Page 38 of Hunted

Dak nodded once in my periphery, moving up to the corner. I did the same on the left, careful not to tread on the fallen figure. Up close, I realised it was just another dummy, and there was a gun slot in the wall in front of where it fell, looking directly down the hallway we’d just come through.

Sneaky bastards.

“Bodie, Aidan, stay here and watch these corridors.”

“Yes, boss,” Aidan murmured, while Bodie grunted his assent.

“Move out,” Ethan ordered quietly, and we peered around the corners again.

Noting that nothing had changed in the last twenty seconds, Dak and I crept forward in our respective directions. I put him out of my mind in favour of my own corridor while doing mental bullet math in preparation of having to change the magazine over.

I had twelve shots left in this one, and fuck knows what else waiting for me round that next corner. Creeping forward on silent feet, I paused, pretending the darkness was cocooning me, instead of staring back. Mindful of this being a time trial, I inhaled steadily, then peered around, squeezing the trigger twice on the exhale.

Ten.

Another body dropped at the end of another barely-lit hallway. Gun still raised, I scanned the length of the corridor, ready.

“Another T-shaped hallway, with two doors in the middle. One left, one right,” I murmured.

Eth drew level with me, his own gun held aloft. “You take right, I’ll take left,” he ordered, voice low and fraught with tension. “Ace, cover our rear.”

Ace nodded once, jerkily, but was happy to have something specific to do. He walked backwards as we led the way, pausing at the closed doors to listen.

Gunfire sounded on the other side of the compound, prompting a large, black figure to dash from the left side of the T across to the right. My bullets trailed the uncannily fast form, mere centimetres from clipping it.

“Fuck. I think I almost shot our mark,” I said, eyes wide.

Ethan blinked at me. “I think so,” he agreed, raising a hand to the mic on his collar. “Dakarai, mark incoming to your position.”

“Fuck,” Dak swore through his own mic. “We’re pinned down, boss. Multiple hostiles surrounding us. Especially if the big guy is on his way over. Backup requested!”

More gunfire followed the request, drowning out anything else he might have said.

Eth immediately sent Aidan and Bodie over. We were to clear this side, then circle around the same way Beckett had, hopefully catching him off guard from behind.

On the count of three, Eth and I both kicked in the doors, loosing several quick shots at the dummy targets waiting for us inside.

“Clear!” I called.

“Clear!” came Ethan’s echo a heartbeat later.

Four.

Four shots. Four chances to make a name for myself—to be noticed for something other than my appearance.

Back in the hallway, Eth, Ace, and I dashed to the end, relieved that nothing else lay in wait for us. Just the door Beckett had disappeared through, and only the gods knew what on the other side.

“Ready?” Eth asked.

“Ready,” I said, then, he kicked it in.

Bang. One down just inside the door.

Bang. Another by the exit.

Bang. A third in the centre of the room.

Eth took out the last in the far corner, then the three of us sprinted across the furniture-laden space, following the sounds of gunfire in the adjacent chamber.