Near Miss

As he scooted to the far end and peered around, he put a fresh magazine into his gun. He could see the man with the shoulder wound crouched behind a table that had been tipped on its side. The man was sweeping his gun back and forth, but he’d lost his goggles, so his vision was limited.

Teddy pulled his trigger, ending the man’s misery.

Stone and Carly ducked down as the gunfight broke out at the other end of the deck.

When Stone realized no bullets were flying their way, he whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”

With Carly on his heels, he edged out from behind the bar in a crouch, intending to head straight to the exit. But he’d taken only one step in that direction when the lights flickered back on.

Stone squinted from the sudden brightness. At the same time, he heard a grunt coming from just to his right, and the clatter of something hard hitting the ground.

Stone had just enough time to realize it was a man dressed in all black before Carly shoved him onto his hands and knees. Above him, her gun roared.

The man in black spun against a table, then fell to the deck, next to the set of goggles he’d thrown off when the lights came on.

Stone looked at Carly, who was crouched over him, her gun still pointing at the now dead man.

“Thanks,” he said.

“You’re welcome.”

Heavy footsteps approached from somewhere behind them. Stone looked past Carly just in time to see a large man sprint out from behind a table. From the angry snarl on his face, Stone had no doubt of the man’s identity.

As the Sarge brought up his weapon, Stone shoved Carly out of the way and twisted his pistol around. With no time to aim, he pulled the trigger the moment he thought the barrel was pointed in the right direction.

The Sarge’s snarl slipped, and his brow knit in confusion. A moment later, blood began flowing out of a wound on the side of his neck, while at the same time, a bloom of red appeared on his shirt in the center of his chest.

He dropped to his knees and tried to speak, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was more blood. He then fell onto the floor.

Stone was about to push to his feet when another person appeared near the Sarge. He was dressed in the same black outfit the Sarge was wearing, but his gun was pointed not at Stone and Carly but at the dead man.

He kicked the body, and when it didn’t move, he looked at Stone. “Are you guys all right?” the man who didn’t look like Teddy Fay asked in Teddy Fay’s voice.

“I am,” Stone said. “Carly?”

“Me, too,” she said.

“Is there anyone else we have to worry about?” Stone asked.

Teddy nodded his chin at the Sarge. “He was the last.”

“Is he dead?”

“Dead as they get.”

Stone and Carly rose to their feet and joined Teddy.

“He’s got two bullet wounds,” Carly said, surprised.

“Very observant,” Teddy said. “Stone, I think you hit him a second before I did. Excellent shooting, by the way. Center mass. That’s what you’d call a bull’s-eye.”

“I didn’t even aim,” Stone said.

“Maybe you should try not aiming every time,” Carly said.

“At least it wasn’t a miss.”

“Not even a near one,” Teddy said. “Time for me to leave. This place is going to get very crowded, very fast.”

He hurried away without another word.

Chapter 72

“The Bean Counter is here to see you,” Asimov’s secretary said over the intercom.

“Tell him I’m busy,” Asimov said. He’d been waiting to hear from the Sarge, and until he did, he wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone else.

“He says it’s urgent.”

“I don’t care what—”

The Bean Counter’s voice came over the intercom. “It’s about the Sarge.”

Shit. “I see. Um, come in.”

The Bean Counter entered with another man Asimov had seen around, named Korolev.

Acting like everything was fine, Asimov said, “Have a seat.”

The Bean Counter sat across the desk from him, but Korolev remained standing.

“So, you said this was about the Sarge?”

“I did. More specifically, about his attempt on Stone Barrington at the bar association dinner this evening.”

Asimov momentarily considered denying any knowledge, but he knew the Bean Counter would see through the lie. “What about it?”

“You haven’t heard?”

Asimov kept his expression neutral, while all the other muscles in his body tensed. “Tell me what you’re talking about, and I’ll tell you if I know.”

Right before they’d arrived, the Bean Counter had received an update on the situation at the hotel from a source at the police department. “The Sarge is dead.”

“What?”

“So, you didn’t know.”

“Where are you getting this information?”

“Is that really important?”

“It is if the information is wrong.”

“It’s not.”

“Okay, well. Thank you for telling me. If you’ll excuse me, I have some things to take care of.” Asimov stood to see them out, but the Bean Counter remained in his seat.

“I don’t think you understand the situation,” the Bean Counter said.

“What situation?”

“Your situation.”

The Bean Counter nodded to Korolev, who reached under his jacket, pulled out a pistol with an attached silencer, and shot Asimov twice in the chest.

Chapter 73