Page 220 of The Company

“Really?” Tet takes over. He grabs him by the neck just as a shot comes from the gun. Plaster from the ceiling showers down on us, but I don’t even notice when a large chunk crashes on top of my arm.

Because when I have a man’s neck in my grasp, there’s only one way that shit’s gonna end.

Even over the rapid firing of AK’s, I hear the crack.

His head goes limp. His body relaxes. And when I look at Harper, she smiles. “We’re free.”

“Not yet, lionfish. Now we gotta get the fuck out of here.”

The entire ballroom is chaos. People are running, they don’t last long, because the bullets are flying. So the runners fall, littering the floor with blood and bodies.

“Crawl with me, Harp.” I get down low and make our way to a banquet table. I lift up the tablecloth, but there are several people under there already. “Out,” I hiss at them, pointing Harper’s gun.

They do run, but I grab two of them by the arms and yank them backwards. I pull Harper up as they bolt, and we run with them. Between them.

A living shield.

A woman goes down in front of me, then a man behind. But we book it. The people outside are coming in and the people inside are going out as mass confusion ensues. There’s bodies and blood. People trip, fall, and then get trampled. I pull Harper through the French doors and head for the beach. There’s some Company people running the same direction in front of us, but I shoot them and they go down. Another small group is in front of them, but as soon as they hear the shots, they dart off the path to the beach and head for the trees. Sasha’s army will have to take them out.

Just as we get to the stairs, I see Nick and Sasha.

“We’re gonna make it,” Harper says.

And there’s a split second where I really think we might. I almost let myself hope. I almost give in to the happy ending.

But that’s when Mistake Number One from my time in Honduras steps out from behind Nick, a gun to his side. Sasha is being held as well. They’ve got a hand over her mouth, making it hard for her to breathe.

“Tet,” the deformed Nicaraguan leader laughs. “My pet, Tet! The little girl promised my men you would be here. I admit, I had my doubts. It’s been a long quest, my faithful enemy, but finally, a fruitful one.”

He’s got a red scarf wrapped around his head so you can’t see the part of his face I blew off twelve years ago. He looks every bit his age. His dark skin is wrinkled and worn. The tattoos on his face, a mark that separates them from some of the other gangs, are fading, they are so old. But he lives. He still lives.

He laughs. And his evil movie-star laugh is enough to give me the chills.

I have not seen him since I was rescued by One. I have not laid eyes on him since that final day in captivity. Even when I was down in San Pedro Sula, I never had the urge to seek him out.

Because I’ll be honest here. That motherfucker scares the shit out of me.

“My men gave the little girl my word.” He nods to Sasha’s captors and they release her with a shove that makes her fall forward on the ground. “And my word is good, even when dealing with the Company.” Now he looks at Nick and Nick is pushed forward too, but he does not stumble. “And her.” He points to Harper and I have a moment of panic.

“Hey.” I divert his attention from Harper. “I just killed One for you. The Admiral as well. She,” I say, nodding to Harper, “killed my mother. The leadership is dead.”

And that’s when another shadow emerges from the darkness. “Not quite,” Vincent says.