Page 134 of Elite Metal: Warriors

And then, from the other side of the warehouse, another explosion. The guards all whipped around in that direction. They cried out as flames rose from one corner, and then another.

Clearly Vasili had been busy.

When one of the guards scuttled off to investigate the disruption—leaving two guarding Ming Kow—Gregor nodded. “Now,” he said. “I will take Ming Kow and his men. You get Nat out of that cage.” He handed Coop a small explosive with a detonator. “On three.”

He whistled again, a warbling trill, one that made Ming Kow whirl around in a panic, and then, on three, they moved in tandem, through the shadows. Gregor picked off one of Ming Kow’s guards immediately. The second whirled around, his weapon wheeling wildly, hunting for him in the murk, but Ming Kow took the opportunity to skitter away into the maze of pallets.

Gregor quickly dispatched the second guard and bolted after their nemesis.

Coop wasted no time. He ran to Nat’s cage and barked, “Stay back,” when she lurched toward him. He set the explosive to the lock of the cage and detonated it. With a fizzle and pop, the explosive ate through the metal bars and the cage swung open.

“Come on,” he urged, pulling her out. He put his arm around her and tried to rush her toward the door, to safety, but she did not allow it.

“No.”

He stared at her. Tugged again.

Again she resisted.

What? What the actual fuck?

“I’m saving you here,” he reminded her.

Her expression went fierce. “We have to save them.” She gestured to the children, crouched together in a frightened knot.

“There’s no time.”

Her expression was recalcitrant and determined. “We have to save the children.”

“Nat, I don’t have another explosive.”

She held out her hands. “You have a knife. Cut me free.”

“Nat, we have to—”

“Do it.”

He’d only known her for a short while, but he knew better than to refuse. He gently cut her zip ties and she snatched the knife and ran to the cage holding the children and began working on the lock with the knife.

Shit.

What could he do but stand guard?

Just as he heard the click of the lock, a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he whipped around, weapon high.

There was no time to think. No time to aim. Because it was Ming Kow, and the bastard had his weapon pointed at Nat.

Cooper pulled the trigger and Ming Kow crashed back into a crate. Bullets arched high into the air, plunking into the tin roof of the warehouse. Unfortunately, Coop had only winged him and the bastard found his feet and lifted his weapon to return fire.

A bullet ripped through him with screaming agony. It was like a scorching blade through his chest. The force of it slammed him back, nearly made him lose his balance. His fingers went numb. He lost hold of his Walther and it fell to the ground with a clatter.

At the same moment, Nat yanked open the cage door and yelled to the children to run. And God help them, they did. They scattered.

The unexpected movement startled Ming Kow, who, for an instant, was unsure of which target to take.

His hesitation was his undoing for, in a blur of movement, Natalia rolled on the ground, grabbed Cooper’s Walther, and fired. She hit Ming Kow just to the left of his chest, a direct shot to the heart.

But consummate professional that she was, she followed it with another tap to the brain pan.