Chapter 13 #2
“I don’t have to explain myself to you. Stop fishing for more information.” The short guy sneered again, but then he abruptly shifted his gaze to something over her shoulder. “Phil! Have you found him?”
“Not yet.” The words were distant, as if Phil was all the way on the other side of the building. “The place is empty.”
“Keep looking!” The short guy scowled, then turned back to her. “If he’s hiding in there, we’ll find him.”
“I told you he’s not. I came alone. You’re just wasting time.” She was secretly thrilled that Phillip hadn’t found Micah. She tried to think of a way to distract him. “Where is Jin Yong Wu in all of this? This is his data center project, isn’t it?”
Annoyed surprise flared in short man’s narrow beady eyes.
“Yes, that’s right. I did my homework.” She managed a self-satisfied smile.
“I know Jin Yong Wu owns this place. But it’s not just a data center, is it?
What’s his ultimate plan for the company anyway?
Does Jin Yong Wu intend to use this place to infiltrate networks?
Or is this going to be a hub for hackers? ”
“Shut up!” The short guy’s shout had her taking a step back. She may have pushed him too far. Hopefully, he wouldn’t simply shoot her right now to be done with it.
“Okay, sorry.” She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.
“You don’t have to tell me anything. Although you should know that I documented my suspicions in an email.
” She tensed, anticipating another flash of anger.
“Although if hackers are a part of the plan, I guess it will be easy enough for you to hijack the message before it gets read.” She risked a glance over her shoulder but didn’t see anyone behind her.
“Is Phillip the data guy? Or did you convince Deon or one of the other employees from Digital Creative Express to help carry out your mission?”
He took a threatening step toward her. “And here you tried to convince us that you didn’t know anything. Not that it matters.” The creepy smile was back. “I won’t lose any sleep over killing you.”
Of course he wouldn’t. Men like him had already sold their soul to the devil. As she spoke, she thought she heard something from behind her, but now there was nothing but silence.
Phillp’s prolonged absence seemed to grate on the short guy. “Okay, Phil, give it up. If you haven’t found him yet, he must have already left. And that means we need to get out of here too.”
Bryn tensed, wondering how this would go down. Somehow, she didn’t think they’d risk spilling blood on the new concrete floor. Would they take her away somewhere to kill her?
Would Micah have time to intervene if they did?
There was no response from Phil. She kept her gaze on the short guy, anticipating he would grab her and force her out of there at any moment.
“Phil! Answer me!” The short guy let out a string of curses as the silence stretched for a full minute. And then two.
Her heart pounded in her chest as realization dawned.
She firmly believed that Phil couldn’t answer because Micah had grabbed and disarmed him.
Maybe, just maybe, they’d both make it out of this alive after all.
After texting Rex to call 911, Micah found a stack of drywall along with two stacked pails of drywall mud not far from the two sawhorses that held the blueprint. It wasn’t an optimal hiding spot, he was too big to hide there for long, but it was better than nothing.
He admired how Bryn spoke confidently to the two gunmen. He was still annoyed with her decision to serve herself up on a platter, but there was nothing he could do now except go along with her impromptu plan.
Yet he wasn’t even sure if Rex had gotten the message to call 911 or how long it would take for the police to arrive. In the meantime, he needed a plan B.
He’d thought at first that the gunmen had bought into Bryn’s story about how she’d come to the data center alone.
He’d been even more impressed when she’d used their very real argument as the reason they’d decided to go their separate ways.
It had been a brilliant ruse, but her act hadn’t worked for long.
When a tall man holding a weapon stepped out of the office space and began scanning the area, holding his gun in the ready position to shoot at anything that moved, Micah knew they hadn’t believed her.
There was no time to lose. He absolutely needed to figure out a way to draw the guy toward him without revealing his location. And he also needed to disarm him without alerting the gunman with Bryn.
A daunting task, but he didn’t have another option. As much as he wanted to check his phone for a reply from Rex, he stayed where he was, watching through a narrow crack between the stacked drywall and the pails as the gunman crossed the spacious room, looking from right to left and back again.
