Page 37 of Hiding In the Dark (The Righteous 4)
“You need to stay in the vehicle when we get to the house, which is just up the road.” Kes tapped the control panel and the screen shifted, showing their location. Hitting another button gave him a satellite image of the property that allowed him a zoom function.
“You are like a fucking super spy. I knew it,” Zumi said. She scooted to the front of her seat as far as she could go, her eyes staring at the image on the windshield. “It looks like there are four vehicles, one really fancy one, and at least three people outside,” she pointed.
“There will be more men inside.”
“So why are we here, anyway?” It was the first time that Zumi had asked what exactly he was roping her into.
“I’m here to kill them and show you why I do what I do.”
The cheery smile slowly slipped from her face. “You mean like you did with the guy at the warehouse?”
He gave her his best blank stare. “Would that be a problem?” He had no intention of torturing these men. It was a quick slaughter today. He wanted to get the victims being held inside to a safe location before the operation realized that something bad had happened to Slim Jim and they moved the kids into hiding.
“No, not really. That’s just a lot of torture on an empty stomach.”
Unable to stop the surprised amusement that welled up inside him even if he wanted to, Kes burst out laughing. “You may make a great sidekick yet,” he said, earning a grin.
“One day, you will be my sidekick.” She crossed her arms over her chest and slid back in her seat. Kes had no doubt that she was telling the truth about that.
“Okay, well, until that glorious day, this is what’s going to happen. First rule and most important rule—you listen to whatever the fuck I say and do what I ask to the goddam letter. If you don’t, you can get me, yourself, or innocent people killed. Do you understand?” Kes barked out like he was still a sergeant.
Zumi’s eyes were large as she looked up at him. “Yeah, I understand.”
“Good, so when we pull up, you’re going to stay inside Baby Doll and not fucking move or touch anything until I say it is safe to do so. Are we clear?”
“Yes, we’re clear,” she said, with no hint of humor or teasing in her voice.
“Good, ‘cause we’re here.” Kes pulled off onto the same backcountry road he’d traveled two days earlier, but this time he pulled into the driveway and not the dead end. “Baby Doll, open back weapons hatch.” He stopped near the end of the driveway out of view of the house. He hopped out to open the back door and grab what he wanted—two handguns. He checked the chambers and slipped them into their holsters before stuffing extra clips into his pockets. The throwing knives were already in their sheaths, and he tossed the strap over his head so the knives lay flat against his chest. Finally, he pulled out his M4, which was already locked and loaded. He slipped the strap of his gun over his head, swinging it around so the rifle sat against his back. He doubted he’d need it, but it was better to be over-prepared.
“Okay, I’m going to sneak around the house and come in through the back door. Don’t worry about the men trying to escape. If they come toward Baby Doll, she will keep you safe. She has a state-of-the-art intelligence system that will get you to safety if you were in any danger. Baby Doll has a tougher exoskeleton than a tank and this glass…” He stopped to tap the windshield. “Can handle an RPG. She is a lean mean Batmobile like machine.
“Batmobile? Really?” She crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow at him.
“Just go with it.”
Zumi looked a little unsure about what she’d signed up for as she stared at the weapons draped on his body. “I need to know now if you want out of this.”
“No, I’m all in.” She lifted her chin, and he nodded.
“Alright, fly time. Baby Doll, move to the coordinates I set and go full lockdown.” He closed the door and ran into the trees that surrounded the property. His guns all had silencers on them, and as he ran, he shot out the trail camera that he’d picked out before, along with the new one he hadn’t seen the first time he’d been here. The loud rock music began to blare from the front yard and was quickly followed by the sound of pinging as bullets found the target.
He could hear the men yelling back near Baby Doll for whoever was inside to get out. The blackout windows wouldn’t allow them to see inside, heightening their anxiety over the strange vehicles sudden appearance.
That was what he was hoping for—he wanted to draw as much attention as possible to the front of the house. Small branches snagged on his jeans and whipped him in the face, making him want to swear as he ran. Kes smirked, though, as the shooting started in the front yard, the distinct sound of pinging reaching his ears as the bullets harmlessly bounced off the hard exoskeleton of the high-tech military-grade vehicle.
Using the sound as cover, he burst through the trees and ran for the back door, kicking it open with a loud bang. Guns raised, he was like a man possessed. He’d already memorized the simple old farmhouse’s layout. It had two levels—five small rooms on the main level and six even smaller ones on the second floor. Kes dove into the room on his right and didn’t hesitate to shoot the two guys staring out the front window. They collapsed to the ground, but not before one of the guy’s blood splattered the front window.
Well, that’s unfortunate.
Now he just had to hope the guys outside didn’t see it until he was ready. Spinning back the way he’d come, he ran across the hallway that led to the front door, which was hanging wide open. He ran into the kitchen and stared at the back of the shiny cue ball head of a guy eating what looked to be spaghetti. He seemed totally unfazed by whatever was going on in the front yard.
“It’s a shame you won’t get to finish that. It smells good,” Kes said and shot the man execution-style before he could even flinch. His head fell forward, the new hole in his forehead bleeding onto the plate and mixing with the bright red sauce.
The door to the tiny shitter was closed. A man’s voice was calling out, wanting to know what the fuck was going on. He was about to find out. Kes’s foot found the center of the door, the wooden door breaking off its hinges as it crashed in on the man. This one was going to be entertaining for the cops to find. He could see the headline now, “Such a Shitty Way to Die.”
Smirking, he opened fire, the wood splintering and flying in all directions as the man jerked under the weight of the door from the bullets finding their mark. Blood dripped onto the floor, the speckled red like vivid art against the faded white linoleum floor.
He turned around just as a man came running down the stairs. His guns clicked empty, and he cursed under his breath as he grabbed the knife tucked inside his jacket. Thankfully, the guy didn’t have a weapon, and despite his large size, he didn’t have proper combat training.
