45. Zombie
FORTY-FIVE
ZOMBIE
Buddha walked toward me with a sinister smirk on his face and his gun pointing into the room. Behind him, Badger, Phantom, Monte, and Chief walked in with their guns drawn, flanked by Kaden, Machine, Bohdi, and some other men I didn’t recognize.
Chief looked at me with a knowing grin. It was as if he had known that I would be here trying to take down the organization by myself.
Everyone got into formation, effectively blocking off the only exit.
The buyers looked at one another and then to me, beginning to murmur and shift in their seats. The men who lined the far wall drew their guns, leaving me in the crossfire.
“You really thought that we would let you have all the fun?” Buddha said as he moved into the room. Buddha waggled his eyebrows, looking at Sarah and giving her a little wave. “I have so many plans for you, Sarah.”
Her face paled as recognition dawned on her.
I put my hands up at either side to keep them from shooting.
“If everyone listens, no one has to die today,” Chief said as he walked up next to Buddha. His eyes were calculating as he took in the threats surrounding the room. “We have the building surrounded. Put your hands up above your heads, or you will be killed.”
Any man with half a brain did as instructed, as arms went up across the room, and whimpers from the cages echoed in the vast space. I looked toward the men standing against the wall and raised an eyebrow at them, daring them to retaliate.
“Move a muscle and this place will blow,” I told them, taking a small device out of my pocket and holding it in the air as a red light blinked steadily on the detonator. The men had daggers in their eyes as the betrayal washed over them.
“Drop the gun!” Buddha ordered.
I followed his line of fire and saw that Sarah was now holding her own gun, standing on shaky legs. The onlookers remained frozen, waiting to see what would happen next. Sarah kept the gun pointed at me.
“I trusted you!” she screamed.
“And that, dear sister, is where you royally fucked up,” I chimed back.
I turned to her, knowing my team had my back. Well, I hoped they still did.
Monte walked forward toward the buyers, daring them to move. Some of them were eyeing their weapons in the center of the room while others scanned the walls for exits, but none of them dared to try anything.
“You could have had everything that you ever wanted, and instead you chose them over family?” Sarah bit out.
I took a menacing step forward, accepting my fate if she decided to pull the trigger.
“You are not my family, Sarah, and neither is Anthony Ricci. They are my family.” I pointed to the group at the door.
I missed how close she was to Ryann and Cassie at this point and realized too late when she grabbed Cassie who was holding Ryann and pressed the gun to her head.
“Make one more move and the bitch and the kid are dead,” Sarah growled out as she pressed the gun further into Cassie’s temple.
I put out my arms like I was trying to catch a wild animal and, in this case, Sarah truly was like a wild animal. Unpredictable and all about survival.
“Sarah, let go of Cassie and my daughter.” I tried to negotiate while also letting my team know what was at stake.
Sarah let out a chuckle. “You must think I am foolish, if you think I am going to let both of them go. Choose one!” she demanded.
Cassie’s eyes filled with tears, her unspoken statement coming through to me. Save our baby.
“Send Ryann to me,” I demanded.
Sarah and Cassie obeyed as the now three-year-old was walking hesitantly toward me. Once she was in arms reach, I grabbed her.
“Phantom!” I called out to my teammate and she was next to me in a flash taking Ryann out of the building and to safety.
I turned back to Sarah who was still using Cassie as a shield.
“It’s going to be okay, Cas. Eyes on me,” I tried to soothe.
Sarah cackled. “Don’t listen to him bitch, he’s a liar!”
“Dante, please…” Cassie begged.
I felt the presence of my team and knew everything would be alright. They had my back. Quickly I reached into my back pocket, grabbed my gun, and, in a flash, pulled the trigger, hitting Sarah in the shoulder, making her let go of Cassie.
They both dropped to the floor as chaos unfolded in the warehouse. I ran to Cassie and had her halfway upright when a shot was fired right in Cassie’s back. She jolted into my arms as she let out a sharp gasp. I placed my hand on her back and when I pulled it back it was covered in blood.
“No, no, no, no” I said to Cassie as I lowered her to the ground. Mayhem continued around us.
I looked over at Sarah who was laying half on the ground now pointing her gun at me.
“Fuck you, Dante!” she screamed just as she pulled the trigger, barrel aimed straight at my heart, From the left, Badger shot her directly in the chest, causing Sarah’s shot to go wide and land in the back of one of the runaway customers.
Sarah clasped the wound and tried to stop the bleeding before she fell to the floor and took her last breath. Badger shot her once more in the head for good measure to make sure she was in fact dead and would stay that way. Buyers started lunging for their weapons and sprinting toward the exit.
My focus came back. I needed to tend to Cassie who was now bleeding all over the ground. She grabbed my hand, hers shaking violently as the life was being sucked out of her. “I’m so… sorry,” she mustered out.
Tears filled my eyes as I realized that someone that was important to me was about to die yet again. “No. No, it’s fine. We are going to get out of here and get you checked out and then we can make a plan for everything.”
Cassie let out a chuckle before it turned into a cough that was filled with blood.
Blood started to dribble down the corner of her mouth.
“Take… care… of her” were the last words she managed before her whole body went slack.
I couldn’t stay where I was, I needed to move and get the women and children out of there.
Gunfire filled the room as FBI agents and police swarmed inside. I ran to the cages, trying my damnedest not to get shot.
“Monte, Machine! Help me get the women and children out of here!” I called out over the ringing in my ears.
Just as I opened the first cage, I felt the sharp sting of a bullet entering my right lower side. I dropped to the ground.
Buddha ran over to me as Monte and Machine worked in tandem to unlock the cages. Searing hot pain radiated from my side as I gasped for breath.
“I got you, brother,” Buddha said as he scooped me up bridal-style and got me out of the building.
Buddha hurried to a group of ambulances waiting in the parking lot, calling out to the paramedics. The chaos was already beginning to die down, and police were ushering people out of the warehouse in handcuffs.
I looked at my friend, who I thought hated me, with confusion. “You came?”
Buddha nodded his head, emotions swimming in his eyes. “We would have never let you do this alone.”
Relief swept through me at his admission. I opened my mouth to respond, but my muscles were going slack, my head spinning. My vision blurred, then faded to black.