How long would it take for him to come this way? Micah didn’t know, but all he could do was stay put and wait.
He’d waited in worse and more uncomfortable positions than this during his last tour in Afghanistan, but he was more on edge here because of Bryn. Listening to her talking with the other gunman made him realize she was doing her best to buy him time.
That she’d sacrifice herself for him was humbling. Incredibly annoying and frustrating beyond reason, but still humbling.
His fellow soldiers had put themselves in harm’s way for him, just as he had in return without hesitation, but that was different.
They were well trained and armed. Doing what Bryn had, purposefully putting herself in the lion’s den, was not typical.
Especially for a woman without any police or military training.
His former fiancée couldn’t even support his admittedly erratic schedule, must less put herself in harm’s way for him.
After spending time with Bryn over the past few days, he realized Leah had done him a favor by ditching him.
He hadn’t loved her the way he should have loved the woman he had planned to spend the rest of his life with.
His feelings for Leah were a pale comparison to the way he loved Bryn.
And there was no way he was going to let these guys kill her.
When the gunman in the office space shouted Phil’s name, he realized the guy sweeping the building was Phillip Justin.
Bryn had mentioned him as the person who’d hired Damien to put a positive spin on this data center project.
Phil had responded from someplace far away, maybe all the way outside near the SUV.
Good thing he and Bryn had left their vehicle hidden behind the dirt pile and backhoe.
He held his breath, waiting for Phil to return to his field of vision.
Then he cautiously turned to make sure the guy wasn’t someplace behind him.
He’d chosen this position because it was the only viable hiding spot and because of the close proximity to the office.
He didn’t see anyone behind him, but his muscles remained tense at the thought of Phil stumbling across him.
Bryn’s voice drifted toward him. He understood she was speaking louder than usual to hide whatever noise he might make. She was also clearly trying to buy some time for the police to get there.
Bryn’s faith and her ability to pray made him open his heart to the Lord. He realized he couldn’t do this alone, so he silently prayed that Rex had gotten his text, made the emergency call, and that the Wild Prairie police were on their way.
Hearing a nail being kicked across the floor had him going completely still. It was the same thing Bryn had accidentally done, only this time Phil had been the one to disturb the construction debris. He peered through the narrow crack, waiting for the guy to come into view.
There! Phil stepped into his line of sight and paused, looking around as if sensing Micah’s presence.
Phil still held his weapon in hand, but the barrel of the gun was lower now, pointing toward the floor.
A lot of people didn’t realize how heavy a handgun could be when holding it for a prolonged period.
He estimated the distance between his hiding spot and Phil as being twenty-five feet. Too far for him to spring out of hiding. Even though his weapon was down, it wouldn’t take long to bring the barrel up to fire.
Come on, walk this way, he silently urged. Phil hadn’t come near the drywall pails yet, and if the guy knew anything about clearing a building, he should be walking toward him at any moment to check things out.
Micah planned to be ready.
Phil paused, glanced both ways, then seemed to notice the drywall containers for the first time. Micah figured he must have gone straight through the building to check the area outside to make sure nobody was out there.
Any soldier would have cleared the building first. That’s fine, he welcomed the opportunity to get this guy. Phil turned and made his way straight toward Micah’s hiding spot.
To his credit, Phil moved slowly, as if anticipating a trap. Apparently, his instincts weren’t all bad.
Micah didn’t so much as breathe while Phil approached. Micah kept his gaze steady, watching and waiting, while mentally ticking off the series of movements he planned to execute at precisely the right time.
Now!
Micah sprang up from his hiding spot, reaching Phil in less than two steps. He clamped his hand around Phil’s right wrist and wrenched the weapon free. Then he yanked Phil’s arm down and behind his back and used his body to plaster the guy up against the drywall.
“Don’t make a sound,” he whispered, “or I’ll kill you.”
Phil didn’t speak, possibly too surprised and scared by how quickly Micah had managed to disarm him. But Micah doubted the shock would last for long.
With his other hand, he reached up and clamped his palm hard over Phil’s mouth and nose, just in case the guy changed his mind and screamed out his name.
