He almost got that.
Carson reached the lookout, who kept his eyes on Katie and Brendan while inclining his head back as if to hear anything Carson would tell him. Instead of receiving a greeting or an action plan, the man felt extreme pressure on his wrist and across his face as Carson grabbed his gun hand and wrapped his other arm over his mouth and nose.
The man jerked in shock, his left hand clawing at the arm across his face. Carson had timed his move as the man exhaled, making his desire for oxygen his primary concern. That distraction made it easy for Carson to wrench his gun hand up behind his back. Being sure to keep the barrel pointed away from everyone, he jammed his thumb into his wrist, compromising the many ligaments leading to the hand and fingers, causing him to drop the weapon.
He grunted in pain. Carson, with his peripheral vision, saw Brendan’s head turn in their direction, but there was nothing he could do about that until he disabled this threat. He dropped his arm from the mouth to the neck of his unfortunate victim and, releasing his gun hand, used his right hand to push his head violently forward and to the right. There was a moment of resistance as muscle and bone tried to hold together, but Carson’s power was too overwhelming, and his spine separated with a sickening crack.
It happened faster than Carson expected, and surprised him enough that he forgot to maintain his hold on the body, which dropped with a discernable thud. Already aware of something happening in the trees, Brendan now became fully alert, taking a step or two in Carson’s direction. “Guys?” When no one responded, he took a couple steps forward, but stopped abruptly, swiveling his head trying to catch some sight or sound. He turned, looking back at Katie before something clicked and he realized he was in danger. With surprising alacrity, he jumped back and grabbed her arm.
Dammit. He was still at least 25 feet away from them, but he had no idea what Brendan might do to Katie, so he charged. He crashed through the few feet of brush and trees before reaching the edge of the opening. Seeing the massive dark shape rushing directly at him, Brendan reacted predictably. He backpedaled as fast as he could, holding Katie in front of him as a shield. Fucking coward.
Carson was nearly on top of him when Katie yanked her arm desperately, applying enough force to pull away and drag Brendan’s slender frame to its right and out of Carson’s path. He tried to adjust, but got only a poor grip on Brendan’s waist, losing his footing at the same time. For a second his legs left the ground and he swung in the air like an ice skater being twirled by his partner.
To his horror, just before he lost his grip, he felt the centrifugal force pull the holster off his jeans and send it flying off into the night. When he fell to the ground, he immediately started looking for it, but could not find the black weapon in the minimal light.
Brendan, however, could. He immediately fixed his gaze on something much closer to him than it was to Carson. He let Katie go and went to it. As Carson struggled to his feet, Brendan picked it up, took a quick look at Katie, and then pointed his own gun right at him. He was at least 20 feet away, much too far for Carson to try and charge him once again. He had already taken off the safety and chambered a round when he left the hotel, so Carson’s life hinged on the squeeze of a trigger.
Carson realized he was finished. Unless Brendan was a historically bad shot, he had no chance of getting out of this unscathed, and he knew exactly what a .45 caliber hollow point would do to his body. His only hope would be if this skinny prick didn’t have the guts to actually shoot. For that reason, and because he had no more options, he glared into Brendan’s eyes to remind him he was a person. He was furious that circumstance dictated his life might end at the hands of this arrogant amateur, but also that he would capture Katie. He didn’t see her at the moment, but he knew she was there because he couldn’t hear her running away as she should have been.
The roar of a gunshot reached his ears. He saw no flash and felt no pain, but knew the shot had to have hit him. He figured the delayed reaction was due to shock and, like a stubbed toe, his body would soon tell him exactly where he’d been shot. Or maybe I died instantly and my soul doesn’t know it yet.
As the possibilities raced through his head at hyper-speed, he heard another shot. Now thoroughly confused, he watched Brendan dropped to his knees as his gun hand fell to his side. He turned his head slowly to the left, but it didn’t get there before he pitched face-first into the sand. Completely stunned, Carson’s looked around to find Katie down on one knee, her arms raised, her Ruger .22 still pointed directly at Brendan.
He rose unsteadily and staggered over to her. She remained frozen in the firing position, not reacting when Carson reached her side. He moved slowly, unsure of how she might react, and knelt next to her. Placing his hand on her back, he felt her trembling violently, and then noticed the look of absolute horror in her eyes.
“It’s OK,” he said in a calm and measured voice. “Danger’s over.” With a very
