Dead Shot by Jack Patterson (adventure books to read .TXT) 📕

he had shoot-to-kill orders, but he doubted he could pull the trigger if ever faced with one of these corporate spies.

***

From within the janitor’s closet, Cal and Kelly heard the footsteps of presumed security guards racing around the building in search of them. They didn’t dare speak, much less breathe.

They heard voices shouting out instructions about how they were going to sweep the facility. Then Cal heard something that lodged a lump in his throat. It was the phrase “shoot to kill.”

He looked at Kelly, and, even in the darkness of a compact janitor’s closet, he could see the terror in her eyes.

Cal had been careful not to bleed on the warehouse floor in order to prevent establishing an identifiable trail of blood. Kelly had added her left hand for additional pressure—and it seemed to be working at the moment.

Cal was itching to get something on his arm to clean out the wound and bandage it up. It didn’t feel life threatening and he wasn’t worried about it killing him. But he was worried about the untold number of armed security guards hunting them.

Most of the audible footsteps grew more distant. The search had apparently moved toward the other end of the facility. Cal and Kelly were almost feeling confident to breathe in a deep breath when slow-paced footsteps appeared to be headed straight for the janitor’s closet.

Just then, Cal’s iPhone buzzed. He scrambled to stop it. And then he and Kelly held their breaths. The footsteps had stopped. Right outside the closet door. Someone was blocking what little light had been seeping under the door. It was the only light Cal and Kelly had to faintly see anything in the closet. Sheer darkness matched sheer terror.

There was nothing. No movement. No sound. Just a pair of boots stationed outside the door and two occupants on the other side, holding their breath

Cal imagined the guard pressing his ear against the door and listening for any type of movement within. The pause at the door seemed to last an hour.

Then the guard jiggled the doorknob. Cal was glad he locked the door behind him but he knew this was probably the end. He cringed and prepared for the worst.

Chapter 34

“It’s locked,” shouted the guard. “I don’t hear anything. I don’t see any blood either. And I don’t feel like walking all the way back to our office just to get a key to double-check what I already know. Let’s call this section of the warehouse clear and move on.”

“I’m with you. Let’s go,” came the response.

The footsteps went from threatening to faint to gone. Cal and Kelly both felt it was safe to whisper but remained still.

“I thought we were done,” Kelly said.

“And that was the first time you thought that today?” Cal’s sarcasm attempted to lighten the gravity of the situation. It didn’t work.

“No, but if we don’t get you bandaged up and get out of here, someone is going to find us and turn us in.”

It was five o’clock and Cal knew Guy would be looking for them. Maybe that was a good thing. Otherwise, who would be looking for them? As upset as Guy could get, his rage could cause him to send out a search party. As long as it wasn’t the police, it would be OK.

Cal’s phone vibrated. He had three missed calls and one text message. Guy hated text messaging, so Cal figured the calls were from his boss. He went to the text message. It was from Josh. In all the excitement over the past 48 hours, Cal nearly forgot Josh was coming to visit on Friday.

Looking fwd 2 seeing u & ragging u 4 starting Matt Garza on fantasy team. U r loyal 2 a fault. C u Thur

Checking his starting pitchers for his fantasy league team was the last thing on Cal’s mind while stuck in a janitor’s closet inside a building crawling with armed guards who were instructed to shoot him. But the text did cause Cal to smile and provided a momentary diversion from the fear beginning to take over his mind.

Cal then stood up and used the light from his iPhone to search for some strips of cloth to bandage his wound. By the dim light, Cal could tell that the wound wasn’t nearly as deep as he initially thought. His arm still throbbed with sharp pain.

Kelly joined him, volunteering to shine the phone’s light around the closet so Cal could thoroughly search the shelves for something to bandage him up. Cal found a first aid kit with some alcohol wipes to sterilize the wound along with some gauze and tape to dress it. Kelly took the items from Cal’s hand. She began cleaning Cal’s bloody arm and patching it up without the slightest communication from Cal. But she needed to talk.

“So how are we going to get out of here, Cal?”

Kelly’s nerves were near their frazzled ends.

“Good question. I say we wait until it’s dark and there’s hardly anyone here. Then we try to hide in a delivery truck.”

“A delivery truck? Are you out of your mind?”

Just then the sound of footsteps halted the hushed conversation. Four, maybe five people. Cal couldn’t tell for sure. But they were within a few yards of the janitor’s closet before they began talking. Cal and Kelly carefully returned to a sitting position.

“You guys be careful tonight. The boss man says there were some reporters who broke into our facility today. Do you all remember The Golden Rule? Let’s play by it tonight. Got it?”

The remaining voices beyond the door muttered in agreement. They understood. Kelly thought she did too and gasped at the order before cupping her hand over her mouth. Cal scowled at her, something he knew Kelly could see even in the darkness of the closet.

“Peppy, you’re headed to Seattle tonight. Big John, you’re going to Portland. And Ringo, you’ve got the lucky all-nighter to San Francisco. As always, keep a low profile and travel the