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"Thanks." That would have made me look silly. Aiming and firing and having nothing come out the other end. That would be almost as useful as bringing a knife to a gunfight.
His teeth flashed white in the darkness. "Any time." He turned and aimed. His shot was quickly followed by a grunt and a thud of someone hitting the ground.
"Shooting people is so impersonal," he complained. "Really not my style at all." He aimed and struck his target again. "At least they could give me a scream of pain or something. Anything."
I suspected he'd happily shoot them all in the knees and take them back to his workshop for a few days.
He ducked down as a bullet passed low over our heads, narrowly missing both of us.
"Now it's personal," he said.
"It wasn't personal before?" I asked.
"Not as much as it is now." He flashed me a smile and got off another shot. A male voice cried out in pain as the bullet took him in the wrist. The next took him in the chest.
"Better them than us," Mannix said. He took out two in quick succession, then dropped down lower.
As far as I could tell, they were coming slower now, and were down to about six or seven. The guys and the driver had killed or maimed at least five potential attackers.
Yeah, this definitely wasn't their first shootout. They knew exactly what they were doing. Did they learn this as boys or at university?
Finally, a university that taught practical skills. Of course, shooting people was only a practical skill in certain occupations and lifestyles, like ours. It probably shouldn't go mainstream.
A bullet, or three, slammed into the window on the opposite side of the car, cracking but not shattering it. Another couple of shots took out the tyres on the other side.
"Well, that sucks," Ice said. "We'll have to find another car so we can get out of here." He didn't sound too concerned.
He leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Over to the left, there's a tree. The man crouched beside it thinks we don't know he's there. I'm going to draw him out. If you aim low, you can't miss him."
That was a hell of an assumption, but I nodded.
"I can try."
"You've got this." He gave me a quick kiss that was full of the promise of a lot more.
We just had to survive this first. No pressure.
Ice took a few steps to the side and spoke loudly. "I think that's the—"
The man beside the tree rose, gun in hand. All of his attention was on Ice. That was his last mistake.
I took aim and squeezed the trigger. The recoil almost made me squeal in surprise, but the bullet caught the man in the right side of his chest. It was enough to give Ice time to shoot him in the left side of his chest, killing him.
The man staggered a few steps before he fell heavily to the ground and lay very still. The street lights shone off a puddle of blood that snaked out beside him and slowly grew.
Ice stepped back over to me and offered me a high five. "What a team."
I slapped his hand half heartedly and leaned against the car for a moment to catch my breath. The moment I picked up the gun I knew there was a possibility I would kill someone, or take part in killing someone, but doing it… That was another thing.
I wasn't sure if I'd get used to it, or even if I wanted to, but I couldn't let it get to me right now. If I let myself be distracted for too long, that could be exactly what they needed to end me.
"You did good, Firecracker," Ares said. He didn't look at me so he couldn't see my surprise, but he nodded, so he must have known I glanced at him. His expression gave away nothing, but for once he wasn't sneering. His focus hadn't dropped for a moment. Eyes as intense as ever, he watched the street for movement, the gun moving as he tried to pin down a target.
"Thanks," I muttered. I pulled myself together and stood back up again. I could do this. I had to. It was them or us and I was damned if it was going to be us. I was going to protect my guys the way they protected me.
Us against the rest of the world.
"Let's finish this," Mannix said. He moved to the side, almost out from behind the car, gun held in both hands. He aimed but missed. I couldn't even see what he was aiming at.
