Chapter 25
Overdrive
“Maybe you should stay with the cages,” Kilo suggested, grinning over at Relay.
“The day I stay behind with the vehicles is the day I shove my foot up your-” Relay broke off the threat when his brother clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“Too fucking loud,” Bolo growled.
“We sure this is the right place?” Drifter asked as we all looked up at the side entrance of the meat packing plant.
“Glitch thinks so,” I said with a shrug.
That was good enough for the rest of us. Glitch was never wrong.
“Let’s go take a look around,” Ruck said.
The sun had been down for a couple hours already. Most of the crew who worked at this plant should be gone for the day. Which was probably why Glitch had footage of Carrick’s men going into this building.
I picked the lock on the side doors and we strolled in as though we belonged there.
“Stinks in here,” Hype said.
“That would be from the animals,” Merc told him with a roll of his eyes. He pointed over to where cows were milling around in pens.
“Jesus,” I muttered. “I like steak as much as the next guy but I don’t think I want to see this.”
There were pens marked with which animals had been examined by veterinarians and which hadn’t.
Ruck spared the animals a pitying glance, then continued moving into another area. There were machines in here whirring so loudly my ears ached.
“Can’t hear myself fucking think!” Bolo bellowed.
“Never thought that was a problem for you,” Relay shouted back.
“Fuck off!”
“Enough!” Ruck said, making a slashing motion over his throat to shut the brothers up.
“No way anyone hears us!” I pointed out.
“Doesn’t mean I want to listen to them,” Ruck barked, glaring at the brothers.
“Why are these machines even running?” Strike yelled.
We all stopped to think about that. Ruck shrugged when we all looked his way. “Maybe these guys are getting rid of something they don’t want found.”
“Thank fuck Flir isn’t here,” Drifter shouted. When Bolo gave him a confused glance, he asked, “What do you think he’d do if he thought they were chopping up bodies in the same machinery used to pack beef?”
“No one tells him,” Ruck ordered. “I don’t want to have to inspect every piece of beef that comes through our doors from now on. Let’s go!”
I pulled my gun out of the holster. With my hearing severely impaired for the next few minutes I wanted to be ready in case we ran into our targets. The next room was more of a loading dock, and much quieter. Thank fuck.
Merc jammed a finger in his ear and wiggled it around as he worked his jaw from side to side. All of our ears were ringing from being in that last room.
Before we had a chance to say anything the loading doors began to open. Looking around, I bolted behind some shelves and then watched as my brothers did the same.
Kilo leaned heavily against me. “Find your own fucking hiding spot,” I muttered.
“Huh?” he asked, squinting at my mouth.
Sighing, I shoved him until he wasn’t leaning on me anymore.
Once the doors were fully opened I could see that two men were coming in from outside.
Driver and helper, or two drivers. Whatever.
That wasn’t important. Two more men from inside the loading dock were greeting them.
That was four unsuspecting targets. I couldn’t see any more from this vantage point, but it was enough.
I made a hand motion to Bolo, who was across from us. Then whispered in Kilo’s ear, “I’ll start from the left, you take the center, Bolo’s got right.” He gave a single nod. With a quick glance at Bolo, I held up my fingers. Three. Two. One.
As one we stood and opened fire. The four men dropped like the sacks of shit they were. Our opening salvo caught them completely by surprise. Then the cow shit hit the fan.
Collective dickheads started pouring out of the woodworks. While we had—emphasis on had—the element of surprise, apparently The Collective made a habit of their men being armed at all times. Everyone came running in, guns blazing, ready to shoot.
“Oh fuck!” I swiveled away from the loading dock to my left and fired at the lead men from that direction. I fired until the mag was empty, then dropped down to slap in a new one.
“Guess we should have done more recon!” Kilo hollered with a grin.
“Yeah, you always liked playing on easy mode.” I took two crouched steps to my left, then came up firing.
One asshole down. A quick scan, then back behind cover.
No one was out in the open anymore. They’d all dove behind cover as well.
Our men were spread all over the loading dock, hiding behind different objects that just barely managed to be cover.
“Easy mode? We’re out numbered three to one.”
“More recon and a fair fight. You’re going soft.”
