Stephanie
"Who are you?"
I didn't really mean to blurt it out like that, but I was so unused to seeing a woman at Rangeman who wasn't Ella that I momentarily thought I had walked into the wrong building.
She was wearing all black, like all Rangeman employees do, but it was different. Her silk black blouse fluttered wistfully over her tall, athletic frame as she walked towards me, long legs clad in black jeans confidently striding, languid and slow, like she was trying not to spook me.
"I'm Cam," the girl said, a bright smile stretching across her dark red lips, but not quite reaching the almond eyes, lined perfectly with wings. I never could get the winged eyeliner thing down. "You must be Stephanie. It's nice to meet you."
She stuck her hand out to me. I took it slowly, wondering if maybe there was a bomb strapped under her shirt. It seemed like there might be enough room.
"Are you looking for Ranger?" She inquired, when she realized that I wasn't going to say anything.
"Yep, sure am," I answered. "Is he in his office?" I moved to go by her, but she blocked my path. She was a few inches taller than I was, even without the chunky heel of her boots.
"Ranger is in a meeting right now," she told me. "Perhaps you would like to wait? I can let you into his apartment."
I stared at her face a little harder. It was really hard to mask my confusion so I didn't bother. I took the chance to scope her out. She was pretty. Her skin was the same color as Ranger's, though I could tell she wasn't Latina. Maybe half black? She had a smattering of freckles across a cute, upturned nose.
I drew myself a little taller, making myself all of the five foot, seven inches I had. I still barely came up to her chin. She looked down at me with a small grin on her face and I immediately felt the urge to press my stun gun to her neck.
"You can let me into his apartment? Who the hell are you?" I asked again. "Are you standing in for Ella?"
"Not as such," Cam answered. "I'm new. Today is my first day. I'm Ranger's assistant."
That floored me.
"Ranger hired an assistant?"
"It appears that his client list is becoming too long for him to efficiently manage his calendar while running the business." She glided around the desk that she'd been sitting at when I walked and bent at the waist to look at her screen. "This meeting should be over in a few minutes. Would you like a glass of water? Coffee?"
I knew I should be polite. The girl was just doing her job, but I was just too shocked. Ranger hadn't mentioned that he was going to hire an assistant. Then again, Ranger doesn't mention a lot of things.
My name is Stephanie Plum. For lack of a better word, I guess you could call me a bounty hunter. I was born and raised in a small part of Trenton called the Burg, where families were large and loud and everyone knew everyone's business. My hair is brown and usually pulled back due to lack of better ideas on how to manage my curls, and my eyes are blue.
Usually I consider myself pretty attractive. I could stand to lose a few pounds, but I've been told my nose is cute. Standing next to this girl who was telling me she was Ranger's assistant didn't do a whole lot for my self-esteem. Her dark brown hair was way curlier than mine, but she had perfect blond highlights that framed her face perfectly, and her weight was distributed perfectly across her six foot frame. A perfect amount of fat rested at the boobs and hips and helped define her waist.
"Stephanie?" Cam asked, snapping me out of my assessment of her. I whipped out my cell phone and dialed Ranger's number. He answered on the third ring.
"Babe."
"When did you hire an assistant?" Ranger sighed and disconnected. I looked at Cam and could tell she was uncomfortable. A few seconds later, I heard a door open and looked down the hall. Two men came out of Ranger's office followed by Ranger himself. I could feel my doo-dah start to tingle as they advanced. As usual, Ranger looked good enough to eat with a spoon and then lick the bowl. Since this was obviously a business meeting, Rangerl wasn't dressed in the usual Rangeman fatigues. He was wearing perfectly tailored black pants and a black dress shirt that was open at the neck. No tie.
Ranger waited until his guests had exited before acknowledging me.
"Babe."
Babe could mean everything and nothing when it was coming out of Ranger's mouth. Today it was "what are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you."
"I figured," Ranger said as he turned to Cam, who looked up at him from her seat at her desk. I didn't like the look on her face. It was a mixture of admiration and attention that made my eyes narrow. "Please send Pinto a follow up email and set up a time for me to go and check out his building." Cam nodded and turned her attention to her computer screen.
Satisfied that Cam would be occupied, he turned back to me and nodded towards the elevator. I turned and pressed the button, waiting for the car to take us up to the seventh floor, where Ranger had his private apartment.
"She's pretty," I murmured as soon as the doors closed.
"That's why I hired her," Ranger responded. I couldn't tell if he was joking. I was going to assume that he wasn't since Ranger never joked. "Are you jealous?"
"Me? Nope," I answered. Hopefully not too quickly. A smile tugged at the corner of Ranger's mouth as the doors opened into the Batcave. Ranger's apartment was tastefully masculine. Not that Ranger put any thought into it himself. That was all Ella. He also didn't have to think about the spread that was put out on the island in his kitchen. That was all Ella, as well.
