I decided to take on the building next door to the Post Office, figuring it had fewer men inside. That was a pure guess, but it made sense. I needed to get across the street without being seen, so I backtracked a block and ran down Walnut to Spruce Street. I cut across Columbus and made my way through overgrown backyards, stepping around discarded children’s toys and playhouses. Lonely swings squeaked a greeting as I moved quietly past. I worked my way close to a house and crawled around a swimming pool, gritting my teeth against the pain in my side. I hoped like hell I didn’t have any internal bleeding or I was going to be mad.
The way looked clear and I moved silently over to the door. As luck would have it, the entrance was on the side away from the street, so I could enter without being seen by the group across the way. Hopefully, my luck would hold out a little longer.
I figured my rifle would be too much for close in work, so I slung it across my back and pulled my knife. I needed to do this quietly and try not to alert anyone I was there until it was too late. I had my SIG if I needed it, but I hoped I wouldn’t.
Opening the door, I stepped inside quickly, ducking to the side and letting my eyes adjust to the interior. I was in a professional office building and that made my job easier. A large open place like a restaurant would be tough, but small offices made moving around unseen that much more expedient.
I looked quickly at a floor plan that outlined where the offices were. If I guessed right, my enemies were in the real estate offices on the far side of the building. Okay, that worked. I went to the first office and opened the door casually. I figured to act as if I belonged there and let surprise do my job for me. If I was an attacker, someone who was sneaking around would make me pay attention much more than someone who acted like they were supposed to be there.
The first office was empty, so I moved on to the next one. That one had a big conference room table right in the middle of it and I was shocked to see a slim brunette lying on it. She didn’t look dead to me, so I walked over and tapped her on the back. I jumped back as she sat up suddenly, bringing her bound hands up in front of her face, a face I noted that had several bruises on it.
“Don’t!” she yelled.
“Shh!” I said, holding up a hand. “I’m not here to hurt you. Who are you?” I had a suspicion I knew who she was, but I was curious to see if her story matched Janna’s, the woman who led us into this trap and nearly got me killed.
“Who are you?” she challenged, looking at my bloody face. “If you’re not one of them, what are you doing here?”
I couldn’t blame her for her tone, given the evidence of her rough treatment. I had a wild notion to say I was Luke Skywalker and I was here to rescue her, but I figured she wasn’t old enough to know what in thunder I was talking about.
“Name’s John. You?”
“Gina. Cut me loose and let’s get out of here! They’ll be back soon!” She held out her bound hands and pleaded with her eyes.
“Not yet. I need some information from you and I don’t like to repeat myself. So whatever I ask you, answer quickly. Got it?” I sounded brutal, but lives were on the line as shots came from the back of the building.
Gina nodded and looked at me with big brown eyes. I had just a few questions. “How many are there? What kind of weapons do they have and why did they ambush us?’ I wasn’t going to get into a grudge match just because my side hurt.
“There’s four of them here and six more across the street. They have black military guns, not like yours and I don’t know why they want to kill you, they didn’t say.” The words came at a rush and she inhaled deeply when she finished. It was valuable information, no doubt and gave me what I needed to know.
“I’m going to take care of the men here, then I’m going to get the others. One last question: Did your friend Janna deliberately lead us to an ambush?” I stared hard at Gina, hoping my suspicions were false.
Gina lowered her eyes. “They killed our friend and threatened worse for me if she didn’t cooperate. The men here have been telling me what they’re going to do to me once they kill your friends.”
I was relieved to hear that and it was strengthened my resolve to kill every one of these sons of bitches. Once upon a time I would have recoiled from wholesale murder, but that part of me was gone, replaced by a killer survivor. Mentally, I shrugged. This was what I had become.
I cut Gina’s bonds and led her out to the receptionist’s desk. “Stay here until I get back. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”
Gina nodded and before I could stop her, leaned in quickly and kissed my cheek. “Thank you,” she said as she squatted down behind the desk.
I nodded and readied myself for some serious exercise. Moving through the dark hallway, I worked my way to the back rooms where shots were still being fired. As I came near the corner, a shape came around and lunged at me. I stepped back and brought up my knife, swinging my arm to deflect the outstretched arms. The heavy blade sank deep into the neck of my enemy, cutting off his air supply and dropping him quickly and quietly. As I let him fall I realized this was not a zombie, but one of the men attacking my friends. His feet drummed the floor weakly as he grabbed his ruined throat, suffocating on his own blood. He must have been on his way to keep his promise to Gina when he bumped into me.
As his thrashing slowed and came to a halt, I peeked around the corner to see if I could get an idea of where exactly the rest were. Two doors in the small hallway were open and a third leading to an inner area was open as well, giving access to what probably was a storage room. If I was really lucky, there was a wall between the two rooms allowing me to operate undetected.
I slid along the wall, trying to keep as low a profile as possible. The light from the two rooms was enough to illuminate the hallway and I could see to the other end of the building. Motivational posters lined the walls, full of crap about believing in the power of your dreams and teamwork. I wish just once they’d made one that said ‘Get back to work. Staring at pretty pictures doesn’t make money for the company.’ At least it would be honest.
Crouching low, I approached the first open door and glanced inside. A small man was seated by the window, his rifle up and aimed at the Post Office next door. As I watched, he fired another round, muttering to himself. “Hope you get one in the gut, you fuckers. I got your man and I’m gonna get you.” I looked down at my close call and bared my teeth. This one just became personal.
I darted around the corner and went full tilt across the office, slamming into the man and driving him into the widow ledge. His breath came out in a bark as I hit him and I drove an elbow into the side of his head as he bounced off the wall.
While he lay stunned, I took his rifle and threw it into the corner, quickly checking him for sidearms. When I saw he had none, I holstered my SIG. I kept my knife out, though.
The man, whose name tag read Hodges, shook his head and got painfully to his feet. The window ledge had caught him square in the chest and I was sure his head rang from my elbow strike. He looked at me with dazed eyes, then as recognition hit him, he opened his mouth to yell. I shut him up with a sharp punch to the chin, snapping his head back and knocking him over his chair. I waited for him and this time he got up slower than before. His eyes glowed with hate as he pulled his own knife and began waving it in front of himself.
“So you lived, huh? Well, I like this better. The sarge said to wait, but you got out early. Thought my gut shot would have taken you down by now.” At the last word he lunged without warning, the knife blade glittering at my face. It would have taken me right in the eye had I stayed put.