Brain Storm by Cat Gilbert (ebook reader computer .txt) 📕
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- Author: Cat Gilbert
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TURNED OUT BOTH of the guys wanted something more threatening than flying books and papers, and I had to admit it was a pretty solid idea. Firepower was the order of the day and with a touch of a button, Mac provided it.
When the panel rolled back revealing what would only be described as a weapons cache, Jonas lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. I was pretty happy about it myself.
“This looks like something in a Schwarzenegger movie,” Trinity commented dryly.
“No,” said Jonas with a grin. “This is better. Way better.”
“Hey, is this a taser?” Trinity asked. At Mac’s nod, she pocketed it. “Then I’m keeping it,” she declared to anyone who cared. No one did.
Within seconds, there were enough weapons loaded into the van to start World War III. As Mac closed the panel concealing the gun room, he thrust a Springfield 9 mm semi-auto into my hand along with a couple of extended magazines. Jonas grabbed them away.
"Don’t give her those. She can’t shoot,” Jonas chastised him.
Mac grabbed them right back and shoved them into my hands.
“Oh yes, she can. We’ve been to the shooting range once a week for the past three years. She’s a great shot.”
Jonas looked at me with raised eyebrows. “We’ve?” he asked.
“Don’t look at me. Apparently, we’ve been a lot of places together I wasn’t aware of.”
Jonas watched Mac’s back as he strode out the door to the van loaded down with guns.
“Three years?” he asked.
“Seven.”
Jonas cursed under his breath, then quickly looked around to see if Trinity had heard him and I had to stifle a smile. Poor guy. If he thought he had it tough now, just wait until Mama D got here. At the thought of Mama D, the sense of urgency returned to me full force. We were as ready as we’d ever be. It was time to go get her.
* * *
MAC KEPT THE van lights off until we were well away from the turnoff to the house. The clock read 11:30 p.m., which I found hard to believe. It felt like days had gone by, but events had happened so quickly, it had only been a matter of hours. It had taken us longer to set the table and eat a meal than it had to fend off an attack, kill seven, no make that eight men, and flee the scene. Thanks to the backcountry hills of Little Rock, our hideout, for lack of a better word, was only minutes from I-430, which put us about 20 minutes from Mama D.
Trinity and I sat in silence, watching the trees glide by in the dark, praying we would get there in time.
“How much time do you think we have?” I asked, directing my question to the front of the van.
“Before what?” Mac answered. “Before they realize that’s not our bodies in the condo? It all depends on how much damage the fire did. Depends on whether or not the guy who set the fire managed to get a call out before I took him down.
“What’s he talking about, Jonas? Has this got something to do with Grams?” Trinity was getting louder with each question. Her tone was accusing, and I braced myself, expecting Jonas to react accordingly. Instead, he surprised me, calmly turning around to explain.
“It comes down to this. If the bodies were badly burned, we have some time before the police realize it’s not us and start looking. We might not be so lucky if the guys looking for Taylor know she’s still obtainable. I think you and Taylor should stay in the van when we get there. There might be trouble.”
Mac and Trinity both snorted at the same time, and Jonas looked to me to back him up. I thought he might have a point, especially where I was concerned, what with the loose cannon, lack of control thing I had, but on the other hand, I had no intention of sitting anything out, and there was no way he was going to keep Trinity in the van. He was so obviously the new guy here. I just shrugged, and he turned back to Mac, obviously not happy, but smart enough to let it go. “How secure is the cabin?”.
“They don’t know about the cabin.”
This raised Jonas’ eyebrows along with mine. “They don’t know? It’s not part of their plan?”
“It’s part of my plan, not part of theirs.”
Mac had suspected them. The government. Something had happened to make him think he might need a place to hide.
“You’re hanging out there pretty far on that limb, Mac,” Jonas told him.
“All by my lonesome,” Mac agreed, as he pulled into the subdivision where Mama D lived.
“Not anymore,” Jonas whispered as Mac cut the lights and rolled to a stop. “We walk from here. Load up.”
MAC PARKED THE van at the end of the block, around the corner and two houses down from Mama D’s behind the Lang home. We had done a slow drive past the front. The house was dark and quiet, just like the street. The neighborhood was a mix of families and retirees, with tidy lawns sporting swing sets or garden benches, depending on who owned what. As it was nearing midnight, most were in bed, fast asleep. Just to be on the safe side, we decided to approach the house from the back, cutting through the Lang’s backyard, using their landscaping for cover. No sense advertising our presence. Trinity was armed with her taser, and I had my gun ready, the extra clips stowed in my pockets. Mac and Jonas were ahead of us, guns drawn. As we crept through the Lang’s border hedge, I could only imagine what we looked like and prayed nonstop that we didn’t get shot. I was as much worried about the gun-toting Arkansans, as I was the guys we were up against.
I had the wild thought, as I squeezed past Mrs. Lang’s bird-feeder, that maybe we should have phoned the police. Oh wait, that’s right. We’re the bad guys as far as they are concerned. We had dead guys piling up around us, and I was sure we were carrying illegal weapons. They’d slap us in jail so fast we wouldn’t know what hit us. Then the government turncoat could just sweep in and grab us all. What was I thinking?
Mac signaled for us to stop and get down. I hit the ground and blew the grass out of my face. Trinity was off my knee to the left. Jonas and Mac, ahead of me by about six or seven feet. Between the moon and glow of the street lights, visibility was way too good for my comfort level. All anyone had to do was glance out a window, and they’d see us, plain as day. I didn’t know if it was my hair standing on end or if I was lying in a pile of fire ants, but either way, my skin was crawling. I needed to move and soon. If I was lying in fire ants and they started biting, it was going to be sooner. Mac wasn’t moving though, so I steeled myself and listened. In the silence, I heard a screen door creak open. Not sure if the sound came from in front of us or not, I glanced around to make sure none of the neighbors were taking aim.
There was no mistaking which direction the gunshot came from though. Trinity was up and running for the house before the rest of us had gained our feet. Jonas made a lunge for her, but missed, and she was off like a shot, taser in hand.
We were all three hot on her heels, but she reached the back door first and cleared the four steps in a single leap, exploding through the door to land in a heap on the kitchen floor as another shot rang out. Jonas, Mac and I split and headed for the sides of the doorway, ducking and bobbing as we ran in case they were firing at us. Jonas signaled Mac as he peeled off to head around to the front, leaving Mac and me at the back door. Cautiously sticking my head around the door, I could just make out the bottom of Trinity’s shoe in the entrance to the dining room before she jerked it out of sight.
She was on the floor, and I couldn’t tell from the glance I’d had, whether she was injured, but, at least she was alive. We heard Jonas break through the front door, and Mac and I went in through the back, fast and low, quickly clearing the kitchen and heading into the dining room, where Trinity had disappeared. Mac covered me
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