Killer Santas

Chapter 16

Dazedly glancing up, Elaina saw Jackie, one of her coworkers and the woman who had thought Victor was so hot, charge into the room, holding a pistol. Elaina gripped her own gun tightly and prayed no one found her, hoped she would remain safe under the desk until the air cleared.

Shouts and curses filled the room as gunshots rang out. Elaina had no idea what was going on, no idea whose side Jackie was on, or whether or not Tony was dead. The thought of that filled her with dread, a dark, sinking dread that wanted to pull her into the very depths of the darkness under the desk. No, no, don't let him be dead....

Summoning all her courage and strength, Elaina forced herself to think in the moment, to ward off the suffocating fear. It's a shootout...so shoot, dammit!

She pulled her legs up underneath her, ignoring the shooting pains in her injured foot, and leaned out of the cubicle, trying to see what was going on. Marco and Tony were nowhere to be seen; Elaina hoped that meant they'd found cover. Jackie and Victor were hiding behind a cubicle a row up from her. Okay, so Jackie's on his side....

I could shoot them from here.

Elaina ducked back into the safety of the cubicle, breathing deeply. She gripped her gun tightly, steeled her nerves, and leaned out, pointing her gun at them.

But then she heard more shots and instantly retreated.

Victor and Jackie hadn't fired. It must have been Marco. Tony hadn't looked in any position to be fighting back at this point, at least according to the last glimpse she had of him.

Oh, please let him be all right....

Elaina gritted her teeth. Get a grip on yourself! It's kill or be killed.

"Come on!" she heard Jackie yell, and the sound of footsteps marked her and Victor's movements, leaving their cover in favor of advancing on their enemies. Gunfire echoed in the air and Elaina forced herself out from her protective cubicle.

You have to do this you have to do this you have to do this....

Tony was willing to die for you. He might be dying now.

Elaina inwardly flinched at the thought but forced herself to stay on topic, to not shrink away from the bloody image of Tony in her mind's eye, slowly bleeding out all because he wasn't willing to gamble with Elaina's life.

You owe him.

You need to do this.

Elaina stood up, wincing as she put weight on her injured foot. Limping, she moved forward, gun up, safety off, finger on the trigger.

Jackie and Victor were approaching the office down the aisle, their guns raised. Elaina bit her lip as she slowly moved after them.

A gunshot rang out and Elaina flinched, her intense concentration slipping. There wasn't even a scream, just Jackie falling backward as her pistol fell from her hand, blood seeping from the hole in her forehead, the back of her head now bloody. Elaina's eyes widened but Victor didn't even glance back.

That could have been me.

Elaina's foot throbbed with pain but she refused to let her gaze drop to her bloodied sneaker. She needed to keep her attention on Victor. She needed to keep her focus on him and him alone.

"The game's up," Victor said quietly, aiming his gun at someone out of sight: most likely his father and Tony. His back was to Elaina and she kept moving slowly toward him, gun centered between his shoulder blades. "I've got you now. Don't bother keeping the pistol aimed at me, Father; I know you just used your last bullet on Jackie."

"Why are you doing this, Victor?" his father demanded angrily. "Why? We are your family. You had a part in the business."

But promise me that tomorrow, you will shoot, and shoot to kill.

"Nothing personal," Victor said, the triumph evident in his voice. "It's just business."

I promise.

Victor stiffened, as if he had heard Elaina's approach, and he glanced over his shoulder. His eyes widened to see her there and he spun, bringing his gun around to point at her. There was no time to lose. She had made a promise.

Elaina pulled the trigger.

Victor reeled backward as the bullet struck his chest, blood blossoming across his shirt as he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his gun falling from his hand. Elaina advanced, keeping her gaze and her gun focused on Victor, as Marco Andrisano moved into her line of sight, still gripping his empty holdout pistol.

"Victor," Elaina said, staring into his face, sweat beading on his forehead. "I never told you something. I had your name, from the Secret Santa."

"You," Victor gasped accusingly, the blood continuing to spread alarmingly fast across his chest. "You little –"

"You made me promise," Elaina said. "You made me promise to shoot to kill today. And I did. I just shot you instead of them."

Victor turned his gaze over to his father, finding no help in Elaina. "Father –"

"You betrayed this family," Marco said coldly. "You shot my son, my true son. I am no longer your father. The name of Victor means nothing to me now."

Elaina and Marco Andrisano stood there, watching, as Victor gasped for another minute then breathed his last.