Page 125 of Nothing to Fear

Laurel trembled. Up close, she was an older, washed-out version of Willow.

Gideon’s gaze flickered for a second to the table that had been out of his view from the air duct. A metal box the size of a large suitcase was in the center next to bottles of water and extra ammo. The jammer.

“Omega!” Daedalus called out, staying behind Laurel.

“He’s dead.”

“Vincent!” Daedalus narrowed his eyes, jaw hardening, voice turning strident. “Vincent!”

“It’s not pretty either. Right in the face. No open casket. Sorry about that.”

Gideon sensed the tension shift—that deadly quiet before the storm. All expression fell from Daedalus’s face, but seething anger burned in his eyes. Gideon expected an explosion of emotion, an outpouring of rage, some rash act of grief that he could take advantage of.

Instead, Daedalus stood with the gun steady in his hand, pointed at Laurel, nodding to himself in an eerie manner Gideon didn’t quite understand. Then he said in the calmest voice, “Drop your gun, Agent Stone, or I’ll put a bullet in her.”

“If you do, I’ll put a bullet in you. Somewhere painful. Not as quick as the face.”

Daedalus didn’t answer for a moment, a flash of anguish leaking through. “Do you think I care about dying now that Vincent is gone?”

“Yeah, I do. Everyone cares about dying. Prove me wrong and step away from the woman.”

Daedalus jammed the muzzle into the back of Laurel’s head, not leaving an inch of himself exposed. She whimpered, tears streaming down her face.

“Test me and you’ll lose. I’ll make sure she doesn’t get an open casket either. Drop it.”

Testing this man might be a mistake, and Gideon wasn’t going to gamble with Laurel’s life. He tossed the weapon to the floor only a foot away, within easy reach. Maybe Daedalus would be too bereft to pay attention.

“Kick it toward the door.”

No such luck. Gideon did as instructed.

Daedalus moved with Laurel to the doorway. She shook so violently, she stumbled every step. He picked up the Maxim 9 and stuffed it in his waistband.

Gideon stepped back as if playing the cooperation game, but all the time, he was getting closer to the jammer.

Daedalus glanced at Omega’s body, not long enough for Gideon to make a move, but it was plenty of time to light a fuse in a madman. When Daedalus stared back at Gideon, the guy looked like a junkyard dog, gnawing at the bit to tear something apart. He took aim at Gideon.

“Hold still.” Daedalus’s voice was measured, and the gun didn’t waver a centimeter.

“Why?” Gideon braced, already knowing the answer, but the question had slipped out nonetheless.

“If you try to play dodge the bullet, I might hit you in a vital organ, and I’m not ready for you to bleed out.”

Before Gideon responded, Daedalus fired.

Searing pain ripped through Gideon’s flesh. “Son of a…” He snapped his jaw shut, not wanting to show that bastard how much it hurt.

The bullet only grazed his upper thigh, near his hip, thanks to quick reflexes. It simply wasn’t in him to stand there and be shot.

Still, fire sang through his leg. He doubled over, and a line of sweat ran down his spine.

“I’m glad that hurts. Now you feel an inkling of my misery,” Daedalus said. “I’m not going to kill you just yet. Do you want to know why?”

“I bet you ask a lot of questions that you’re just going to answer yourself,” Gideon said through clenched teeth.

Daedalus laughed, but it sounded bitter, savage. “I’m going to take away two things that you love first.”

“What’s that? My sanity and second amendment rights? So far, so good. This chitchat is driving me crazy.” He swallowed a groan and leaned against the table.