“Fuck you.” He stood and emptied another mag while I moved to flank the fuckers he was distracting.
I didn’t have to tell him my intent. He knew where I’d be going.
We couldn’t stay and slug it out across the loading bays.
They had more men and more firepower. We had to get to their sides and roll them up.
I knew that Ruck and Relay would be doing the same thing on the right.
Kilo and Bolo would keep them pinned in place while we moved.
Drifter and Hype would be covering our asses in case any more scumbags came in from behind us.
Of course, the enemy always had a say in any firefight.
We couldn’t go into it thinking we were going to win easily.
That was how you fucking lost. I ran across an opening trying to get behind a parked truck.
Turned out they had the same idea for taking us out.
Two men came around the side and leveled their pistols my way as soon as they spotted me.
There was nowhere to dive for cover. I raised my own gun and fired while running. Naturally the rounds went wild, but one round, either through a ricochet or luck, caught one of them in the thigh. He fell, knocking into his partner. It was all I needed.
I leaned into my sprint. Click. My mag was empty.
I turned the rifle in my hands and leapt in the air like a fucking barbarian.
I swung the gun in a downward arc at one fucker’s head.
It exploded like a cantaloupe. I hadn’t been expecting that, but there wasn’t time to marvel at how the hell that had even happened.
Fuck me, now I have to wash blood out of my clothes.
It was the only thought I managed before I had to take care of henchman number two.
It was that or be killed myself. I swept the rifle downward at the other man.
He was rolled onto his side, clutching his bleeding thigh, trying to maneuver away from me.
If he managed to get away he could end up killing one of my brothers. I couldn’t allow that to happen.
Once again, I brought the butt of the rifle up over my head and then swung it down on the injured man’s head. Two strokes from the rifle and his head was as unrecognizable as his friend. It wasn’t a pretty way to dispatch a man, but it fucking worked.
Letting the rifle drop to the ground, I pulled my pistol and crept around the truck. Something heavy landed on top of me, causing me to drop the gun and hit the ground hard under the weight. A couple of blows to my side told me that someone had jumped on me.
Where the fuck did he come from?
That wasn’t really important right now. The blows to my back and the kidney shot were a bit more of a concern.
I grunted in pain as it radiated up from my lower back.
Fucker had one arm wrapped around my neck, with the other he was throwing wild but hard enough punches.
Hard enough to fucking hurt. And to piss me off.
I rolled forward, slamming him into the concrete floor.
This didn’t improve my situation all that much.
He stopped throwing punches, but now he was trying to wrap his legs around me.
My vision was already getting fuzzy around the edges as he squeezed his arm against my neck harder.
He was going to choke me out in a few more seconds.
That was instant death. He’d shoot me and run off to hunt everyone else.
I don’t have time for this shit.
I grabbed his arm with my left hand, trying to let some air back into my body.
The floating specks behind my eyes eased up a little as some oxygen got to my brain.
With my right hand, I fumbled in my pocket and took out my knife.
A spring loaded folding knife. Basically a switch blade.
I thumbed the button and felt the familiar click as it sprang open.
I couldn’t tell his legs from mine right now, so stabbing blindly in that direction was out.
Instead I leaned my head to the left and drove the knife straight back behind me.
Instantly the grip around my arm loosened, and the screaming started.
Despite the ringing still going on in my ears, I could hear this guy just fine.
His voice only slightly blended in with the buzzing inside my head that wouldn’t chill the fuck out.
Between the loud machines before and all the gunfire surrounding me, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to fucking hear again after this.
Scrambling to my feet I turned in time to see my handiwork.
Fucker must have known what I was going to do, because he had brought his hand up to block the knife.
It didn’t work. My knife went through his hand and into his eye.
His hand was literally pinned to his eyeball.
I made a face of disgust. I’d seen a lot during my deployments, but that didn’t mean I didn’t ever get grossed out.
Only Relay and Drifter could look at a disgusting situation like that and have no reaction.
“Oh man, he should get that looked at.” Bolo appeared behind me. He passed me his pistol.
Okay. And Bolo apparently. Fucking weirdo.
“Really? Looked at?” I raised the pistol up, reading to move forward.
“What? You don’t like puns?”