Chapter 6 #2
Doc hated to scare her, but he wasn’t going to take any chances with her life.
They could go around to the smaller west entrance to the village, but there was no guarantee the protestors hadn’t gathered there too.
And it would take twice as long to get there.
He wanted to get Ember to the dorm and inside where she’d be safe.
Then he’d find his team to see how they could help mitigate the situation.
They began to walk quickly toward the Olympic Village, but he knew before he could even see the large courtyard outside the entrance that they were too late. People were running past them in the opposite direction. Shop owners slammed and locked their doors.
“Fuck,” Doc muttered. His phone rang, but he couldn’t stop to answer it right now.
He was more concerned about Ember’s safety.
He shifted her backpack so it was on both his shoulders, freeing up his hands.
He grasped Ember’s hand and felt her tighten her fingers.
She didn’t speak, clearly understanding the gravity of the situation.
Doc moved forward cautiously, not wanting to burst into the middle of a situation he didn’t have all the facts about.
“Boot the oppressors!” someone shouted from nearby.
“Open the gates!” another voice yelled.
The volume got louder and louder as more people joined in the chanting. Then suddenly there were more people running toward the protest—and the gates leading into the Olympic Village—than there were running away.
Doc and Ember were swept up in the chaos and herded into the middle of the protest.
“Don’t let go of me!” he yelled, raising his voice to be heard above the chanting.
Ember nodded, and he felt her fingers tighten around his hand yet again.
Doc couldn’t risk pulling out his firearm in this crowd.
So far the protesters weren’t being violent, but he knew it could only be a matter of time before things changed.
It looked as if there were more than a few people who were doing their best to incite the crowd, stirring it up and encouraging everyone to get more and more vocal.
“Communism equals oppression!”
“Free Hong Kong!”
“Absolute power corrupts!”
“Commies shouldn’t be allowed to participate!”
Doc wasn’t sure exactly what the people were protesting. It sounded like various things, including the fact that athletes from alleged communist countries were allowed to participate in the Olympics.
At the moment, however, it didn’t really matter.
The crowd was riled up and the peaceful protest had evolved into something more dangerous.
He and Ember stood out in the crowd—Doc because he was tall and white, Ember because she was a celebrity of sorts.
Most of the people around them were Asian.
Doc had no idea if they were all locals, or if there were any terrorists mingling with the crowd.
Someone pushed him, and Doc did his best to keep his feet. Then they were being jostled by everyone around them.
Doc’s entire objective was focused on getting him and Ember out of this mob. He desperately looked around, trying to find an escape route. He wouldn’t hesitate to hurt anyone who dared put their hands on the woman by his side.
He wrapped his arm around Ember’s waist, anchoring her close as the shoving continued from all sides. Things were getting uglier by the second, and he needed to get them out of there. Now.
Then, for a split second, Doc’s gaze caught that of a man standing almost in the very middle of the crowd. He was holding a backpack in his arms…and he smiled. A cold, evil smile.
And just like that, Doc knew the protests had been a cover for what he and his team had feared all along. An organized terroristic attack.
“No!” Doc yelled—but it was too late.
The man detonated the bomb he’d been carrying in the backpack.
The explosion ripped through the people standing near the bomber, instantly killing at least a dozen men and women. Doc dropped to the ground, practically on top of Ember.
The shouts turned into screams as people realized what had happened.
Just as everyone began to run in the opposite direction from where the bomb had gone off, another explosion sounded on the outskirts of the crowd.
If Doc thought things were chaotic before, they were absolutely frenzied now. No one knew which way to run to safety as a third explosion blasted through the panicked crowd closer to the gates leading into the Olympic Village.
Doc wasn’t about to wait for a fourth bomb to go off. He stood and grabbed hold of Ember’s arm, hauling her up next to him without trying to be gentle. His only thought was to get them the hell away from the danger.
Weaving in and out of the stunned crowd, pushing past people still standing in place with signs and looks of horror on their faces, he towed Ember behind him, toward where the second bomb had exploded.
Instinct told him if there were more terrorists with explosives, they’d set them off in areas that hadn’t been bombed yet.
