Page 52 of Vortex

Pulling up outside the house, Pattie and I head straight for the front door. I have one hand in my jacket pocket, holding my pistol. Pattie has a long, flowing skirt with her hand in a slit in the side at thigh level, holding her beloved shotgun. A loud knock, and then we barge in as though we own the place. Pattie almost has me pee my pants when she yells, “Candi! It’s party time again!” I wasn’t expecting that. A guy pops out of a room to our right, looking as though she just woke him up.

“You can’t be here. Candi isn’t here, anyway. You need to leave.” He stands at the doorway like a statue.

“I bet she’s in that room, naked, and you two have been screwing like a pair of dirty dogs. You’re just her type.” Pattie waves her free arm in the air in a circular motion, and his eyes follow the movement. Too late he notices her skirt rising, and as her arm completes the circle, she grabs the shotgun and pulls the trigger.

“Fook me! That mother is so loud. You need to get a compressor for that thing!” I shake my head as my ears ring.

“Compressor! You kill me at times. It’s suppressor, girly.” Pattie surveys the room and watches for any more Cottonwood Associates.

Bull and Bank charge in, weapons at the ready, closely followed by our backup. I’m looking at the top of the stairs when another guy shows himself, but this one has a mean-looking weapon in his hands. I pull my pistol and fire three quick shots. He looks at me in disbelief and then falls over backwards. I don’t know what that weapon was he was holding, but I’m having that mother. I take off for the stairs and sense more than see someone go with me. Reaching the top of the stairs, I stop and scan the area.

Hellion steps past me and approaches the first door. It’s open and could be where my dead guy came from. I watch the rest of the hallway as he checks out the room. He reappears and nods me forward. I scoop up the rifle, but it’s such a strange design to me I use its sling and just throw it onto my back. Staying on one side of Hellion, we clear the rest of the rooms and head back downstairs.

The downstairs is clear, and Bull and Bank are already in the office at computers. Pattie is standing over the guy she shot and grinning. I worry about her sometimes. Seeing me, she smiles.

“Did you see the way he flew backwards? It’s like a stunt in a movie. I’ll never tire of seeing that, I swear.” She shivers a little from her shoulders. “Just how I remember it.”

“Just as long as you don’t go out looking for the thrill on a full moon or something.” I shake my head as I look at the guy. He took that shot full in the chest and it’s a good job I’m not squeamish.

“I’m not a freaking vampire or a serial killer. I don’t plan my victims, I just take advantage of the situation.” She smiles sweetly, and I burst out laughing at the scene.

Hearing Vortex call out, I look around, and he’s telling us which windows to take. I’m sent back upstairs with Hellion to the master bedroom. It has windows facing three directions, so we take a direction each and cover the third between us.

“Hey! Slide that rifle over here so I can take a look.”

“You can look, but you can’t keep. I saw it first. I’m not letting it go to anyone. It is a mean-looking weapon, and it will make me look badass. You need to show me how to use it correctly. It is fooking weird with the trigger at the fooking front. I’ve never seen such a thing.” I sound like a child.

“This is a TAR-21. It’s a funny shape because it’s a bullpup design. The magazine is behind the trigger, that’s all. I’ve only ever seen these when I was overseas.” He pops the magazine out and takes a look at the ammunition. “Standard ammunition. You won’t have a problem getting it. I’ll teach you how to use it, strip it, and clean it.” I clap my hands in excitement like a little girl. Hellion slides the rifle back to me and I slip it onto my back, where I know it’s safe from any jealous hands.

I’m starting to feel thirsty when Vortex walks into the room. It’s been almost two hours, and I thought we’d be done and away from here by now.

“We’ll be pulling out shortly. You two can go back downstairs now. Take a rear-facing window, but don’t let your guard down.” He looks at the rifle slung across my back, shakes his head, and walks out.

Downstairs, we don’t get time to take a rear window as Bull and Bank have done their stuff and are ready to go. Pattie has a carryall filled with God knows what, and I don’t want to know. Hellion has a pillowcase that looks heavy, and he looks at my rifle when he states, “Spare ammo. I think the guy was expecting a war. This isn’t all he had upstairs in that room, either.” He wriggles his eyebrows at me, so I believe he found himself a new toy as well.

“Are we doing anything about the bodies?” I ask no one in particular.

“No. They stay where they lie. At first glance, this is a home invasion gone wrong. With any luck, that’s exactly how they’ll see it and won’t suspect anything more. Okay, let’s grab Wraith and get out of here.” Vortex opens the front door, takes a careful look around, and then walks to the SUVs. We follow, and once we’re loaded up, we head back to the road where a bored-looking Wraith is waiting.

“I heard gunshots. How many and who got them?” Wraith asks before getting into his SUV.

“Just the two. Pattie took down the first and Allegra the second,” Hellion tells him.

“They caught them off-guard, or what?” Wraith has to have a negative comment, but he touches the fuse to a bomb inside Bull. That’s what it looks like, anyway. Bull is out of the SUV and drags Wraith twenty feet from the vehicle.

“Stand there and don’t fucking move. That’s an order,” Bull yells in his face. “Pattie! Allegra! Front and center.” Assuming he means ‘come here’ we both jump to it.

“Who’s first?”

I beat Pattie by a fraction of a second when I shout, “Me!” I haven’t worked out what I’m first for, but I’m definitely not going second.

“Pistol or rifle, Allegra?” Bull asks.

“What do you mean?” I ask stupidly.

“You’re going up against Wraith. Pistol or rifle? Your choice.”

“Whoa. No fucking way, Bull. I’m not going up against them. Singly or otherwise,” Wraith states loudly and angrily.