Takedown by Heather Atkinson (latest books to read txt) 📕

Vance grabbed his extended arm and smashed it against the lift door, making him scream with pain. He yanked him into the lift and pulled the mask off over his head. Vance punched him in the side of the head and he dropped like a stone, landing on his side. Thanks to the gap in the door the smoke was now pouring in and they could barely see.

“Get down,” said Vance, dragging Caleb behind the door when a second man reached in wielding a stun gun and attempted to stun him.

The man missed and Vance kicked him in the stomach, sending him staggering backwards into the corridor.

“Caleb, can you see?” Vance called to him.

“Yeah,” he said, squinting and blinking rapidly. “Please say that’s smoke and not my eyes.”

“It’s smoke. Put this on,” he said, handing him the mask and coughing.

“Sounds like you need it more than I do.”

“We can share it,” Vance told him, dragging the oxygen tank off the firefighter’s back and handing that to his brother too.

While Caleb strapped the tank to his back, Vance peered around the door, leaping back when the stun gun was thrust through the gap again, the flash and crackle eerie in the swirling smoke. Caleb took a few deep breaths through the mask before holding it out to Vance, who took a couple of breaths and handed it back. When he looked out of the door again, he spied a second figure lurking in the fog created by all the smoke. Vance was trying not to think about the cause of that smoke and if it was getting closer.

“Help me get him to his feet,” he told Caleb, indicating the unconscious firefighter.

Between them they hauled him upright and slapped him awake. As he came round with a start, the brothers shoved him out into the corridor, causing him to receive a shock from the stun gun from his colleague who’d thought he was one of the brothers coming out of the lift. Vance kicked the unconscious firefighter into his friend and they both fell to the floor.

“Go,” yelled Vance, dashing out of the lift, Caleb following, the brothers stomping on the fallen firefighters to keep them down as they ran down the corridor for the stairs.

Faith couldn’t help but think of the film The Shining as the axe splintered her front door. Not wanting to tackle an axe-wielding maniac, she decided it would be better to retreat than fight. But she was trapped on the fourth floor and her main exit was blocked.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled at the balcony doors. Her attention was drawn back to the front door by a particularly loud crack and she saw the hole in it was now so wide Ben’s face was visible. His eyes briefly locked with hers and she saw nothing but triumph there.

Faith dashed over to the balcony doors, yanked the key out of the lock and stepped outside, immediately wishing she’d worn a thicker coat as she was engulfed in the icy air. She closed the doors behind her and locked them. Peering through the glass, she saw Ben finally break through and race into her living room. It enraged her to see him in her home, her sanctuary. He ran up to the glass and glared at her through it. Faith grinned and gave him the finger. From behind him emerged a smaller figure. It was Amanda. Faith watched them have a discussion, pointing at the doors and surrounding frame but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“Oh shit,” she said when Amanda produced a steel tool from her belt that resembled a screwdriver with a bulbous red handle. It was a window punch that firefighters used to smash glass.

Looking down over the balcony, she could see the ground below. All the residents were gathered at the assembly point in the gardens a good distance from the building, the fire engine parked at an angle at the doors into the flats. Someone spotted her standing there and pointed, drawing everyone else’s attention to her. Faith thought what a genius plan the firefighters had come up with. All those people could watch them smash in her balcony doors and drag her back inside and they would think they were saving her life when in fact they were here to do the opposite and once again they would be the shining heroes of the hour.

She ducked, covering her head with her arms as Ben drove the window punch into the top right corner of one of the doors. The glass cracked and when he drove it into the bottom corner it collapsed completely, showering her with glass. Covertly she picked up one of the jagged shards and remained crouched on the floor.

Ben pulled the mask off his face to talk. “Be sensible Faith and come back in. You’ve nowhere else to go.”

“Where’s your axe?” she frowned up at him.

“I left it by the door.” He held up his hands. “I’m unarmed. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“No. You just want to abduct me to force my brothers to give you back the product.”

“Yes, which is why we would prefer not to hurt you.”

“All right,” she said, straightening up. “But back off a bit.” Her gaze flicked to Amanda, who was scowling at her, black eyebrows locked together. “Both of you.”

“Back up,” Ben told Amanda, waving his hand at her.

Amanda obeyed while still glaring at Faith, who slowly walked back into the room, the two firefighters being careful to leave a few feet between them and her. Faith, her lungs already irritated by the smoke, started to cough again as her flat was filled with it thanks to the broken door.

“Is there really