“As bad as any of them, worse perhaps,” she admitted softly. “It’s not an easy time right now.”
“No, it isn’t,” he said. “I do believe he’s been trying to get somebody to get you out of here though.”
“I’m sure he has,” she said.
In the distance he heard one long whistle followed by two short ones. He motioned to her and asked, “Can you walk?”
“Yes, I can walk,” she said. “Just show me to where.” Together, they moved slowly but steadily toward Diesel.
They were almost there at the dock, when Shane caught sight of a flash. He immediately threw himself down to the ground, taking her with him—Shane hitting the dock, her landing on him, protecting her. He felt a pull on his shoulder, then rolled, jumped to his feet, snatched her up into his arms, carrying her, and raced down the dock.
Diesel was already at the edge of the dock, firing into the darkness. But, with every shot he fired, his position was revealed as well. Shane handed Aleah off to Diesel, snatched his handgun from his holster, and gave covering fire to make sure that the two of them got as far as they could down the dock. He heard the idling of a motor. Good.
In the distance he heard a man call out, “Stop. I have your girlfriend.”
Shane froze. He crouched down deep at a piling.
The man called out again, “Equal trade.”
Shane closed his eyes because no way he could do that. Two lives were being put into a Zodiac right now, three, counting Baby, yet no way he could let Shelly be forsaken.
Sure enough, she called out, “I’m fine. Just go.”
He shook his head, feeling the weight of the world on his heart. But he already heard the Zodiac idling gently in the water. “You’re too late,” he called out. “I can’t stop it now.”
“Well, I can,” the gunman said, and gunfire sounded in Shane’s direction, hard and heavy, more of a spray tactic for Shane’s benefit than actually directed at him. But it was effective at keeping him in place. As soon as it stopped, Shane slipped behind a storage bin a good twenty feet to his right. More shots were fired, but he had gained a bigger barrier for the ongoing gunfire. He didn’t know if Diesel had taken off with Aleah or not, but Shane hoped so for her sake.
When he heard a footstep behind him, he turned, his gun ready, to see Diesel with his finger to his lips, whispering at him, “I’m going right,” he said. “Cover me.”
Instantly Diesel raced around the corner, heading toward the far side, as Shane stepped up with as much gunfire as he could and pummeled it in the direction where the earlier shots had come from. He knew he was in danger of hitting Shelly, and that was something he hoped to God that he would never have to live with. He aimed above five feet, still hoping to God she was down on the ground and safe somewhere. He heard a cackle of laughter in the distance.
“Missed me,” he said. “You’ll hear from me soon.” And, with that, an engine fired up and took off.
Both Shane and Diesel raced into the darkness after the vehicle, shooting at it, its lights on as it headed off. Shane had his phone out, already calling Gavin, setting up tracking. At the same time, he contacted the military, looking to close off all land exits from the docks. They kept running behind the vehicle, hoping they could get at least a roadblock set up right away. The vehicle suddenly swerved to one side and then the other, wildly shifting as they watched, as if the driver were fighting with somebody.
Diesel said, “Uh …”
“Shit,” Shane said, picking up speed and racing toward the vehicle, which still slipped from the right to the left and then back over again.
“She’s doing it again, isn’t she?” Diesel asked, as they ran.
“Yes,” he said in frustration.
“Well, I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, but, damn it, she’s likely to get herself shot.”
Just then a shot rang out, and the vehicle slowly rolled to a stop. They raced up behind it, immediately opened the doors, and shoved their guns into the front seat, calling out, “Hands up!”
And there was Shelly, her face white, yet still wired, her eyes red and bloodshot. She stared at Shane, her breathing raspy. “I didn’t mean to kill him,” she cried out.
He looked at her in shock, reached down, and placed a finger against the gunman’s neck. Sure enough, he was dead. Shane looked at the position of his body and realized, when the guy tried to fire at her, she’d jumped on him, twisting his wrist around. Because of the small confines of the truck, he had pulled the trigger, shooting himself. He shook his head. “Come on out,” he said.
She immediately scrambled out the passenger side, and Shane snatched her up into his arms and just held her tight.
“Where’s the woman?” she asked, pulling back and looking up at him.
“She’s headed out to the destroyer.” He noted the blood all over her. He just hoped it wasn’t hers.
“Good. It’s been a pretty rough day. Can I join her?” she asked, shivering.
“That’s actually not a bad idea.” He looked at Diesel, studying her too, nodding. “Maybe we can get the Zodiac back.” Shane stepped away and made a quick call. Instead a helicopter lifted off the destroyer a few minutes later and soon landed in front of them, and Shelly, bag in hand, was quickly loaded up to be taken out to the destroyer.
“I have to stay here, honey. Explain to the locals.”
As she looked at him, she lifted a hand in goodbye. He stood there for a long moment, staring, until the chopper took off.
“You should have told her that you love her, man,” Diesel said, shaking his head, offering his romantic advice once more.
“She knows,” Shane replied, focused on the helicopter as it carried her away.
“Sure, but she doesn’t know in a way that counts,” he said. “She knows that you love her, but not love her-love her.”
Shane glared at his friend in irritation and got a cheeky grin back. Shane just groaned, then shook his head. “Not to change the subject, but what the hell is going on here?”
“Well,” Diesel said, “I would guess that this guy she shot is a double agent—in this case, one who had managed to operate within MI6.”
Very quickly they were surrounded by police, as the pier suddenly filled with vehicles. MI6 was here as well. They quickly walked over, and it took Shane only moments to explain the gunfire, sharing what they had seen and done and the little bit that Shelly had told him. The evidence in the vehicle supported her account. MI6 had grim expressions on their faces and remained quiet as they dealt with the scenario, including the traitorous member of their force who lay dead in the vehicle.
They looked at Shane and said, “Go on out to the destroyer. We’ll handle this.”
“Love to,” he said. He and Diesel eased out of the fray, just as the media appeared, which served to spur them on to race down to the end of the pier. Hoping to find a ride for themselves, they found a Zodiac but no attendant. They hopped in, turned on the engine, and quietly slipped away toward the destroyer. They sent a message ahead, so they would be expected.
Shortly thereafter, they climbed up the ship and, for the first time in a long while, stood safely on board.