The Assassin
“Shit,” I muttered, hearing the clatter of footsteps running up the steps. I was getting tired of FBI agents and their fucking schemes.
Simone was still staring at the crash dummy in the bed, eyes wide with a mix of shock and disappointment. She couldn’t blame herself for this. Even I could admit the trap was nicely set. But, now we needed to get the hell out of here before the rest of the cavalry showed up.
I grabbed her arms and shoved her towards the other side of the room. Ideally, I was heading towards the window, but the voices behind us delayed my plans.
“FBI!” One of them screamed. “Stop and put your hands-”
I interrupted his command with shots from my gun. Between the darkness and the silencer, the one in front didn’t even see it coming. Bullets pierced through his body, shaking with every single hit. His partner took cover as his dead body dropped to the ground.
“Fuck!” The other man shouted, his voice strangely familiar. “Housekeeping to command, we’ve got an agent down! I repeat, we’ve got an agent down!”
I sent off a few more shots to keep him from coming back in with one hand. I used the other to pull the lock on the window and push it open. “Go,” I told Simone, shoving her towards the opening.
Her brows stitched together. “What? No! I’m not leaving you.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see his shadow moving into the doorway. I wrapped an arm around Simone and pushed her towards the nearby closet - just as gunshots filled the air.
She opened the closet door and pulled me with her into the tiny space.
I used the door for cover as I returned the fire, missing the asshole by a few inches. “This is not a discussion,” I threw over my shoulder. “You are getting out of here.”
She placed her hand on my shoulder and dug her fingers into my skin. “We are getting out of here,” she corrected.
While I understood where she was coming from, I couldn’t risk losing her. Not to the feds or to death. I didn’t give a damn if they took me, but they weren’t touching her.
A moment went by without any movement on the other side. I peeked around the closet door, searching for any silhouettes hiding in the shadows. When I didn’t see any, I took Simone towards the window again.
I quickly unhooked the string of rope on my belt and tied it to the curtain rod. “Go,” I commanded again as I pushed the rope out the window. “I’m right behind you.”
Simone’s lips pursed, a tell-tale sign she was about to argue again. Like we had the fucking time. In times like this, it was best to listen first and fuss later.
Her eyes shifted over my shoulder, and her brows rose. “Mateo, look out!”
Something hard hit me over the back of my head before I could even turn around. My helmet took the bulk of the blow, but the impact sent me stumbling a few inches to the side - away from our escape route.
The agent raised his gun to Simone, and my heart dropped into my stomach.
“Wait,” she said, holding her hands up. “Gabriel, don’t shoot!”
I didn’t give him a chance to. I charged towards him and tackled him to the ground.
Simone’s words had caught him off guard, summoning a crease between his brows that lingered even when he hit the floor.
I used his temporary paralysis to knock the gun out of his hand and deliver a punch to his face.
“Wait, Mateo-” Simone started, moving towards us.
“Window,” I demanded, shooting her a stern glance. “Now.”
The agent underneath me took my moment of distraction to hook his fingers in my vest and flip us over. He yanked his arm back, his closed fist poised high above his head.
I blocked it with my forearm as it came down. I shoved it out my face with one arm and hit him with the other.
The blow sent his body leaning sideways, giving me an opening to flip the tables again. He tried to strike me after his back hit the ground, but I caught his arm.
Pinning it underneath my knee, I yanked another gun free from its holster.
Pressing the mouth against his head, I took his face in.
As I pressed the mouth against his head, I took his face in.
“Oh, I remember you,” I taunted. I almost couldn’t help it.
Playing with my prey was a bad habit I’d probably never be able to kick.
He struggled underneath me, bucking his torso in a feeble attempt to get him off of him. “And I remember you,” he replied. “You’re the asshole who killed my best friend.”
“Hm, not quite.” I hooked my finger around the trigger. “But I will be the one to kill you.”
“Mateo, stop!” Simone grabbed my wrist and yanked my hand away just before I could pull the trigger. “Let’s just go!”
Gabriel looked at her, his face pinching again. “I know that voice,” he muttered to himself. “But…but that’s impossible.”
Sirens blared through the air, distant but loud. The deja vu was hitting a little too hard with this mission - this time in all the worst ways.
Clenching my jaw, I did the same as before. I knocked his ass out with the side of my gun and booked it out of there before his backup showed up.