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“Then they shouldn’t have laid a finger on her.” I spat. My eyes swept around the room, evaluating.
One door.
One window.
Eleven men.
Ten guns.
Eight bullets left in the chamber.
One clip just out of reach, on my right hip.
I slowly shifted Emma around me, and she clutched me, hardly letting me tuck her behind me, hardly allowing me to shield her body with mine.
“She’s quite stubborn.” He said, raising his eyebrows at Emma.
I glared at him, willing him to disintegrate with my gaze as I also watched the armed men as they stood watching us. They were calm, not entirely disrupted by the dead bodies that laid around us, bleeding onto the concrete.
“You know, it’s in your best interest to let us walk out of here.” I growled.
The man paced to the other side of the room and looked out the window. “Perhaps.” He waited for a moment before turning back and continuing, “Perhaps not… I know you’re U.S. intelligence.”
“Then you know there will be heavy consequences if we don’t walk out of here.” But I was getting the sense he already knew that, and he didn’t care. My chest tightened as my mind raced, considering the options, the possibilities.
How many could I put down before I’d have to reload? They'd put more bullet holes in me than I could count, but if I could reload just one more time, perhaps I could finish them. I might not walk out of here, but Emma might.
He turned towards us, his hands behind his back, “You know, I just love the USA. They’re so forward, so modern. But we are well on our way here…” A sinister smile crept onto his lips. “Though I must admit, we do have some barbaric laws.” I could feel his eyes drilling into me, analyzing, watching for a reaction. “For instance, did you know it’s illegal for a woman to stay with a man if she’s not married to him?” His eyes narrowed, watching me. “Unless, of course, they’re family… whichyouare not.” He paced to where he could see Emma standing behind me as she clutched me, silently trembling. “Such a shame she couldn’t stay put, isn’t it?”
I pivoted, once again pushing her out of his eyeline, and he smiled at me. The look dripped through my body like poison. “Well, it’s a good thing we’re married then.” I lied through my teeth, but I had gotten us passports with matching last names for this very reason.
The man paced around to the other side of the room, not looking at me again, as he casually found interest in the light bulb on the ceiling, and then a crack in the cinderblock wall, “Wouldn’t that be nice, if it were true?” He had a smug look on his face as he watched me.
I rehearsed the muscle movement in my mind's eye. Eight shots, reload, three shots, run. It was those last three that I was worried about. There were just a handful too many men in this room for me to take out, while still being able to keep Emma out of the line of fire. There were just too many, and if it were just me, I’d risk it. But it wasn’t. “You’re welcome to check on that.” I pivoted around the room, keeping an equal distance between us as he slowly paced around us. “I think you’ll find we share the same name.”
The man chuckled, “You did come prepared, I’ll give you that. But you and I both know those are false documents. No, I know that Miss Mitchell is not your wife, and as such, I’m afraid I have to do my duty to my country and take the girl with me. To carry out the consequences of this unholy abomination that she’s committed.”
“Like hell you do.” They weren't taking her anywhere. I pulled my gun and fired, until the clip ran empty, then I slammed the next clip in and fired until the clip ran empty. Bullets came spraying back towards us. I gripped Emma behind me with my free hand, clutching her to the back of my body as she screamed.
An automatic gun fired all around us. I whirled around and dove to the ground, covering Emma’s body with mine. I willed myself to become wider, denser, ensuring more coverage over her.
The gunshots stopped, and I panted as I assessed how badly we were shot.
“There will be order!” The man shouted in irritation. And I lifted my head to the wall behind us to see a circle of bullet holes in the wall, a halo around us, not directly at us. I peered over my shoulder and my heart sank as more armed men filed in, and now held a wide, impenetrable circle around us.
Underneath me, I could feel Emma trembling uncontrollably. I felt a gun press to my neck, and I lifted my hands up in surrender. Someone kicked my gun away while another grabbed the second gun I had and removed it from me. Another man grabbed Emma out from under me and dragged her up as she screamed. In one swift motion, I grabbed my knife and slashed his calves, splattering both Emma and me with blood.
I felt the hard butt of a gun as it contacted my skull, and I stumbled back, blindly, as my vision went spotty. I shook my head, willing the room to come into focus.
Two men held Emma up by the arms while the man in charge stood in front of her. He softly grazed his knuckles over her cheek and her lower lip trembled as a tear spilt over the rim of her eyes. “Such soft skin.”
She jerked against the men and finally screamed, “Let me go.” Her voice was hoarse and hollow.
“Don’t you fucking touch her, you bastard.” I tried to stand up, but was shoved to the ground again. I felt a warm trickle work its way down my temple and softly plop onto the floor in red taunting drops.
The man cocked his head, “So strong willed. Even after all that unpleasantness.” He motioned to the bucket of water. “She still wouldn’t speak.” He continued, “I think my men will quite enjoy themselves with such a hellcat. It’s always more fun when they fight. Don’t you think?” His lips curved up in a soft smile at me as I registered the threat.
I roared and shoved the man standing over me into the wall and grabbed his gun, but before I could make another move, the man in charge cut me off. Each man holding Emma now had a handgun aimed at her head.
