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Zack shrugged Amber up onto her feet. He could feel her fighting her way back to consciousness as he did so, muttering something that Zach could barely hear. He addressed Daven first, mentally walking through his map of the layout.
“Only way out of this place is straight through the thick of it all. We’re lucky this was a secluded room, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a pair of guards sitting just outside the door there. ST hardly goes anywhere without his crew.”
Daven nodded, eyeing up the closed door. “Yeah, the Doctor was always a cautious one. That’s only the second time I’ve seen the man since I took the hit. You must have impressed him a lot that he came in alone.”
Zack smiled, “That part was easy, I just tried to do you proud. Took some high risk gigs, told them you killed my parents and I wanted revenge… He never suspected I knew he put out the hit on them.”
“Well lets see if I can do you proud then.” Daven said, “Which way to the loading bay?” Zack pointed out a direction as Daven kicked open the door, deftly putting two bullets into the mooks outside and one in the overhead light. In the half-light that followed, Zack could just see him take off in the indicated direction. He half dragged, half carried Amber along, following behind the footsteps of his foster father.
“Get down!” Daven hissed, harshly pulling Zack to the floor as a bullet whizzed through the shelves overhead.
“I did not bring enough bullets to get into a shoot out.” Zack muttered as Daven fired off another shot down the corridor of the shipping room. It pinged off the shelving, sending another guy darting away.
“Should have thought of that sooner.” Amber said sluggishly, reaching up to gingerly touch her forehead. Zack gave her a worried look, trying to see the gash beneath the blood, but Daven just smiled.
“Hey girl, if you’re good enough to snark, you’re good enough to run.” He winked at Zack, “Get her onto a truck on my count.”
“NOW!”
As Daven shouted, Zack took off running with Amber down the rows of boxes, heedless of the gunfire in the background.
The loading bay was empty save for one small truck, thankfully also empty. Amber slid into the passenger seat, and started poking the growing lump on her forehead while Zack sat behind the steering wheel. Luckily the keys had been left in the ignition as he nervously drummed his fingers on the leather wheel.
“Pass me the gun.” Amber said casually, brushing dried blood off her face. Zack looked at her swollen eye and hesitated momentarily. Noticing the pause, Amber turned to fix a steely gaze on him.
“Even with one eye, I can still shoot better than you.” she said. Zack passed her the weapon unquestioningly. “Thank you. I swear, first time they take a loved one and you get all protective like I’m not the one who taught you how to shoot in the first place. Just keep watching for that lump of a man to get out here.”
She went back to fussing and Zack was struck by how young she looked. It’d been 4 years since he last saw her, she should be just under 50, but then, he was hardly a child himself any more. He realized more and more what Daven had told him all those years ago. They’d just been a pair of stupid kids when they took out his parents, all hopped up on lies about dangerous weapons dealers. Not that they’d been terribly far off the mark.
It felt like an eternity before Daven came whooping his way out of the warehouse, grabbing onto the carriage of the truck. Zack gunned the ignition, heading straight out of the complex. They’d try to pull the gates across the road, but the headquarters was designed to keep people out, not in. Zack had no fear as he manoeuvred the truck through the chain link fence, heading towards the road as Daven slipped into the cab behind him.
“So then, kid, what’s next on the list?” he asked, squinting into the setting sun out the front window.
“I dunno,” Zack said, “I had some money saved up from that last gig, I was thinking retirement in Bora Bora sounded like a fine idea.”
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