The Raven Conspiracy

Chapter 40

Chapter 40 -

“Look, here’s another,” sneered the one in the middle, stepping forward. “She must be the little rat that broke open the steam pipe in the factory. I’ll admit, that was a clever distraction. It let you girls get this far, but I’m afraid you’re dead now. Just like your precious detective.”

He glowered at Kairo who was still slung over our shoulders and unresponsive.

“It’s a pity there’ll be no-one to bury your corpses. I’m sure that’s what you wanted to do to the detective. Oh well. Maybe, if you girls behave, I’ll consider throwing you into the river instead of to the dogs.”

I felt a shudder at the leer he fixed Jen and I with.

“Maya,” I thought I imagined the murmur in my ear, but when I felt the faint, rasping breath I knew it was real. Kairo was conscious.

“Maya...Kneecaps,” he whispered.

I knew what he was referring to. A swift kick, even as weak as the one I could do, would give us a small gap. A gap large enough for Jen to take the gun off her back and put it to use. I had a plan.

I took a deep breath and let myself start crying. It wasn’t difficult to do; I simply let out the emotions of the trauma we’d just been through, and how I’d felt when I saw Kairo lying so close to death. The guard looked surprised, but gave a mocking laugh at my tears. I let my anger simmer beneath the sobbing.

“We’ll...We’ll surrender,” I choked. “We’ll go quietly. Just make it quick.”

As I spoke the last sentence, I looked at Jen out of the corner of my eye and emphasised it. She looked confused and shocked, but I could not make it clearer without revealing my plan. I unhooked Kairo’s arm from around my shoulder and began lowering him to the ground. Still confused, Jen followed what I was doing and also put him down. She glared at me, as if she was  angry at me for giving up. I prayed that she would understand my plan as I waited for the guard to come closer. I stepped forward.

He swaggered towards us, grinning in a way that sent shivers of disgust up and down my spine. When he was close enough, I turned and snapped a kick to his kneecap. He roared from pain and reached for his gun. At the same time, Jen saw her chance, pulled her gun off her back and levelled it at the guards. Her glare was ice.

“Let us pass and you live. Resist and you die.”

At the sight of such a massive weapon in the hands of a very angry young woman, the other guards wisely fled. Only their sleazy leader remained. He stuck his hands in his pockets and laughed.

“This is a last warning,” she threatened coldly. He moved closer, reaching out to grab her arm. There was the explosive clattering of her pulling the trigger and releasing a stream of bullets through his body. I shut my eyes and turned my head away from his destroyed corpse. I swallowed and reminded myself not to get on her wrong side, ever.

Reeling, I helped Jen carry Kairo the rest of the way to the cars.

***

They asked too many questions. All I wanted to do was go home, take a hot shower and climb into bed. The sun was halfway across the morning sky by the time the police and hospital stuff released me into the care of my parents. I had given vague answers or remained silent for their questions, deflecting them to Jen. She had the official clearance of whatever it was to answer them, and would be stuck there for the rest of the morning. Kairo was still in surgery, but my parents refused to let me stay and wait to hear the results. When he had been rushed into the ER, I’d overheard one of the doctors say that his kidney was hit. I climbed into my parents’ car, silently crying. So far, neither my mom nor my dad had said a word to me.