In Too Deep(115)

"Good to go. When they trigger the intercom on the outside, I can buzz them in. If they're hostile, they'll use that as a chance to burst through the door. If they do, shoot as soon as you can. But stay in your position, the first guy through is probably going to be spraying the room and not really giving a f*ck what's around. I'm going to be to the left the door, because it's the last place they see after initial entry. If your shot takes out the first guy, the second one will come through fast, and I'll take care of him. Just keep your fire contained and we'll be fine."

"Then why did you get something that shoots automatic?"

Mark took a deep breath and looked me in the eye. "In case I'm hit. You get those two and protect yourself. That's why you also have a backup weapon."

"Mark, you can't....."

He cut me off with a shake of his head. "Yes, I can. You know that. I'm good, but I'm not immortal."

I nodded, feeling tears come to my eyes unbidden. Before they could fall, he lifted my chin with his hand and gave me the same cocky grin he used whenever he was confident. "I'm not saying it's going to happen. In fact, I'm sure it won't today. But it could. If that happens, promise me you take them all out, and get your ass out of town."

"But what would I do then?"

Mark pointed upstairs. "You remember my smartbox? Login password is sophie7891, all in lower case. In the documents folder is a read me file, password locked, same password. Inside is instructions on how to access every dollar I have, along with account pass codes. The backup is at Mount Zion in the belfry. Take that and your passport and disappear. The smartbox has all sorts of information in the files that can help you."

"When did you put this all together?" I asked, my throat burning as I thought of even the possibility of living without Mark in my life.

"Over the past few nights. Wasn't all that hard, most of it was just collating the information already on there."

Before he could say anything else I wrapped my arms around him, and we held each other. It was strange, a moment of intimacy while we waited for what we expected to be a deadly fight. After a moment, we let go of each other, and looked around. The area was quiet, and the tension started to creep into the air. "Let's go upstairs and get the food and stuff," Mark said. "We can hang out next to your position and wait."





Chapter 27


Mark




The afternoon dragged on, something that Sophie wasn't accustomed to. I'd grown up in similar situations even before starting this line of work. It reminded me of times as a boy in South Carolina, sitting in a deer stand, waiting for the bucks to come through the woods. You had to remain quiet and ready, ready for the slightest movement. It could be minutes, it could be hours. So waiting for the delivery was actually easy for me, we didn't even have to be quiet.

The delivery was scheduled to happen between four and six in the afternoon, and we had Sophie's cell phone, along with the tablet, with us. We took turns watching the tablet, checking the security video feeds as the hours wore on. When we weren't watching the tablet, we studied the pictures of the two men that Tabby had provided for us. The image quality wasn't great, and I knew it would come down to waiting for them to pull their weapons. If we could shoot first in that situation, we'd win. If not, we could be in trouble.

I checked the clock, it was four fifty-seven when the delivery truck started down the street in front of our place. I sat up, jostling Sophie who I had let doze for a few minutes. The adrenalin had temporarily worn off, and her body was feeling the effects of the stress and lack of sleep the night before. "Delivery truck," I said, shaking her gently. "Get ready."

She blinked once before nodding, stretching her arms over her head and smacking her face. "I'm okay," she said, twisting and cracking her neck. "You okay?"

"Of course," I replied, picking up the shotgun pistol and holding it in my right hand. "Let's just see if this is who we're waiting for."

The van looked just like any of the other hundred delivery vans in the city, which I expected. Owen Lynch did own a legitimate delivery company, Capital City Deliveries, that was an affiliate of UPS. I had broken into the offices before on a few assignments, and had seen their files. With over a thousand employees in the region, the network was an efficient distributor of anything Owen Lynch wanted. Also, over ninety-five percent of the workers were innocent men and women whose only bad decision in life was to wear a hideous uniform to work every day.

The van stopped just past the normal entrance door, in front of the large rollup bay door that dominated the front of the building. It was a smart move, one I would have done. My suspicions were raised, although even a normal driver might do the same thing, considering the placement of the doors.

My mental alarms went off when two men got out of the truck. While Capital City Deliveries would often send two men on their trucks, that was for larger items. The order that Sophie had placed was for three books from Amazon, not something that would require two men. Both of them had packages under their arms, and that's when I knew for sure.

"You got that buzzer ready?" I asked, rechecking my pistol. My mind whirled, and suddenly a new plan dropped into place as the familiar emotional coldness I'd felt for every single kill shot I'd ever made fell over me. "When they buzz, trigger the intercom, say you're coming, and then three seconds later buzz them in."