I grabbed a sandwich that had a lot of green things on it and plopped myself on a stool.
"What's going on?" Ranger asked as he selected his own sandwich and pulled out his cell phone, presumably checking email.
"I need help," I answered.
"Why else would you be here?" Ranger inquired without looking at me. I couldn't tell if his tone was exasperated or bored. Emotions weren't Ranger's strong suit. Finally he looked up at me. "What do you need?"
"I was hoping I could utilize some Rangeman equipment," I answered. "I have a skip that keeps managing to evade me and I want to give up and just put a tracker on his car so I can find him."
"You gotta find the car to put the tracker on it, Babe," Ranger told me, the ghost of a smile still lingering on his lips. "Who is this guy?"
"Ant Genovese," I answered, "Grand Theft Auto."
"I can see where this is going," Ranger murmured as he looked back at his phone. "You want me to put a tracker on one of my cars and leave it somewhere you think he might steal it." I smiled. Ranger was quick.
"I think he knows that my car is tracked. He likes to take it, but then he just leaves it in inconvenient places." Nothing worse than a criminal with a sense of humor. "Anyway, you'll get it back."
"You haven't had to borrow a car in a few months, so I can probably spare one," Ranger told me, "but it's gonna cost you." I could feel my face flush as lady town started to wake up. Being in such close proximity to Ranger's bed when he was talking about cost couldn't be good for my health. The smile that had been tugging at the corner of Ranger's mouth for the last few minutes finally won the fight. "Babe."
"What?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level.
"The next time I get you in my bed, it's not going to be because you owe me." He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into him. "It's going to be because you asked for it." He kissed me lightly and then let go. It took everything I had to not start panting. I was considering the wisdom of asking for it when Ranger's phone started to ring.
Saved by the bell.
"Yes, Cam?" He answered, managing not to sound exasperated at all. He listened briefly and then said he would be right down. Before hanging up, he told his assistant to help me with getting the keys to one of the Mercedes in the garage. Then he hung up. "I have a meeting. Cam will give you keys and take you to your car."
"No Merry Men to help?" I asked.
"Now that I have an assistant, I doubt you'll see as much of the men. She's helped to free up their time as well." A little surprising. She must have other qualifications besides a pretty face if Ranger was willing to trust her with me. Ranger was very protective. "Do you need her to drive the car somewhere for you? Or were you planning on leaving with it?"
"If she could drive it for me, that would be great," I answered. "You sure you're not too busy to spare her?" I imagine that Ranger would have rolled his eyes if that was something Ranger ever did.
"Just make sure she's back in an hour."
"You're coming with me," I said to Cam as the elevator door opened on the fifth floor, revealing her standing there with a set of keys. Cam looked to Ranger for confirmation.
"Please take the car and leave it wherever Stephanie says to leave it. I'll have Hal follow you to give you a ride back."
"Um, all right," Cam said as she reached behind her chair and grabbed her jacket – a black leather biker jacket that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe put together. "David is waiting for you in your office."
"Thank you, Cam. Let me know when you're on your way back." Cam nodded, grabbed her bag, and strode past me towards the elevator. She stood patiently waiting with perfect posture, staring forward at the door. I tried to mimic her, but it's hard to look graceful in jeans and running shoes.
As if she could tell that I was thinking about my clothes, Cam turned her head and gave me a once over. I was expecting her to say something but she didn't. Her appraisal reminded me of Ranger and I suppressed a shudder. We stepped in the elevator and I decided I couldn't be quiet anymore.
"Is Cam your whole name?"
"It's Camryn," she answered, seemingly relieved that I had broken the silence. "r-y-n."
"Cute," I said, doing my best not to sound sarcastic. "How did you get this job?"
"Ranger was looking for an assistant and I qualified," she answered. I could see why Ranger liked her. She was very buttoned up. I was going to have to ask specific questions if I wanted anything out of her.
"What makes you qualified?" I continued to press.
"Is this an interview?" she responded as the door opened and she stepped out of the elevator. Jeez. I was only trying to make conversation.
I had to move faster than usual to keep up with her long stride.
"I'm just curious," I answered. "Ranger has never hired a woman before. As far as I know, you're the first woman to step inside Rangeman besides Ella and me and I want to know what makes you special."
"I think you're reading a little too much into things," Camryn answered. "I'm not special. I'm just an assistant. Which one is your car?" I pointed at my most recent hunk of junk, a toyota Rav-4 that seemed like it was probably older than Camryn was. "Shouldn't be hard to follow. Where are we going?"
"Heading to an address in West Trenton. Are you familiar with the area?"
