“Yeah, but with the wind velocity and the travel time of the bullet, it could veer, and I’d miss, alerting him that we’re here. I’m not Dirty Harry, guys. I plan for everything.”
“That was a good movie,” Savage grinned.
“Eastwood is a pussy,” Massacre stated, then offered. “Now John Wayne was the man. Have you ever seen War Wagon? That was a good movie.”
Rolling my eyes, I couldn’t wait to be rid of these idiots.
They were slowly killing my brain cells.
“Company’s coming,” Chains whispered, still looking into my scope. Reaching into my bag, I grabbed my portable camera. Taking the scope from Chains, I quickly attached the camera as I watched as a black SUV approached the dilapidated house. I couldn’t identify any marks on the vehicle, not even a license plate, which meant it was a decoy vehicle.
“Massacre, in my bag, you’ll find three more scopes. Everyone search the surrounding area. I have a decoy vehicle that’s being protected. Find me the other vehicle.” I ordered as I kept my eyes on the prize. There was no way I was letting this fucker go. His life was mine, and I couldn’t wait to exact justice.
I said nothing as I watched the scene below as my target greeted the black SUV. When the doors opened, I got a good looked at the new arrivals. Snapping pics, I said nothing as Jeffery Darden stepped out of the vehicle, looking all pious and shit. I was waiting for the passenger to come into view when I heard Chains say, “Found two vehicles parked to the east.”
“Got one just north of us about a mile away,” Savage stated clearly.
“Same here, to the west,” Massacre added.
What the fuck. Why so many?
When the passenger came into view, I knew why.
It was Jekyll.
Oh, this assignment just got a whole lot better.
“Holy fuck,” Savage gasped as we all turned to look at him. It was the way he said the words that sent shivers down my back. Something was wrong. He looked pale as if he’d seen a ghost. Walking over, he said nothing to me. He just pointed in the direction. Lifting my scope, I focused my scope on seeing what Savage saw.
When I did, I stepped back.
It couldn’t be.
“What?” Chains and Massacre asked.
Neither Savage nor I could say anything. Savage just pointed as both Massacre and Chains looked into their scopes. I raised mine back up and snapped several pictures to send to Phantom for facial recognition.
Holy fuck, the shit really just hit the fan.
“Oh, God,” Massacre muttered.
“What are we gonna do?” Chains asked, looking at me. I knew what I was going to do, but none of them were going to like it. I hated it myself, but there was a process to my madness. I couldn’t deviate.
“Nothing for right now,” I said, walking back over to check on the target and waited for what I knew was coming. When all three started arguing, I sighed. Lowering my scope and said. “Look, I get it. I do. But until Phantom verifies identity, we can’t do shit. The pictures I’ve taken are automatically uploaded to her. Trust me, if that is who we think it is, Phantom or Reaper will be calling in the next few minutes. In the meantime, we have a job to do. So, let’s just do it, okay?”
“This sucks,” Savage muttered.
“I agree,” Chains said, as all three of them went back to their spots. As much as I tried, I couldn’t get that sight out of my head. I knew who I saw. We all did. I didn’t need facial recognition to know who I saw.
I knew it.
Ari was alive.
“Savage, keep eyes on her. Don’t lose her.”
“Not gonna happen, brother. She’s one of us. Ours to protect, now.”
Scanning the area, I watched as Jekyll and Malachi talked, snapping several more pictures. Then Malachi turned and walked back into the tiny house and exited a few seconds later with a woman with a black cloth over her head. Taking more pics, I watched as Jekyll grinned, walked over to the woman, and removed the fabric. Everything in me stilled as I whispered. “Layla?”