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“Hold,” Emerson replied.
Goliath was talking to them inside. I knew he would signal if anything seemed off or felt wrong, but waiting was nerve-wracking, and my adrenaline was already starting to spike. I breathed through it, trying not to let it affect me. Adrenaline could be seriously debilitating if I allowed it to take over.
Finally, Emerson’s voice came back over the com. “Move out. Keep it quiet and don’t be seen.”
Carefully, I crept out of my hiding spot, pulling out my gun as I did so. I kept it trained on the ground as I made my way towards the building. I could see the others trickling out of their hiding spots as well, and Ethan hurried towards me. He kept pace at my side as we crouched and hustled towards the building. Ethan may not have been trained in stealth, but his background in the woods had given him plenty of experience in moving silently.
We reached the side of the building below one of the busted-out windows not far from one of the doors. I could hear voices inside and strained to catch what was being said.
“…best quality out there.” That wasn’t Goliath, but I didn’t recognize the voice.
“I believe you. I would still like to examine the guns before purchase.” Goliath sounded pleasant, but firm.
“Of course.”
Emerson spoke again on the com. “Wait for confirmation of the merchandise. No one moves until I say so.”
Ethan met my eyes. He didn’t look nervous, just determined, with his gun ready at his side. I reached for his free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. The connection made my insides settle a little bit. I should have questioned why his touch calmed me so much, but my mind wasn’t ready to think about the answer to that yet.
He squeezed my hand back and smiled.
There was a lot of noise inside that sounded like scuffling feet and metal scraping. I assumed the guns were being brought out of the ship. That’s what I hoped was happening, at least.
Again, we were stuck waiting. There was a low murmur of voices, but I couldn’t pick out any words from it. Then there was a snap of wood, and something clattered on the floor. I tensed but held my position when Emerson didn’t give the signal.
After a moment, the com clicked on, and this time I heard Goliath’s voice in my ear. “Beautiful guns. It looks like everything’s here.”
The com clicked off and I could hear the other guy speak through the window. “Now, to payment.”
Emerson spoke again. “Move in. Try to take them alive if possible.”
We descended on the doors. I followed Jack as he silently opened the door and slipped inside. He was armed to the teeth and had a dark look on his face. I took a deep breath and scanned the area immediately upon entry.
It was a large, open room, with oil drums of various sizes off to the right, close to the interior wall. Pipes, scrap metal, and large worktables lined the outer wall. Chains hung from the rafters, and a catwalk in major disrepair hung from the opposite wall. Bits of machinery and what looked like engines and chunks of twisted metal dotted the room, some as large as a door and some as small as a quick cooker. If I had to guess, I would say the warehouse was used to store and repair heavy machinery, but it was impossible to say for sure. The good news was that there was plenty of cover if we needed it.
Their ship sat in the middle of the room below the large hole in the ceiling with the cargo door open. Five large, wooden crates sat not far from the opening, lids pried off and scattered on the floor. Goliath and his men stood next to the crates, but towards the interior wall and out of our line of fire. Seven men stood between the crates and the ship, armed, but not currently pointing their guns at anything but the ground.
Rodney stood at the center of the group, and I felt a rush of vindication. My suspicions of him had been mostly gut instinct, but I had learned a long time ago to listen when my gut spoke. And it made sense. Usually, the simplest answer was the right one. It didn’t surprise me at all that he wanted to steal from his boss. Maybe it was to undermine his authority so he could take over, or maybe he saw an opportunity to make some extra cash and took it. I was a little surprised that so many men backed him instead of Archuleta, but I couldn’t pretend to know what was going on in their minds.
There was no more time to contemplate motives and logistics because they saw us. They lifted their guns quickly and the air was filled with the sounds of gunfire and screams. Unfortunately, they had a good deal of cover because of their ship, and no one wanted to shoot the guns we were supposed to retrieve. Goliath and his men dodged and immediately went for cover. Those coming in from the same door as Ethan and me had the best line of sight to Rodney and his men, and I took aim and fired as quickly as possible, catching one high in the shoulder.
Gunfire hit the floor at my feet, and I scurried to the right, ducking behind one of the tungsten oil drums. I could hear the ping of the bullets as they hit the metal. I was glad the drums were dense enough to stop the bullets. I waited for an opportunity to pop off a few quick shots. Most of Rodney’s men were trying to get back in the ship, and I could hear the plasma cannons whirring, priming to fire. That could cause a lot of damage.
In all the commotion, I’d lost sight of Ethan. After a quick search, I spotted him again farther along the wall, close to one of the interior doors. He was crouched behind a piece of equipment, and it looked like he was waiting for an opportunity to shoot.
The plasma cannon fired, hurting my ears. I ducked my head and covered my ears. Debris shot through the air, far away from me, luckily. I swallowed and fought against the panic and fear that welled up.
My com was full of chatter, and Emerson called out commands for his men to ground the ship and destroy the plasma cannons. One or two of the mercenaries must have been hit because I could also hear them calling positions and evacuating the injured. Everything was happening at once, but I focused on keeping the men pinned down until the ship was disabled. Then they wouldn’t have any chance of escape.
“New hostiles, new hostiles!”
The call came across the com and my head jerked up, wondering what the heck that was supposed to mean. If Rodney had back up, we would be in serious trouble. Other men, dressed differently than Rodney’s men, came jumping in through the windows and darting in through the doors. I recognized one face and knew immediately that they were the ones after me.
Snails!
“Emerson!” I snapped into the com. “He didn’t wait an hour!”
Swearing filled my ear as Emerson called Reuben for backup. Bullets ricocheted around me, and I tucked my head to my chest, trying to make myself as small as possible. I could hear scuffling between the shots from those already engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
