The front end of the Explorer crumpled inward on contact as it rammed into the gate. The front hood tented upward several inches, the headlights both blacking out. The impact rocked Thorn and Nio forward, the rear of the SUV fishtailing as they moved forward. On either side they could hear the angry scream of metal being sheered away as the gate fell open, the cobbled driveway extended like a gray ribbon through the lawn in front of them.
Steam rose from either side of the pinched hood, appearing in soft white billows before dissipating into the night. A low grinding noise sounded out from the engine, a small lurch occurring every few seconds as they moved forward. Beneath them the driveway sped by, moving in a straight line that wrapped them around to the right of the enormous house and on toward the back.
“What are we doing here, Thorn?” Nio called, his voice raised to a yell as he braced himself in the passenger seat.
Seated behind the wheel Thorn remained silent, assessing the grounds. Since leaving the docks, he had been operating at a breakneck pace, fueled only by the knowledge that he had precious little time before Gold initiated his global chemical strike.
Finding him and Ling both, ending their plans, had to happen tonight.
The front of the house vaguely resembled the mansion on the water, a wide front porch interspersed with columns. The odds of making it up the stairwell to the front door weren’t good, especially with the condition the Explorer was in.
Instead Thorn pressed down harder on the gas, swinging wide toward the back. Negotiating the corner of the house, he aimed for the back patio, looking up just in time to see twin muzzle flashes spark before them. A moment later a pair of bullets punctured the front windshield, the holes no more than four inches apart, passing right between them.
Nio dove behind the dash as a third shattered the windshield into a thousand tiny shards of glass, each one with jagged edges ripping at them as they swirled about the interior of the car.
Three more bullets slammed into the passenger side of the car, the rear tire rupturing as Thorn raised his forearm over his head, trying in vain to protect himself. The Explorer lurched hard as the rubber tire shredded away, sparks erupting from the wheel. Rising up behind the steering column, Thorn pressed his full weight down on the brakes, the entirety of the Explorer shaking, tossing them about the front cab.
“Hold on!” Thorn yelled, the SUV listing badly to the side. The steering wheel jerked in his hands as the front end pulled from the driveway, the tires catching the corner of the rock wall encasing the flower beds on either side of the drive. Just low enough to act as a ramp, it lifted them into the air, the automobile rotating as the passenger side rose perpendicular to the ground.
For a moment the SUV hung suspended before crashing down on its hood, ripping dirt and sod away in great clumps. Soil spilled through the open windshield as the Explorer slid to a stop, a mound of displaced turf bunched around it.
When they finally ceased moving the only sound was a low hissing from the radiator, the smell of fresh cut grass in the air.
“You all right?” Thorn asked, shaking his head and checking to make sure he was still intact.
The plan was terrible at the time of conception, a fact that seemed even more apparent now. Given his limited numbers and dwindling time frame though, there weren’t a lot of options. Culling together a force like the night before would take too long, especially given the technological reach Gold had proven himself to have.
Already they had burned time by waiting for Turner to show up and for an address to be extracted. Once the information was free, Thorn had no choice but to act on it, even though it meant being stuck with Nio for the duration.
Ramming the front gate was just one more in a series of unfortunate realities, Thorn being forced to react more so than plan ahead.
“Yeah,” Nio said, a low groan rolling out before and after the word as he worked to free himself from the tangle of the car.
Unfastening his seatbelt, Thorn twisted himself from beneath the steering wheel and out through the open windshield. Flecks of glass had chewed into his forearms and shoulders, blood and dirt streaking his body. Rising to full height, he extended a hand down to help Nio, stopping short at the sight of a single figure in black striding toward him.
As the man walked forward, he shrugged off his heavy black jacket, letting it drop to the ground. In short order, he also pulled the fedora from his head and tossed it to the side.
“Nio, do you see my gun anywhere?” Thorn asked, lowering his hands by his side as he watched the man approach.
From where he was lying, Nio shot a glance around him. “No, it must have flown out when we went airborne.”
Thorn nodded, turning toward the man and taking a few steps away from the wreckage. “Ling, I presume?”
A thin smile grew across the man’s face. “So you do know who I am. And you are?”
Already Thorn’s adrenaline was spiked from the crash, his heart rate now increasing to match. “Does it matter?”
