Page 77 of Hiding In the Dark (The Righteous 4)
Kes laughed hard, his hand hitting the steering wheel as the image crossed his mind. “See, now that I believe.” He nodded toward the house. “You good for one more?”
Arek held out his fist, and Kes looked at the fist and then at Arek. “Come on, don’t leave me hangin’ out here like a fucktard.”
“And then you wonder why I never took you to party on the yacht,” Kes said, but indulged him by tapping his knuckles.
“That’s hurtful. There is no need to leave me out like that,” Arek pouted and then smiled widely.
“Oh, fuck off, and get out of my Hummer.” Kes jumped out before he changed his mind about taking Arek with him. He was going to need him, though. He was concerned he may lose himself to what was inside him in that house—not that he’d ever admitted that shit to Arek. You knew you were in deep when Arek was your life preserver.
They quickly geared up and faded into the shadows of the surrounding shrubs. Someone was smoking outside. The red tip glowed brightly and then went dull again. They snuck up onto the dark front porch, and with a quick, coordinated attack, the man crumpled to the ground with a soft thud. Arek’s gun barely made a noise, the gun’s sound quickly whisked away by the breeze.
“Heat signatures. Two on the main level near the back of the house and two upstairs. Four in total,” Arek said. “I really wish you’d wear the fucking tech, man.”
“Get over it. It’s not happening.” He couldn’t put the night vision eye piece on. It was an instant trip down the path to mind-fuckery as he was instantly transported back in time to the crash. He’d have to get over it at some point, but it wasn’t happening tonight. “Remember not to kill the two I’m after.”
“What if they force me to?”
Kes rolled his eyes. “You can break their kneecaps. Just don’t kill them.”
“Can I also break all their fingers?”
“I’m going to break your fingers if you don’t shut up.”
“Shit, Kes, you’re too much fun. I need to do this more often.” He could hear Arek’s snicker from across the yard as they moved in on the house. “You want this quiet or hard and dirty?”
“Let’s go hard. You take the back, and I’ll take the front door.”
“I love it when you talk dirty.”
Kes bit his lip and shook his head—he couldn’t even be bothered to tell Arek off. It would only encourage him more. The blinds were pulled shut, but the internal lights gave an eerie glow to the dilapidated place. The old molding was chipped and faded, while the wooden pillars looked like they could be pushed over with a strong wind.
He stayed close to the house and peeked through the windows along the front. The thin line that the blinds couldn’t completely cover gave him just enough of a sightline inside the house. He stepped over the puddle of blood from the dead guard lying near the front door, making sure not to get any of the slippery substance on his boots.
“Ready?” he asked as they got into position to make their entry.
“All systems are go.”
“Then let’s do this.”
The resounding crack and bang would have woken the dead as the two doors splintered and broke away from their shitty frames to slam against the walls. Instantaneously, yelling erupted inside the house, along with the sound of running feet. He could just make out Arek down the narrow hall and awaited his prey. Sure enough, like a deer being ‘dogged’ through a bush, Arek drove the second guy from the back of the house toward him. He was running blind, his turned slightly looking over his shoulder—fear apparent in every stride.
The guy looked forward and caught sight of him. He tried to stop but ended up falling on his ass. Kes raised the gun and fired. The man was dead before his skidding body came to a halt.
Arek walked his way through the rest of the lower level before meeting him at the front door, which was near the stairs to go up. “Where are they?” he asked as he kept his focus on the stairs.
“Huh. It’s kinda like they’re flying around inside of the walls, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t loaded up on pixie dust and happy thoughts like Peter Pan, so there must be a hiding space built in.”
“You want to lead the way?”
“Sure. I knew I brought these along for a reason.” Arek tapped at the canisters of tear gas he had at the ready hanging from his chest.
There was no point in being quiet. The occupants already knew they were in the house, and there was a sick joy associated with letting them know that they were going to die shortly. The earlier rage that had dissipated from one slit throat to the next returned with each step they took. The image of Zumi back on that beach had his jaw clenching as his hand gripped the knife so tightly that the small ridges along the handle were going to leave indentations.
Arek signaled for him to get down, and he got on his stomach as Arek swung his automatic rifle around and lay down beside him. He pointed out where he was going to shoot and what he was planning.
The gun echoed like a thousand balloons bursting beside his ear as the bullets flew from the weapon. Bits of wallpaper, drywall, wood, and dust were released into the room as they went flying. He could make out some yelling from the men as they more than likely shit their pants.
A hole the size of a beach ball quickly ripped open in the wall as Arek unloaded the gun. As the bullets continued to fly, Kes dug around in the pack and handed over a gas mask as Arek laid the gun down. Arek grabbed a canister off his chest, pulled the pin, and let it fly. It missed the hole and bounced harmlessly off the wall to roll into the center of the room instead.
