BULLET-CITY

Part-9

        Other than her car being parked in the furthest parking spot, Laura was starting to feel a little better about the situation. She began to think about other things such as the spa treatment she had had, as well as those new Ralph Lauren shoes with the rhinestone bases. She imagined herself on the beach wearing those shoes while she sipped drinks with her friends. The warm breeze felt surreal as she closed her eyes.

        Her daydream ended however, when she noticed she was on the fourth level of the parking garage instead of the second. 'Under construction' and 'do not enter' signs covered the cement pillars. She felt embarrassed as she stood in front of the stone pillar with a big red number four painted on it which read 'Do Not Enter". Seeing the two men she had passed on the way up convinced her to take the stairs down instead of the elevators again. At least she could save a little face instead of waiting for the doors to open and close.

        Laura's footsteps echoed on the concrete floor as she walked towards the stairs. Her rhythm was thrown off by the sound of screeching tires. Laura quickly stepped, more like tripped, out of the way as a black Cadillac came speeding down through the parking garage and stopped just shy of the stairs.

        Three men in black suits and sunglasses quickly jumped out of the car. Two of them popped open the trunk while the other opened the passenger door. Laura swallowed hard when she saw a tall man in a double-breasted suit step out of the car. She quickly put her back up against the closest cement pillar to stay out of site.

        Bruce Grey slicked back his hair with his hand and walked over to the trunk, opening it fully. It took all of her will power to stop herself from screaming as Laura saw Bruce pull out a beaten and tied-up man. She could not believe this was happening.
Bruce flipped out a black nightstick and extended it.

        "I see you've met my friends. I hope you didn't bleed on the interior, that's going to cost you more than the money you already owe me."

        The gagged man mumbled and gestured angrily at Bruce, but the fear in his eyes was clear.

        The ground vibrated again, as a dark blue Lincoln came speeding up and screeched to a halt. Several men with guns exited the car. Miles Cove appeared from behind the driver's side door with a black suitcase in hand. He had an apparent limp.

        "Here's your ransom money, now give back Drake!" Miles' trigger finger was twitching.

        Bruce made a quick glance at the gun and then back into Miles's eyes. His lack of expression made Miles even more uneasy.

        "If that is the money from the other night you are going to be short. I'm afraid your pal Drake has ruined a perfectly good Cadillac upholstery. That will be another $10,000 easy."

        Looking from behind the pillar, Laura did the best she could to slow her breathing. She looked for a way out in vain. There was no way she was going to slip away unnoticed, even if the two men were distracted. Where would she go? She was so paralyzed with fear that her legs probably wouldn't do what she told them anyway.

        "Don't do anything stupid," said Bruce dryly.

        Miles's mind began to race as to how he would outwit his foe. As he planned his attack he began backing up towards the pillar next to Laura. In Miles's mind he saw himself take a cold hard shot, hitting Bruce between the eyes. Meanwhile, his men would tear up Bruce's posse with their guns.

        Laura quivered as Miles walked closer to her. She closed her eyes and prayed he would not see her. She slowly pulled out her phone to dial 911. Within a few seconds Miles was standing beside the pillar where she stood. He saw her out of the corner of his eye, and a silent plot began to form.

        He quickly grabbed Laura, her phone flew out of her hands. Miles put his arm around her neck while aiming his gun more violently at Bruce. Apparently, using her as a human shield was all he could come up with. He stood boldly and fired his gun.

        Bruce dove out of the way, but not before stealing a quick glance into Laura's eyes. Immediately, both sides began to fire. Bruce paid no attention to Laura except for a second quick glance before he started firing back at Miles. Laura's screams were drowned out by the sound of gunfire.

        Two floors below, Vince was now exiting trying desperately to get a signal on his phone. "Hey, watch it," he said, as he was bumped aside by a security guard and two men. The security guard was on his walkie-talkie calling for back up as the other men were calling 911. Instinctively, he followed them up the stairs to where the action was.

        "Stop right there!" yelled the security guard, pulling out his taser gun.

        Turning around, Miles fired several bullets, killing the three men instantly. Taking the opportunity, Bruce returned the favor to Miles with a shot through his heart. Miles's weight fell onto Laura and brought them both down to the ground.

        Vince swiftly grabbed the security guard's taser and scanned the scene. Laura screamed for help as she struggled to push Miles off of her.

        Vince wasted no time. He rolled behind some barrels left from the construction workers. Waiting for his opportunity he took a clean shot at one of Bruce's henchmen. The zap shook the man violently and he fell to the ground.   

        Keeping low, Vince sprinted towards the trapped Laura. Shoving Miles's body with his foot, he grabbed the dead man's gun, then freed Laura by dragging her behind the nearest cement pillar.

        Laura screamed louder as more shots were fired their way. "Stay here, I'll clear us a path," commanded Vince as he crawled towards the Lincoln.

        Suddenly, he was picked up by a large man and punched in the face. Dropping his gun on the impact, Vince bounced back and charged the man. Finding himself on top of the brute, Vince took the man's gun and knocked him out with the handle. He signaled for Laura to follow him.

        Laura quickly shook her head from side to side. She was just too scared to move. Vince let out a sigh and ran back to her. If she wouldn't follow him, he might as well protect the castle and wait out the enemy.

        He was right. After several minutes of gun fighting, Miless' group was entirely wiped out. The air smelled like gunpowder and wet paint.

        All was quiet.

        Bruce, who had hardly broken a sweat, picked up the briefcase full of money. He slicked back his hair and looked towards Drake.

        "Kill him. And kill the witnesses as well." Bruce's men nodded and aimed a gun towards Drake.

         Vince checked his gun, only to find the clip was empty. He stole a quick glance at Laura who gave him an "Are you crazy?" look. He was about to take them all on. Just as Vince stood to meet his fate, sounds of sirens were heard in the near vicinity followed by marching footsteps up the parking lot stairs.

        Bruce's men looked at each other and then at him.

        "Don't be stupid. Get in the car and let's go," he said.

        The men raced towards the car and started the engine. As Bruce entered the passenger seat he looked over at Laura, catching her glance. He then threw the suitcase in the car as it peeled away down the garage.