The guard dragging Allyson let her head fall as soon as he heard his boss scream. He rushed over to help, holding his phone’s light out in front of him. Adriana jumped at him, extending her right foot in the air. Her heel sank deep into his chest, and the power from her kick sent him sprawling backward. He teetered for a moment before falling to the ground. His attempt to help his employer wasn’t totally useless, though. It gave Immelman enough time to gather himself and collect his sword.
He scooped it off the ground and rushed at Adriana again, his wrist flicking the blade faster than before in a rush of fiery rage.
Allyson caught herself just before her head hit the hard concrete, and she rolled into the shadows near the wall. She barely had a glimpse of his attack on Adriana and her subsequent sidekick to his chest. Allyson swallowed hard, blinking rapidly to refocus her vision. The second the guard hit the ground, she sprang from her hiding place. He was about to rejoin the fight when Allyson’s knee caught him in the temple at full speed. Bone crunched against her kneecap, and she followed through for several inches. The power of the blow sent his head smacking against the floor, but at that point he was already unconscious, maybe dead. She didn’t need to know either way so immediately turned her attention to the remaining guard who stood in the corner with a cordless circular saw in his hand. He wielded the tool clumsily, clearly unaccustomed to using it as a weapon. Her eyes narrowed in the pale light of the unconscious guard’s phone. She waited for him to make a move, anticipating what he might do first.
Suddenly, the little light in the corner of the room flickered back to life. The guard with the saw looked over at it, distracted momentarily. Allyson’s killer instinct kicked in. She pumped her legs and in three steps was on the guard. At the last second, he noticed her coming and swung the saw around at her chest. Allyson knew that would be his defense, and she leaned back, kicking her foot hard into his groin. He doubled over instantly, groaning in agony. Seizing the advantage, she grabbed the saw from his limp fingers as she smashed his nose with her knee. His nose exploded, gushing blood through fingers that hurried to stem the flow. He stumbled back toward the wall, somehow thinking he could retreat.
“You were going to cut us up into little pieces? You sick freak.”
Allyson depressed the trigger on the tool, and the circular blade instantly came to life. She thrust the saw at the man’s chest and sank it deep into his ribcage. The hand guard did little to stem the splash of blood as she cut into the guard’s vital organs. His screams oozed into gurgles and muted moans just before he dropped to the ground. Allyson breathed heavily as she wiped her face with the back of her forearm, letting go of the saw that now protruded from the man’s chest cavity. She could feel blood smear across her cheek. The sounds of metal clashing on the other side of the room drew her attention back to the battle between Immelman and Adriana.
“You had your chance!” Immelman roared. “I would have killed you quickly. Now I’m going to make it hurt.”
He faked a swipe at her neck, dropped to one knee, and whipped the blade at her leg, aiming to cut it out from under her. Adriana bought the fake and flashed her weapon up to block it. Almost too late, she saw her opponent drop and spin. His attack was well calculated and would have worked against a less agile opponent. Her leg muscles twitched hard, and Adriana cartwheeled over the attack. The second she landed, Immelman struck again, punching forward with the tip of his blade. He missed again, but his inertia carried his body into hers before she could raise her weapon.
Immelman swung the bloodied arm and struck the side of her face with his elbow. It landed with enough force to knock her back a step. He pushed his advantage and kicked out with his right foot, the flat of his shoe crushing her abdomen and the wound he'd previously inflicted.
Adriana winced and nearly dropped her sword as the pain wrenched her forward. Immelman moved in for the kill. His nostrils flared, his eyes wide with fury. He raised the blade over his right shoulder and brought it down with enough force to take her head clean off. With her last ounce of strength, Adriana summoned the power to lunge at her attacker. She stabbed as hard as she could, aiming the sword’s tip at his midsection. His eyes widened the second he realized he was exposed. Adriana’s sword punctured Immelman’s skin and sank deep into his stomach. She shoved harder, putting all her weight behind the thrust. The blade pushed through his torso and protruded awkwardly from the back of his shirt.
He instinctively dropped his weapon and grasped at the handle sticking out of his gut. His head trembled as the fingers on his remaining hand desperately attempted to remove the sword.
Adriana gasped for air and slid along the wall toward the back, clutching her stomach as she moved. She kept an eye on Immelman, too, watching him try in vain to remove the weapon from his body. He spun around in a circle and fell to one knee. His shirt was soaked dark red. Forty seconds passed before he collapsed on his side, twitching. His life seeped out of his body and onto the concrete around him. Adriana pressed her back against the wall and lowered herself to the floor to rest for a moment. The cuts on her face and stomach stung. She would definitely need stitches for the latter and maybe for the one on her cheek. But she would live.
Something clicked to her right, and she realized Allyson was standing ten feet away. She held a gun in her right hand, down by her side. She took three steps toward Adriana and stopped a few feet away, staring down at her with a wicked, snarling expression.
“Time to finish this,” Allyson said.
She raised the weapon slowly. Adriana didn’t look up. She’d fought so hard, but in the end she’d failed. And her father would die because of it.
Allyson pulled the trigger. It was a thunderous sound in the confines of the basement. The bullet found its mark, shattering the top of Immelman’s skull. Six seconds later, the body lay perfectly still.
She lowered the weapon and looked back at Adriana. “We should probably be going. I’d guess the outside guards might have heard that. And if they didn’t, they’ll be coming around soon to make sure things are okay from the power outage.”
Adriana’s eyes lifted a few inches and met Allyson’s. The cut on Adriana’s face started to sting. She’d not noticed the pain during the fight. Adrenaline temporarily flushed it away. She had some first aid supplies in her rucksack; nothing fancy but enough to bandage up her wounds for the time being.
“You’re not going to kill me and take the painting?”
Allyson shrugged. “The thought crossed my mind, but like you said, when we steal all the paintings from this Belgian guy, my reward will be three times as big. I’m no Swiss banker, but that payoff sounds pretty good to me. You okay to move?”
Adriana nodded.
Allyson offered a hand, and Adriana took it, using the American’s leverage to stand up.
“Thank you,” Adriana said.
Allyson huffed. “Don’t get sentimental, sweetie. I’m doing this for the money. Now let’s go get that painting.”
22
Shadows danced in the nooks and crannies of the old train hangar. Little patches of shrubs and thin, scraggly trees smattered the otherwise dirty, derelict building with patches of green. The rogue plants were the only things in the train graveyard that showed any semblance of life as the rust-encrusted mechanical giants sat quietly on decaying tracks. The steam trains of Germany’s past stood as a rotting tribute to the greatness of their time and as a reminder that change and innovation almost always won. More than a few old subway trains were parked in rows inside the mammoth shelter. A gray one nearby looked as if it might still be in working order were it not for all the missing windows and rusted wheels. Adriana tiptoed down an aisle between a line of olive green passenger cars and a row of burnt orange tankers. She wondered how big the place really was. The maze of iron, aluminum, steel, and glass seemed to go on forever.