24 hours later:
The last day is pretty much just one big blur to Grant. Hartle has been working non-stop trying to get a location on either me, the guys or the Huntsman, he is running on fumes and Grant knows this but he they can't afford to rest in his eyes. Derosa has been doing whatever he does when there's nothing he can do, IT is not his or Grant's forte. So, they have just been sitting around and waiting for something to happen.
Grant glances down to his sleek yet tough watch that sits securely on his left wrist. He questions if 7 pm is too early to be drinking bourbon but he continues anyway in the bar of the hotel where they are held up. He sits alone at the long bar, the bartender to his left cleaning and putting away glasses due to the lack of people in the bar at the moment. Grant is his number one customer it seems.
He uses his stronger right hand to swirl the drink around in the small clear glass, his mind is else where though. Jackson and Becker are currently on his mind, the Huntsman and myself lingering in the background. He constantly questions the two men who he has grown close with, or so he thought. Shared secrets, shared missions, shared everything for years, all of that gone down the drain. He lifts up his head and downs the rest of the contents of his drink in one go, the strong liquid burning his insides as it settles. Why did they betray him, that's the main question and the main answer that keeps arising is always the same.
Me.
Yet another reason for him wanting me dead, if only he saw the big picture he might be more open minded. There is hope for him yet, maybe.
"Boss" Derosa's strong voice removes Grant from his day dream. He turns in his seat to see his only remaining friend on the team approach him rapidly. Derosa is wearing a variation of the clothes he always wears, a dark set of trousers and shirt accompanied by a dark leather or cloth jacket and finished off with a pair of boots.
"Anything?" Grant questions as he unfolds a few notes and leaves them on the counter beside the empty glass, a little extra as a tip for the bartender who is busy serving another customer.
"Hartle thinks he has found out where they are, come look" Derosa unloads the information before walking away from Grant again, but Grant is quick on his heels eager to see what Hartle has found. Grant feels a buzz from within, it might be small but whatever Hartle has found is something and something is better than nothing at this point. The pair job up the stairs at a quick rate before Derosa unlocks the door to their shared room. Hartle sits in the same spot, the signs of exhaustion becoming evident. He has bags under each eye, cans of different energy drinks littered in a circle around his desk and computers.
"What do you have?" Grant passes Derosa who holds the door open and confidently strolls so that he is behind Hartle and looking over his shoulder to the screens in front of him.
"I'm not certain if it's where they are but I'm pretty sure it's a good option. So Jackson and Becker left their respective hotels within five minutes of each other. I took turns and tracked each one individual, which was difficult because they both tried to stay out of view. However I stayed on them, they both met and stole a car without witnesses. Now I tracked the car the best i could but the CCTV camera's stopped once they left the city. They were on a small road, not much traffic. I skipped ahead to the next set of closest cameras and it didn't pick up the car, so i'm assuming they were somewhere between where i lost them and the next set of cameras. Thankfully it didn't take me long to find a possible spot where they could be. There's an empty and abandoned warehouse about five minutes from where i last saw them, it's isolated and large" Hartle gives Grant everything and doesn't hold up. He is tired and it's evident in his tone.
"That's good, they are far enough from the city but close enough at the same time. It's a good spot, good work Hartle" Grant nods and praises his IT friend before turning around and fumbling with a couple of bags. He places both of them on the bed and begins to unzip them as Derosa approaches him.
"What's the plan boss?" He keenly asks and Grant looks up at him before pulling an assault rifle from one of the black bags. He cocks the weapon back readying it for action.
"We're gonna get our boys back, you in?" Grant questions seriously as he awaits Derosa's answer. Derosa glances into the bag and pulls out a simple hand gun. He copies Grant and loads the gun quickly before diverting his attention back to his boss.
"Absolutely" He simple answers which causes Grant to smile, at least someone is on his side he thinks as he and Derosa get to work gearing up.
* * *
"Hey, thanks for doing this again...okay, keep me updated" Becker presses the red button on his phone which ends the call to his IT guy who is somewhere in the city but well hidden. Becker turns around and walks back around to Jackson and myself who remain at the table skimming through the notes that Charlie kindly printed off before he was taken.
"He good?" I question Becker once he is within earshot. Using his free left hand, he runs his fingers through his shiny hair.
"Yep, all good" He replies and I nod acknowledging his answer. The IT guy is doing multiple jobs for us, finding anything on the location of Charlie and The Huntsman, anything on Moore and to get a location of the other two morons if he can. Don't worry, he is going to get a handsome pay for his work.
As I ponder on how he would go about finding all this information that we require, something else barely catches my attention. While at the table, i turn my head minutely to the right, directing my ear towards the closest window. I must have stayed in this strange position a little long because Becker is quick to question me.
"Sophia, you okay? You look a little startled..." Becker is cut off by my hand mid-sentence as i throw it up in the direction of his face without moving my head from it's position. Both men remain silent as I wait a moment later before i decide i need to investigate the very subtle but off sound i heard. I slowly place the sheets that were on my lap onto the table before I subtly stand up. I pull out my gun from my waistband and click the safety off before turning to face both the guys. I simply raise my finger to my mouth to indicate for them to stay very, very quiet.
With them informed, I look back to the closest window where the noise originated and I begin to stalk closer and closer to it. I place one foot firmly in front of the other before moving the other one, my senses are on overload so I'm on the fullest alert I can be on. I run numerous scenario's through my mind while also analyzing the escape routes that I have already thought about. When I'm within a meter of the window, I stop walking and freeze on the spot with one leg out in front of the other. I listen very carefully, i even hold my breath so that it can be increased. Yep, there it is again, the noise.
It's whispering.
We have company.
Slowly I turn around and make eye contact with the pair who are both standing and awaiting news. Using military hand signals, ones we all know, I communicate to them what I think is happening and what we need to do now. I try my hardest to tell them to quietly gather the sheets on the table, key information that no one else needs to see. When they have successfully done that, I explain to them that they need to get their guns ready. I also grab Becker's attention and ask him to fetch a silencer which he does and carefully throws it to me at a safe distance. I catch it and quickly screw it onto the end of my gun while taking a small step forward to give me a good look out of the window. I turn back and make sure the guys are ready, they both nod at me indicating they are prepped and prepared for whatever might happen. I take a deep breath to steady myself before i lean in against the wall of the warehouse, right beside a murky steel grated window. I point the gun down to the ground with straight arms and rest my finger gently over the trigger. I listen again and i find i can't locate the noise. Only one way to found out if they are still there I guess. Using small and nimble movements i delicately turn my body and head to the left, towards the window. As i do, i instantly regret it, I should have just gotten the guys and left out the back door. How do i know there wouldn't be people out the back? Because there isn't an army of SWAT agents outside, there are not helicopters hovering overhead. There's just two men, how do I know that now you ask?
Derosa and myself make eye contact for a split second. Not even a split second, however it was enough for him to recognise it is me and enough time for him to decide I am bullet worthy.
* * *
YOU ARE READING
The Girl Behind The Bullets
Action~BOOK TWO~ It's been five and half months since the events in Cuba, since me, The Black Swan, escaped again. I left The Company, it was the best decision for me and the company so now I'm free lance. People pay me to get the job done and that's h...