The carnage around them was immense, and Doc felt sick inside for all the people moaning and crying on the ground.
It was going to take a very long time to get everyone who needed medical help to the hospital.
Ember hadn’t made a sound throughout the chaos, which Doc appreciated.
He wouldn’t have blamed her if she had, but his respect for her was rising with every second that passed.
She was keeping her head and not freaking out.
A loud rumbling made Doc turn his head…
A white van was barreling down one of the roads that led into the courtyard. Two people were run over, and still the van didn’t stop.
It looked like it was headed straight for the gate to the Olympic Village.
If it rammed it, and created an entrance point for terrorists to get inside, there was no telling how many more people would get injured or killed.
If a terroristic organization wanted to start an international incident and get publicity for their cause, hurting and killing athletes from around the world was a good way to get it.
That wasn’t happening. Not on Doc’s watch. They’d already killed too many people; he wasn’t going to let them get inside the gates to kill more.
The van wasn’t slowing, and he knew it would reach the gates before extra security could arrive. He had to do something. Now.
Stopping in the middle of an open space, Doc went down on one knee and reached for his weapon. He wished he had his rifle right about now. The range was longer. But he’d use what he had.
“Do you have another?”
The question came from Ember. She was crouched next to him.
In any other circumstance, Doc would say no, that he didn’t need help. That he didn’t want to get a civilian involved. But this wasn’t just any civilian. She was a pentathlete. Shooting was one of her best skills.
Without a word, he pulled his second pistol out of his ankle holster. She grabbed it expertly and flicked off the safety.
Nodding at her, Doc turned his attention back to the rapidly approaching van. He narrowed his focus on the driver. He could shoot the tires, but that wouldn’t necessarily stop the vehicle. He had to take out the driver. Get him to take his foot off the gas. Stop him from getting to the gate.
He just had to wait until the van was a bit closer.
The driver caught and held his gaze. They were playing a game of chicken, and the terrorist thought he was going to win.
He was wrong.
Doc waited until the last second—then he unloaded his clip. One shot after another. Desperate to stop the van.
He vaguely heard shots above his head, and realized that Ember stood behind him and was shooting as well. He wanted to tell her to get the fuck down but didn’t have time.
Seconds ticked by, every one seemingly in slow motion.
He knew he’d struck the driver. Or maybe Ember had. Either way, the man was most certainly dead. But the van hadn’t stopped. The man’s foot hadn’t fallen off the gas pedal.
The vehicle was yards away, headed right for them. There wasn’t enough time to get out of the way.
But Doc had to try.
He turned and wrapped his arms around Ember’s thighs in the same moment he literally threw them to the side.
The vehicle passed so close to them that for a split second, Doc thought they’d been run over and just couldn’t feel it yet.
But by some miracle, he’d managed to get them out of the path of the van.
By the time it hit the entrance gates to the Olympic Village, it had lost enough velocity that it didn’t break through… barely.
Doc knew the danger wasn’t over. If there were explosives inside the vehicle, all hell was about to break loose.
He forced himself up off the concrete and, once more, pulled Ember up with a strong grip on her arm. He had no idea where either of his pistols were, but at the moment, he was more concerned about getting them both the fuck out of there.
Doc practically carried Ember out of the carnage. He didn’t know where he was going, just knew he needed to get away.
Movement caught his eye. A slight Korean woman was waving at him frantically from a shop at the edge of the plaza. Doc made a beeline for her and the second he cleared the door, she slammed it shut behind them.
“Kamsahamnida,” he said, thanking her in Korean.
She said something back, but Doc was already turning toward Ember.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Shit, talk to me, Em!”
“I’m good,” she said in a shaky voice.
“Fuck,” Doc muttered. Then said it again. He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around what the hell had just happened.
His phone rang, and he only now realized it had been ringing nonstop since the shit hit the fan.
With a trembling hand, he pulled it out of his pocket and held it up to his ear.
“Yeah?”
“Holy fucking shit! Doc? Are you all right? Where are you? Is Ember all right?”
Taking a deep breath, Doc couldn’t help but grin. The unflappable Trigger was definitely rattled. It didn’t happen a lot.