Then he swiftly released the wrist he held behind Phil’s back so he could grab his weapon from his waistband.
He pressed the muzzle of his gun against Phil’s temple.
“Don’t make a sound,” Micah whispered again. For several long moments, Phil didn’t move. Micah didn’t relax his grip, knowing Phil could still alert the gunman who was holding Bryn.
After a long moment, Phil began to struggle in his grip. Micah was bigger and stronger, but he still worried the guy would make enough noise to draw attention.
He decided Phil needed to be taken out of the picture.
He shifted his stance, using his body to keep him in place, then tucked the gun away so that he could use both hands to encircle Phil’s neck.
He pressed firmly against the guy’s carotid arteries, cutting off the blood supply to Phil’s brain.
While he didn’t necessarily want to kill him, he needed to disable him as a threat.
And he was convinced Phil wouldn’t have hesitated to kill him.
Phil’s struggles grew weaker. Micah didn’t relax his grip, waiting for the lack of oxygen to Phil’s brain to immobilize him.
Phil continued to fight, his foot kicking one of the drywall paste buckets. It was full, so the muffled sound didn’t go very far.
Still, Micah glanced toward the office area, preparing for the worst.
When he heard the gunman shout Phil’s name again, Micah braced himself, knowing things were about to go sideways.
He continued holding pressure until Phil went limp in his arms. Even then he held pressure for another long minute to make sure the guy wouldn’t wake up too soon to interfere with his plan.
Finally, he lowered Phil to the concrete ground near the drywall buckets. Obviously being incapacitated meant Phil didn’t respond to the gunman’s call.
“Phil!” A string of curse words spewed forth as the gunman holding Bryn understood something had gone wrong.
He heard Bryn gasp in pain, then suddenly the second gunman was in the opening, holding Bryn in front of him, his arm around her neck in a choking grip with his gun pressed against her temple.
His heart squeezed at the fear blazing from her dark eyes. He would have done anything to spare her from this, but it was too late now.
“Don’t move or watch your girlfriend die,” the deep voice said. Although the guy didn’t sound nearly as confident now as he had earlier. It was much easier to browbeat an unarmed woman than to face a former army soldier.
“I mean it!” The guy holding Bryn didn’t look away.
“Actually, you’ve saved me some trouble by sticking around, Micah.
” The emphasis on his name hit hard; he hadn’t realized these guys knew his name.
Yet Micah didn’t flinch. “Your being here works right into my plan. Now I can kill you and Bryn in one fell swoop. By the time I’m done here, the police will believe this is nothing more than a murder/suicide. ”
“What about your buddy Phil?” Micah asked. “You won’t be able to easily explain his death.” He hadn’t killed Phil, at least he didn’t think so, but he hoped that this gunman hadn’t noticed.
The guy holding Bryn shrugged as if that possibility simply couldn’t be helped. Clearly, he didn’t care about Phil’s demise.
Fear gripping his throat, Micah tried again.
He didn’t dare reach for his own weapon, not when this guy held the muzzle of his gun pressed against Bryn’s temple.
“The police won’t just buy your murder-suicide setup without a thorough investigation.
It’s extremely rare for a woman to shoot and kill her partner, before turning the gun on herself. Typically, it’s the other way around.”
“Yet she’s the one being framed for murder.
” The gunman’s smirk made Micah wish he could lash out to swipe it off his face.
“I think we’ll be able to sell this story well enough to avoid being caught.
Now I’m done playing around. Throw down your weapon.
And do the same thing with the one you took from Phil too. ”
Micah knew that no matter what happened here, Rex would make sure to seek justice. Yet Micah was afraid that would be too little too late.
For a long second, he and the gunman holding Bryn stared each other down across the fifteen feet of concrete that stretched between them.
No matter how many different angles Micah used to examine their situation, there was no easy solution to free Bryn from the gunman’s firm grip.
He didn’t dare risk pulling his weapon to shoot the gunman in the head.
The reflex of the perp’s finger tightening on the trigger was all that was needed to kill her.
They were at a stalemate.