AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She raised, aimed, winced, then thought better of it. She hastened back to the door and shut it. She considered her options. But she didn’t have time to go looking for a key or to try and wake Tito. Perhaps she ought to have let him stay conscious, but something about that rankled her more than the idea of making a little noise.
She sighed, reached a decision, then nodded quickly. Gun in hand, pointed at the filing cabinet, she double-checked the door behind her was locked. She wasn’t even sure who she was looking for.
Maybe Tito would know a thing or two...but no—the guy was a playboy. That was about the extent of his use.
But his initials. TK. Was Karpov down here? If anyone might know who was involved in the killing of Janice Lochhead, it would probably be the godfather of the Russian mob in Miami. In the past, the FBI had failed to catch up with the man, but she wasn’t sure how many of them had gotten their ass groped in the assignment or managed to sneak into some super-secret, protected office space.
Still, she hadn’t seen Alex anywhere. And the kid who was likely related to the man was still unconscious.
So, she reached a final choice and fired twice. The gun practically leapt from her hand. She forgot exactly how much kickback a desert eagle had. On stealth missions it was hardly the ideal weapon.
Still, she braced with both hands, and her aim was true. The lock to the top of the filing cabinet shattered. The noise, though, was even louder than she’d anticipated. Her one calculation had been to wait for a sudden swell in the music from the dance floor.
Hoping it had obscured enough of the sound to buy some time, she raced towards the open filing cabinet, pulled a drawer open, and stared inside.
“Shit,” she muttered.
Empty. She ripped the drawer out and peered into the second drawer, also empty.
“God dammit,” she muttered. She turned, glancing towards the computer. She hit enter. Tried one-two-three-four. But nothing. The computer was still locked.
And now, she thought she heard voices.
“Tito?” someone’s voice was tentatively probing through the hidden office space. She tensed, listening.
A second voice muttered, “It wasn’t anything. I would’ve heard it.”
“I did hear it!” the first voice snapped. “That was a gunshot.”
“Yeah? You wanna get what happened to Ivan? Last time someone interrupted little Tito’s playtime...he got cranky. Remember?”
A swallow from the other side of the door. “I...I don’t want to get—God, yeah. Shit. Alright. Just... Tito?” the voice tried again, still tentative.
By the sound of things, they were moving forward. Any second now, they’d stumble upon the second room. And that would be no bueno.
So, Cora sighed, reached a choice, and moved quick. She kicked open the door, gun raised.
Two men spun to face her and froze.
She held a finger to her lips, glanced off towards the metal door which had closed shut again. The two men were the guards who’d been posted outside. Which meant there was a good chance there would be no going back that way if she didn’t find a way to cover for herself.
Now, though, her concerns were of a more proximate variety.
“Up,” she said simply. “Hands. Up.”
Both of them complied. One allowed his fingers to linger near his own holster, glaring at her, but after a second, he changed his mind and obeyed.
Cora gestured with the gun. “There—that room. Go. Don’t step on Tito.”
They stared at her, scowling now. Both of the thugs stumbled, their black suits looking stretched and silly, like a penguin’s colors, with their hands raised up.
But they were forced at gunpoint into the room beyond. One of themdidstep on Tito. It didn’t look like an accident.
“Sit!” she snapped.
Reluctantly they complied, each taking a seat on the table.
Cora nodded. “Gotta be careful sitting like that,” she muttered. “Tito might make a mistake. Now, keep your hands up. Nope.” She clicked her tongue. One of the men had been attempting to sneak a pen from the table. “Saw that,” she said. “Naughty. Tell me where Alex is.”