“Not really. I just wanted to have a name to give my boss when I tell him you are dead.”
Thorn smirked. “I’m not an easy man to kill. You should know that by now.”
The thin smile disintegrated from the man’s face, his features growing hard. He remained stationary a moment before transitioning into a fighting stance, snapping a kick toward Thorn’s throat. Using his left forearm, Thorn deflected the blow and stepped out to the side. Ling pivoted hard on his left foot and swung his right hand in a hard chop toward Thorn’s head.
Thorn ducked as the chop glanced off and shot a jab to Ling’s ribs. The blow landed with solid impact and Thorn heard the air rush from Ling’s lips.
Ling stepped back for a moment as Thorn rose to full height, the two staring at each other before beginning to circle again.
In Thorn’s periphery, he could see Nio had managed to free himself from the car, the entire left side of his face covered in blood as he stood motionless, watching the fight.
Again Ling moved first, feigning a straight kick to elicit a reaction. The moment Thorn raised his left arm to block, Ling sent a snap kick into his ribs, the clear snap of a bone breaking sounding out.
Paint shot through Thorn, stars igniting before his eyes, as he used the force of the blow and pivoted on his right foot, firing a spinning blow at Ling’s head. A millisecond before contact, Ling slid beyond the range of the shot, stepping in behind it and firing a jab to Thorn’s mouth.
On contact, the wounds from their previous encounter reopened, the metallic taste of blood rolling across his tongue.
Seeing the blood, knowing his opponent was injured, Ling moved in for another shot to the base of Thorn’s skull. Dropping down beneath the attack, Thorn swung his leg in a fast arc, aiming for a leg sweep.
An instant too slow, Ling jumped the attempt and shot a snap kick into Thorn’s chest. The blow was enough to knock Thorn off balance, scrambling from his backside to his hands and knees as he hit the ground.
Less than a moment later another kick came in, connecting with Thorn’s cheek, sending him sprawling across the grass.
The lights returned before his vision as he lay face down on the ground, acutely aware of every last injury he had incurred in the previous days.
“So again I ask, what is your name?” Ling said, standing back a few feet and waiting for Thorn to rise so he could finish him off.
One inch at a time, Thorn willed himself to move, his hands running over the cool grass and sliding inward to push himself up.
Halfway to his torso, his right hand touched metal.
Forcing his eyes into focus, he looked over to see the big .44 lying not a foot from his head.
Sliding his right hand across the grass, he wrapped his fingers around the base of it, leaving it lying flat on the ground as he pulled it close. Keeping his body between it and Ling, he rose up onto his knees, turning to glare back at his opponent.
“And again I ask, does it matter?”
The smile
returned to Ling’s face. “You don’t have to tell me. After I kill you, I’ll get it from your friend here before I kill him. Hell, I may even ask that little bitch in the bikini before I finish her too.”
At the mention of Iggy, a guttural cry rose from Nio, the words snapping him to action as he rushed forward. Stepping to the side, Ling curled his leg inward, lining up another thrust kick as a force jerked him backwards.
Nio pulled up at the sight of the spastic movement, the thundering register of the .44 rolling across the grounds.
Rising from his knees, Thorn walked forward, firing a second time as he took a step closer.
On impact Ling’s opposite shoulder jerked to the side, his body moving in contorted bursts, an oversized marionette dancing above the grass.
Balanced on uneven legs, Ling stared with hatred at Thorn. Blood coated his teeth and dripped down over his bottom lip. “You won’t do it. You’re not a killer.”
Thorn drew back the hammer of the gun. “Aren’t I?”
“No,” Ling said, staring out from beneath heavily lidded eyes. “You don’t think I see how you use the gun as a club and never fire it? Killing isn’t for people like you.”
“You’re right,” Thorn said, “but this isn’t for me. This is for Kenny Schiff and Cyrus Cooper. For the people in that container. For Jorge Garcia.”
Thorn didn’t give him a chance to respond. Instead he emptied the rest of his clip into Ling’s chest, the massive rounds finding center mass, ripping away chunks of flesh.
The combined force of them sent Ling sprawling backwards, his body landing in a crumpled mound, not to move again.
Chapter Sixty-Four