AGENT 23 BLACKOUT (Agent 23 Book 1)

CHAPTER 21

A split second before Agent 24 pulls the trigger, Kayla fires another dart, but this one strays off course and sticks in her father's arm. I didn't notice it as the hulking assassin stared me down, but the wind must have kicked up and knocked it off its trajectory. Her father stumbles forward, his shoulder sinking beneath Agent 24's line of fire. The bullet misses high as the mayor collapses to the asphalt with a thud, unconscious. It happens so fast, my mind piecing together the rapid replay of events as they occur, realizing it when I see the dart imbedded in her father's upper arm.

Agent 24 scowls when he realizes Kayla tranquilized the mayor. He points his gun up at her position on the plateau and squeezes off a pair of shots.

She yelps and rolls away, disappearing over the crest of the hillside.

"Kayla," I say, loud enough for Agent 24 to hear. "Are you okay?"

She doesn't reply, but after a long pause, she says in my ear, "Yes, he missed me. I'll try to get lined up again."

"No, stay down. I've got this." I glare at Agent 24.

"Oh, do you?" he replies. "We'll see about that."

He returns his gun to a holster inside his coat and then cracks his knuckles. "I'm going to enjoy beating you to a pulp."

As he stomps toward me, I question what I just said. Without a doubt, I don't have this. This is David versus Goliath. Mr. Universe versus someone who wouldn't even win Mr. North Coastal High at school. But gym workouts have toned my body. Also, I have youth on my side, but Agent 24 towers over me, a mountain of muscle bulging beneath his Kevlar layered sweater and suit jacket.

I wish one of Kayla's darts would peg him in the head. But then again, it might ricochet off his titanium plated skull.

But I also have speed and agility on my side.

As he swings at me, I duck. Twice.

That's a start. If he can't hit me, then he can't hurt me. But how long can I play this game? Hopefully long enough for Kayla to find somewhere on his body to place a well-aimed dart.

"Come on," Agent 24 says. "Fight like an agent."

"I'm not an agent. I told you before, I'm a sophomore in high school."

"If you kill me and turn your dad in to The Collective, I'm sure they'll reconsider and take you back into the fold." With a grumble, he rushes toward me and drops his shoulder like he's about to deliver an upper-cut, but at the last second, he pulls back and launches a kick. His foot sinks into my abdomen with breath-stealing power.

The air expels from my lungs as I careen backwards from the force of his massive foot. I land several feet away, groaning with excruciating pain, clutching my stomach with both hands.

My gun slips from my waistline and skitters away from me.

"This is going to be easier than I thought." He glances down when a dart bounces off of his boot. He grins, reaches for his gun and fires off another volley to keep Kayla pinned down. "Steel-toed shoes. I figured they'd come in handy, especially when I use them to kick your face in."

Agent 24 holsters his gun and then starts toward me.

"Kayla?" I say through gritted teeth. Fortunately, his boot didn't nail me in the ribs. I want nothing to do with broken bones or a punctured lung. After a brief pause, I catch another wind. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Get out of there, Aiden. He'll kill you."

Agent 24 interrupts our conversation, bends over and grabs me by the collar, and yanks me off the ground. He holds me in the air, his dark eyes drilling into my psyche, his pupils threatening and menacing.