Mr. Dark 3 (Tamed #3)(15)

Chapter 9

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."

I took off my jacket, leaving on the ballistic vest I was wearing underneath. Walking as quickly and quietly as I could, I made my way over to a pile of boxes and trash that the previous users had left behind. I'd discarded the idea of using them at first, the material was nothing more than cheap wood that is often used in wooden box pallets. But, I wanted a good sight line and concealment. The ability to stop bullets would have to take a back seat.

Sophie watched me move with eagle eyes, then settled behind her rifle. She rechecked her sight picture, and waited for the buzz. We didn't have to wait long. "Yes?" she said, triggering the intercom box.

"We have delivery, Sophie White?" the voice said in only lightly Russian accented English. I knew the Spetznatz were good, but I didn't think their English was that good. Maybe these two boys were more experienced within the States than I'd thought. "Amazon?"

"Oh, okay. I'll buzz you in, just a second."

Sophie settled herself against the rifle, and slid her right hand against the trigger. I took aim with my Desert Eagle, and nodded. Sophie reached over with her left hand and pressed the buzzer, which we could faintly hear.

I had to give it to the men, they were good. The door flew out and both men came diving through the door, their empty boxes disappearing to reveal bullpup style carbines. Nasty little things that fired a Russian made fifty caliber round, one that was designed for subsonic firing. If it hit a soft target, the damage was catastrophic, but Sophie was safe behind her thick wall of steel and cinderblocks. I, on the other hand, was not so fortunate.

Tracking the two Russians, I fired quickly, the small cannon in my hand booming in the confined space of the warehouse. The sound caught at least one of the men's attention, and he turned towards me in mid-air, squeezing his trigger as he dove and flattened out. I knew the impact of his chest on the concrete would hurt like hell, but it would give him an extra tenth of a second to try and get rounds off in my direction. I immediately flattened and dove myself, hoping that Sophie's shots would ring true.

With the booms of my Desert Eagle, and the muffled thuds from the Russian's weapons, the sharp crack of Sophie's M-14 stood out. Her shot was perfect, catching the second man, the one not yet firing at me, in his throat, and his lifeless body fell to the ground.

I felt a searing heat on the outside of my right thigh as I rolled over the concrete floor, and I knew I'd been hit. I just didn't know how bad. The pain washed through me but was clamped down as my mind refused to let it alter my perceptions of the world. I could still see the guy, who was now on his side, rolling and firing at the same time. Damn this guy was good.