Angel and the Assassin

off.” Angel looked up at him, his big eyes full of wisdom.
    “You have nothing to prove. Do not take risks.”
    “Thank you, Yoda.”
    An old plough and a tractor stood in the yard. Kael ran silently toward the
    plough, using it for cover, and then the tractor, which stood closest to the cowshed.
    Inside, voices were raised as they discovered the dead man and their hostage gone.
    Through the broken window, Kael aimed his GLOCK 26.
    The man with the gun on Dragana screamed something at her and struck her
    hard with the side of his pistol, making a sickening crack as the gun made contact
    with her head. She stumbled to the ground, and he kicked her in the side,
    continuing to shout. The other man came to stand over her and aimed his gun,
    ready to shoot.
    Kael made the split-second decision to take out the second man first and felled
    him with one bullet to the head. The other man showed his lack of training by how
    slowly he turned and the surprised look on his face. When he fell, he landed on top
    of Dragana, accidentally discharging his own gun.
    The woman let out a strained cry. Kael entered quickly and dragged the man
    off her. “Are you injured?”
    “My foot, just a graze, I think. There are two men more in the house, and they
    have a fucking great big Alsatian dog.”
    He helped her up. “The gunshot will bring the others out. Angel is waiting in
    the woods. We have to hurry. Did they take your gun?”
    “Yes, I‟m sorry. The dog alerted them there was someone outside the window. I
    couldn‟t run fast enough.” Dragana took a step, and her foot collapsed under her,
    causing her to stumble to her knees. Kael pulled out his flashlight and shone it on
    the foot. It was more than a graze. The metatarsal bones were shattered where the
    bullet had pierced them. Adrenaline masked the pain to some degree, but she was
    beginning to go into shock. “Try to stand up; I‟ll carry you.”

    176
    Fyn Alexander

    “That could be harder than you think. I weigh thirteen stone, but I am
    planning to join Slimming World if we get out of this alive.” Pain made her voice
    weak, while fear brought out her sense of humor.
    “I‟m a big fucker; I can do it.”
    Not wanting his gun too far out of reach, Kael stuffed it into the pocket of his
    leather jacket rather than his shoulder holster. He pulled Dragana to her feet, but
    she was no more than five feet three inches and could barely reach up to put her
    arm around his neck.
    “I think I‟m going to have to do the fireman‟s lift.” He positioned her and began
    to lift just as the Alsatian bounded into the shed, barking. The dog had been trained
    to corner people, but not attack until ordered. Kael managed to hang on to Dragana,
    but both were pinned to the wall. His hand was in his pocket on his gun when the
    other two men entered the cowshed with weapons drawn.
    One man shouted at the dog, which lay down quietly.
    Even in the darkness, Kael recognized one of the men as having been the man
    sitting with his target in Edinburgh. A flashlight shone in their faces, blinding
    them. Kael‟s eyes adjusted almost instantly, but Dragana was still blinded. “He
    says he saw you in Scotland,” Dragana interpreted.
    “Do they speak English?”
    “Maybe a little but I don‟t think much.”
    The taller of the two men, the one who had been in Edinburgh, came closer
    and stuck his gun in Kael‟s chest, speaking loudly. “He says sit on the floor.”
    Kael slid down, taking Dragana with him, attempting to ease her pain. Again
    the man spoke, his voice raised, the words unintelligible, but somewhere amid the
    harsh consonants he heard the word Angel . “They are asking where the boy is.”
    “Like I‟m going to tell them,” Kael said. They were sitting on the damp dirt
    floor with two men leaning over them, but all the time Kael scanned the cowshed
    looking for a means of escape or a distraction so he could pull out his gun. Any
    minute the men would search him for weapons. He hated giving up his gun. He‟d
    rather give up his cock.
    The two men began talking to each other without taking their eyes off them.
    “They are deciding what to do next. The tall one wants to try to negotiate using
    us; the other wants to kill us now.”
    When a face appeared in the window, ghostly pale in the moonlight, Kael
    watched it for a split second, his heart thudding suddenly in fear.
    Get back to the fucking woods and do as you’re told. You’re supposed to obey
    me.
    Angel