Vice

Sixteen

Mud splattered against her boots and jeans as she raced back towards the main building. Thunder rumbled overhead, and a flash of lightening broke the dark sky in two. The steady torrent of rain soaked through her clothes and she was suddenly chilled as a gust of wind hit her in the face.

As soon as she reached the opening to the building, the large tattooed man stepped out from the open garage door. His burly figure casting a shadow over his face. Eyeing her warily his finger was poised on the trigger of the gun in his hands.

"I heard gunshots. Where are-" his head dipped to the gun at her side.

Before he had a chance to raise his arm, he nothing more than a lifeless body, a pool of blood soaking into the wet ground beneath.

Thea stepped over him and ducked to the side of the garage door. Inside a few men shouted at each other, their voices muffled against the heavy thud of rain on the metal roof.

Peering around the corner, she counted ten men. Four were armed. There was no sign of James or the others. Sighing, she wiped the wet strands of hair from her face and stepped around the corner firing off two quick shots. One of the armed men went down.

She rolled behind a stack of crates as his companions filled the air with pellets. A pool of water began form at her feet as she readjusted her hold on the gun. The knurly grip felt at home in her hands, the trigger biting into the calloused pad on her first finger.

Sneaking a glance between the crates she saw one of the men making his way around the left side.

She crept to the edge of the row, and fell down to one knee. As he rounded the corner she sent a bullet up into his abdomen, he grunted and fell to his knees. She stood over him, her body shielded by the tall row of boxes, and fired another round into his head. The man's eyes rolled back in his head, hand still clutched around the automatic assault rifle at his side.

A wry grin grew across Thea's face and she tucked her own weapon back into its holster.

With her newly acquired gun power, she easily took down the remaining two armed men. Both of whom were standing in the center of the room. The weapon had a considerate amount of kick compared to the handgun she was accostomed to. She had adjusted to the recoil when the second man hit the floor.

Scanning the room she found the remaining six behind stacks of boxes. She walked down the aisles, firing off the weapon at the defenseless men and only a few moments later, she stood at the opening to the larger room.

She threw the assault rifle aside. Preferring control and accuracy over sheer power, she retrieved a handgun from the hands of the first man she killed. She took out her own gun and tested out the feeling of them both in her hands. The gun was bulky and felt foreign in her hands, but she was skilled enough with her own to wield it with her left hand.

Holding both at her side, she walked to the larger room.

A flash of red hair exited the front door as Thea rounded the corner. She cursed under her breath, they had left her.

The makeshift office was about ten yards in front of her. She glanced around the room, calculating if she had enough time to make it to the only cover between her and the exit.

Deciding she had no other options she took a breath and made a dash for the room. Windows above her shattered cascading glass across the cement floor as bullets filled the air. She crouched low and rolled into the room.

She rolled to her feet gracefully and tensed as she stared down the barrel of a handgun.

"Thea?"