“Guess we do this the old-fashioned way,” he said and sprinted through the trees.
Back up the hill, Adriana ran after Shaved Head with Tommy lagging behind her.
Suddenly, the trees erupted in a blaze of gunfire. Buzz-Cut turned and saw the shooters too late, catching a round in the thigh. He fell to the ground, clutching his leg.
The shooters in the woods ceased fire as Tommy and Adriana approached.
“Take care of him,” Adriana said. “I’ve got the other guy.”
She ran by the wounded man and stayed after Shaved Head, who disappeared around the circular base of the church.
By the time Tommy arrived where Buzz-Cut had fallen, the man had dragged himself off the ground and started limping toward the parking area.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Tommy asked, grabbing the guy by the collar and spinning him around.
Buzz-Cut swung hard at Tommy’s face, but the American caught the fist, twisted the wrist, and jabbed the guy square in the mouth. His opponent staggered back a moment and then touched his lips with two fingers. He looked at the blood and then at Tommy. His eyes blazed with renewed fury as he charged, forcing himself to forget the pain coming from his leg.
Tommy suddenly felt like he’d jabbed a hornets’ nest with a stick. Buzz-Cut moved quickly, lashing out with hands that constantly stayed in motion. One punch caught Tommy in the jaw. He blocked the second, but the third struck his cheek. Then the opponent kicked with his good leg, landing the blow in Tommy’s midsection.
The American dropped to his knees and gasped for air, the wind gone from his lungs.
Buzz-Cut moved rapidly. Stepping over to the edge of the pathway, he pried one of the softball-sized rocks that lined the walk. He stepped back over to Tommy, who was desperately trying to recover normal breathing.
Tommy looked up and saw the man hovering over him with the stone raised high over his shoulder. Tommy’s arms flailed, but it was no use.
Buzz-Cut started to deliver the mortal blow at Tommy’s head when another gunshot came from the woods.
The Korean’s body shuddered for a second. The rock fell from his hand and hit the ground with a thud. A look of confused fear filled his face as he spun around to see who’d shot him in the back.
June stood at the edge of the forest, holding a Glock in her hand. A trickle of gray smoke drifted out of the barrel and disappeared into the desert sky.
Buzz-Cut’s legs wobbled. Then he fell over onto his side, his eyes fixing on a distant point on the horizon.
Tommy’s breath returned, and his lungs started rising and falling dramatically as he took big gulps of air. He looked up at June, who lowered the weapon. It dangled for a second in her hand before dropping to the ground. Her fingers trembled, and she put her hands to her lips.
Tommy struggled to his feet and rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.
“You saved my life,” he said.
She was still trembling. “Is… is he dead?”
Tommy lifted his head and looked at the villain on the ground. “Yeah.”
A tear formed in the corner of June’s eye. She sniffled and wiped her nose. “I thought he was going to kill you.”
Tommy stepped back and gripped both her shoulders. “There’s a lot more to you than meets the eye, June Holiday.”
She forced a laugh and then wrapped her arms around him again.
Meanwhile, Adriana sprinted through the parking lot after Shaved Head. He was fast, but Adriana was faster. She closed the gap in less than ten seconds and jumped the last few feet, throwing her arms at the guy’s shoulders.
The weight of her body and its momentum hit him like a sack of rocks. She drove him into the ground face-first, grinding his right shoulder on the gravel. Adriana put so much effort into the tackle that she couldn’t stay on top of the guy and rolled over him.
He pushed himself up from the ground and unleashed a furious attack. From the onset, Adriana knew the guy had been trained in various martial arts. His stance, the balance, the constant movement all belied mastery of hand-to-hand combat.
He slid both feet toward her and jabbed with the left. She swatted the punch downward only to find a follow-up from his right. One after the other, Adriana blocked and deflected every effort Shaved Head could throw. Her wrists ached from the blows, but she kept at it until she saw an opening. Her leg snapped out quickly, her foot striking him in the knee.
The blow did little to deter the attacker, but it bought her a split second of time to regroup. She retreated a step and invited the next round. Shaved Head pressed the assault, firing his own kick at Adriana’s face then readying himself to pummel her face as he landed.
He couldn’t have anticipated her next move. Adriana spun to the left and brought her arm around, clotheslining the guy in the neck. The power of the blow combined with his momentum flipped him onto his back with a heavy thud.
Adriana stomped her foot at his face, but he grabbed her by the ankle, twisted, and jerked. She twisted in midair, tumbling twice before crashing onto the gravel.
Shaved Head rolled to his feet. It was his turn to hit his opponent while she was on the ground. He swung his boot hard at her head. Adriana rolled out of the way, the tip of his foot missing her temple by inches. He repeated the kick with his other foot. Again, she rolled away. He tried a third time. Adriana didn’t try to get away. She rolled toward the man, catching his foot before it could gain any force, then drove the base of her hand into his groin. Her fingers squeezed and twisted hard.
The man howled in agony. Adriana slid through his legs, keeping her grip tight. He doubled over, which played right into her plan. On her back, Adriana kicked her right heel up, plowing the bone into his nose.
His head snapped back, and his feet shuffled on the gravel as he tried to gain his balance while grabbing his face.
Adriana let go and stood up. She grabbed her opponent’s shoulder and spun him around. He lowered his hands from the bloody nose in an attempt to ready himself for her attack, but it was too late.
Adriana drove a fist into his left cheek, then his right, then left again. His head rocked from one side to the other and back. Now he was fighting against gravity and the fierce Spaniard.
He drove a weak punch at her face, but she grabbed his wrist, yanked him forward, and drove her knee into his gut. He grunted and doubled over, stumbling to the ground face-first. Adriana jumped on his back and grabbed the back of his head. She lifted it and smashed it into the ground over and over again until she felt the resistance in his muscles go limp.
Adriana released the clump of hair, letting the man’s bloody head drop to the ground.
She gasped for breath, only now realizing how much exertion the fight had taken. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and stood up, rolling the guy over onto his back with the tip of her shoe.
His face looked like he’d just lost a prize fight against a cheese grinder. His chest rose and fell, signaling that he wasn’t dead.
Adriana looked off toward the woods below the church and wondered what was going on with Sean.
Chapter 35
Sean weaved in and out of the trees, keeping an eye on Han-Jae as he ran down the path away from the sculpture. The North Korean looked back several times to see if he was being followed. Even though he didn’t see anyone, he didn’t dare slow his pace.
Sean made no effort to stay quiet as he ran through the woods. The path looped around to the other side of the little forest, to what he didn’t know, but he knew he could cut off Han-Jae’s escape this way.