because you made it hard for me to get the information I want. The Phoenix Gang is done today. If I track them down, and I find out that they knew I was coming, then I’ll know you told them, and I’ll be forced to come back here and finish what I started.”
The man threw his hands in front of him. “Woah. Woah. Shit, calm down, chick. I ain’t telling them nothing. I don’t know how they done you wrong, but I figure if someone brings on that kind of heat, they’ve got that shit coming.
“If I were those fuckers, I would have left town anyway. They’re all stupid shits who were lucky to survive Brownstone. And forming that gang? That’s like surviving a hurricane and then building your house even farther out on the beach.”
Shay lifted her gun and hopped the bar. “If Brownstone’s a hurricane, then I’m a tornado. I hope their fucking insurance is paid up.”
Shay parked her van in an alley a couple of blocks down from the massage parlor. Given the location, she couldn’t open up with an RPG or another heavy explosive without attracting too much police attention, not to mention the risk of killing women who were just trying to make their way in the world.
No. She was there to kill the members of the Phoenix Gang; no more, no less. Part of being an expert killer was not being sloppy.
She took a deep breath. To her surprise, her heart rate hadn’t increased. There was something almost comforting and familiar about what she was about to do, in a way it hadn’t been when she and James had gone after the cartel.
Killing someone when it’s not self-defense just feels like a job.
Shay slipped on dark sunglasses. Between her wig, contacts, the glasses, and the putty, none of the witnesses stood a chance of identifying her in a line-up. The only thing she needed to do was make sure there were no electronic recordings that could be harvested for facial recognition algorithms.
She hopped out of the van and tapped the silver bracelet on her wrist. The clock was ticking now that she had a broad-spectrum jammer activated. Her long dark unseasonable coat concealed her tactical harness and belt and still had a stylish flair, unlike the awful gray monstrosities James liked to wear.
The killer made her way toward the massage parlor and pulled a short-range EMP device out of her pocket as she approached the back door. It emitted a loud buzz when she pressed the button, and a quick glance to the side confirmed that nearby traffic lights and street lights were dead. Yet another thing starting a timer.
It didn’t matter. Shay would finish and escape long before any cops showed up. It wasn’t like their response times in this part of town were all that fast. She continued up the street. A few people glanced her way but didn’t pay her much notice. They probably thought she was a prostitute.
She walked into an alley behind the massage parlor. A huge gorilla in an ill-fitting suit and four layers of gold chains around his neck looked at her.
“Who the fuck are you?” the man barked. He took a drag off his cigarette.
Shay sighed. “I was looking for the Phoenix Gang.”
“And why the fuck are you doing that?”
“I heard there were looking for girls. You know, working girls.”
A grin split the man’s face and he dropped his cigarette to the ground, stubbing it out with his toe. “Oh, that shit’s different.” He looked her up and down with a frown. “I can’t see nothing with your glasses and that coat. Come over here and show me what you’ve got. Don’t want to waste anyone’s time.”
“You with the Phoenix Gang?”
The gorilla nodded. “Yeah.”
“I heard the Phoenix Gang are made up of people who used to be in other gangs.”
He chuckled. “Why do you care, bitch?” He marched over to her. “I wasn’t in a gang. I worked security for this sweet-ass arms dealer. That shit was the easiest money ever, but then that fucker with the messed-up face, Brownstone, ruined it all. Put me in the hospital and sent my boss to prison.”
Shay stuck out her lip and reached inside her jacket. “Sounds tough.”
“Yeah. It was, but now I got a new crew.” He licked his lips. “And it comes with fringe benefits.”
Shay’s knife was in his throat in a flash. He tried to speak, but only a gurgle and blood came out. She yanked her knife back and kicked him to the ground, the dark alley hiding his body.
She wiped the knife on his suit and sheathed it before pulling out her 9mm and throwing open the back door.
Red emergency lighting provided eerie illumination inside the building. A backup generator, probably. It saved her the trouble of using a wrist light or the light atop her SMG.
“Yo, Phil,” someone called from a nearby hallway. “Where the fuck are you? You were supposed to be done smoking fifteen minutes ago, you lazy fuck.”
Another suited thug stepped into the hallway. Shay put a bullet in his head before he could even register what he was thinking. The gun’s report echoed in the hallway.
She’d thought about bringing the magical silencer she’d acquired recently and going room to room, but had decided against it. She wanted the Phoenix Gang to be spooked and know someone was here to kill them.
Several other doors opened, and a few scantily dressed women peeked out.
“If you’re a woman, get the fuck out,” Shay yelled.
The women darted the other way, some screaming.
Shay kept her gun up, waiting for men to emerge from the rooms. A confused-looking older man emerged from one of the rooms with his pants around his ankles.
“Is she coming back? I already paid!”
Shay narrowed her
