Helix stepped in front of Gabrielle as Wheeler regained control of his own horse drawing one of Helix’s stolen P226s from under layers of rags draped over his head and shoulders. Taking control of his breathing, Helix painted an invisible dot on each of the men with the smart-ammo targeting overlay in his right eye. Walt, Issy and the two unknowns. With the targets locked, it didn’t matter who pulled the trigger.
‘Look familiar, Major?’ Wheeler said, pointing the gun at Helix. ‘Call your friend down from wherever she is.’
‘No. That won’t be happening. Do you actually know what you’re doing with that?’ he said, nodding at the handgun. ‘It’s hard enough after years of training and practice to hit someone with a handgun when they’re moving, even at this range.’
‘I’m sure it can’t be that complicated, Major. Tell your friend to join us.’
‘No.’
Two shots rang out as Wheeler fired the gun skyward, the smart rounds finding their targets in the heads of Walt and Issy. He looked at the gun in disbelief as the thin twig and leaf covering over the trap collapsed as Walt fell. Issy rolled backwards over the rump of his horse, dead before he hit the snow. Three more shots from Sofi exploded in front of the horses. The already spooked animals bucked and reared, throwing their riders.
Helix sprang forward, grabbing the P226 and a thick handful of Wheeler’s rag cape.
‘Helix. No!’ Gabrielle shouted. ‘That’s enough.’
Helix tossed Wheeler aside, took aim and moved on the two unknowns. Both men scrambled and slipped in the mud and slush, got to their feet and sprinted off in the same direction as their horses.
Gabrielle darted around Wheeler. She dropped to her knees next to Issy, her fingers pressed to the side of his neck. ‘He’s dead, Helix,’ she said, climbing to her feet and rushing to the edge of the pit where Walt had fallen.
‘So is he. Nothing you can do for him,’ Helix said, turning back to Wheeler. He tugged and pulled at Wheeler’s rags, uncovering his jacket, with the shoulder holsters hung across it. He snatched out the second P226. ‘You smell like shit, Wheeler. Get my jacket off.’
Gabrielle launched herself at Wheeler as he began to peel off his clothes. ‘You bastard, Justin!’ she screamed. ‘I told you, all I ever wanted was to live in peace and quiet. Now you’ve turned up and those men are dead. Who sent you? Was it her? Ormandy? Are you working for her or is it that other—’
‘Gabrielle don’t,’ Helix snapped, taking her arm. ‘That’s enough.’
‘No, Helix. He’s got something to do with all this. How the hell do you think he wriggled out of halo-confinement. That bitch.’
She had a point, or did she? Helix slung his holsters over his shoulder, waiting for Wheeler to hand over his jacket. He wandered over to where Issy lay. If Ormandy had wanted to send anyone, it wouldn’t have been a disgraced ex-politician. Issy’s corpse slid easily over the snow to the edge of the pit. The first rays of sun warmed the back of Helix’s neck as he rolled it in. The commuting of Wheeler’s sentence to banishment still bugged him. Most of the politicians did what politicians do when one of their ilk falls from grace. They distanced themselves. All except one. Ormandy. She didn’t come out all flags waving for him but there must have been moves behind the scenes. It wasn’t on the news. They’d heard because somebody in the MoHD had flagged it to Yawlander. It should have raised awkward questions for Ormandy in Parliament, but they never came.
He snatched his jacket from Wheeler. ‘What was the deal with Ormandy?’
‘Deal?’ Wheeler said, lumbering back into his rags and skins. ‘I prefer to see it as a mutual understanding.’
‘You can call it what you like, but what do you have on her?’
Wheeler sniffed a laugh to himself. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know.’
Helix lunged at him grabbing a fistful of rags. ‘I could always beat it out of you, you maggot.’
‘More to the point, Major, what does Julia Ormandy have on you or my wife?’
‘Ex-wife,’ Gabrielle snapped.
‘Who said she had anything on us?’ Helix said, taking off his poncho.
‘What brings you out here, complete with mysterious friend?’ Wheeler raised his eyebrows. ‘And what about your brother Ethan? Is he with us, listening in as usual, gathering evidence?’
Helix fastened his shoulder holsters. Was Wheeler just fishing or did he really have contacts in Bristol? Was he here out of his own curiosity or was Gabrielle right, someone sent him? ‘Over there,’ he said, pulling on his jacket. ‘Yes, the pit. Over you go.’
Gabrielle caught his arm. ‘What are you doing?’
‘It’s OK. You go back to the schoolhouse, I’ll be down in a bit.’
‘You’re not going to…’ she said, nodding at her ex-husband.
‘Once I’ve dealt with him, I’ll go after the other two. They won’t have got far. We can’t have any loose ends, Gabrielle.’ He had no intention of going after the others, but Sofi would. Her simple “on it” in his ear confirmed it.
She shook her head. ‘Loose ends? What do you mean?’
Helix pulled out one of his handguns, pointed it at Wheeler. ‘Move it.’
Gabrielle canted her head to one side, eyes fixed on his. Was she trying to read his mind? Why should she care about Wheeler? He’d made her life a misery. When she found happiness, he’d colluded with Lytkin and McGill to not only destroy her reputation, but to murder the person she’d fallen for.
‘Is this what you want, Gabrielle?’ Wheeler said. ‘Me, dead and buried?’
She snapped away and screamed. ‘No! I wanted you to live, stripped of your liberty and privilege, boiling the hot oil of shame for what you did. You’re cursed, Justin. Death follows you. Walt and Issy are dead because of you.’ She shrugged and looked up at Helix. ‘I don’t know what I want. I’m exhausted.’
‘It’s OK,’ Helix said, pressing his forehead to hers. ‘Trust me.’
She blinked up