"Yep," Camryn responded, "but I'll follow your lead."
"Should we wait for Hal?"
"He'll be able to find us," Camryn assured me as she unlocked the door one of the Mercedes and folded her long legs into the car. I was getting the feeling that she and I were not about to become besties.
I drove Camryn to the part of West Trenton that was almost really nice, but not quite far enough into the nice area to make it a desirable place to live. In fact, this was one of the more dangerous parts of town because of how decentralized it was. There was a large building that used to be a high school, God knew what it was used for now, next to a few small baseball fields where some Spanish kids were playing a game of soccer.
There were trees around, and parents with SUVs. They were trying to be normal, at least. I had first been worried that the Mercedes might have been too nice to entice Genovese to steal it, but decided it would probably work. This wasn't Stark street, after all. Most of these people didn't expect to have to deal with drug dealers to fear in their neighborhood.
Camryn parked behind me, got out, and threw me the keys.
"Do you want me to wait with you?" I asked. Just because it wasn't a scary part of town, didn't mean I wanted to leave her all alone. Especially dressed in those expensive-looking clothes. I was expecting her to coolly brush me off, but instead she thanked me and climbed into the car. I pulled away a little bit so we wouldn't look suspicious. "Are you from Trenton?" I inquired.
So sue me! I can't help if I'm curious.
"I'm from Hamilton," she answered. Hamilton Township is a suburb that shares its Western border with Trenton. It was solidly middle-class to upper middle-class. Those who could afford to moved to Princeton or West Windsor so as not to have to deal with Trenton slowly seeping out and taking over. "But I've been living in New York City for the past five years."
"What prompted the move home?" I asked.
"You can only live in New York for so long," she answered, almost too quickly.
I'm not really very good at my job, but the success I do have comes from having good instincts and the perseverance to follow them to fruition. My gut was telling me that this response seemed very rehearsed.
"Where are you living now?"
"At Rangeman, temporarily," she answered, "until I can get something more permanent. I'm looking at apartments in Princeton. I like the woods." I would love to be able to afford an apartment in Princeton. It's a small town and having an Ivy League school there meant it was cute and quaint.
I wondered for a second if Morelli would consider moving to Princeton and then squashed that thought like a bug. Didn't want to go there. It wasn't that I didn't think that he would do it – it was that I was sure he would. Princeton was the kind of place families settled down.
In the rear view mirror, I saw a black SUV pull up behind us and could see Hal in the driver seat.
"That's my ride," Cam said, "call us if he takes the bait." I nodded and thanked her, starting my car as she slammed the door.
I had no idea how to feel about her. Probably it didn't really matter how I felt. She was only Ranger's assistant, but still it was just weird to think of another woman involved in Ranger's life – and I use the word 'woman' loosely. She couldn't have been more than twenty-five years old.
I dialed Ranger, forgetting that he was in a meeting. But hell it had been about thirty minutes already. I couldn't imagine Ranger speaking to anyone for longer than thirty minutes, no longer what the topic.
"How old is Cam?" I asked when he finally picked up.
"Babe," he responded.
"I just want to know!" I answered. "I tried asking her myself but she doesn't talk a lot."
"Another one of the reasons I hired her," Ranger told me. "Why do you want to know how old she is?"
"Because I'm just curious, OK? I want to know more about her. How do we know she's not some assassin that's been sent to kill you?"
"She's twenty-four, and she's not an assassin," Ranger assured me. "Besides, any of the people who want me dead would never send someone else to do it."
"That makes me feel so much better," I scoffed.
"If you are so worried for my safety, you can always come and protect me," he suggested. "Bring your handcuffs." I could feel my face getting all red.
"Good bye," I snapped and then hung up, deciding that it might be a good idea to go visit Morelli and get the idea of Ranger and handcuffs out of my head.
I was sitting on Morelli's couch with Bob. Morelli wasn't home yet, so I helped myself to some beer and his television. Bob had his head in my lap, clearly trying to get his mouth close enough to the bag of chips I had open to eat the whole thing in one bite. It was late, and I was starting to get tired, but my phone rang.
"Stephanie," it was Hal's voice coming from the other side, "we have some movement on the car you placed."
"Where is it?" I asked.
"It's at an address on Centre Street in South Trenton. Do you need back up?"
"No, I'll be fine," I answered as I got up and got my shoes on. "Text me the address."
"10-4," Hal answered, and then disconnected. I briefly pondered changing my mind and asking him to send back up, but I figured I would just pick up Lula instead.
I called her as I was getting into the car. "Wanna pick up Genovese?"
"Right now?" Lula asked.
"Are you busy?"
"Depends on what you mean by busy," Lula answered. "I've got a sweet hunk of man trussed up in my bed like a Thanksgiving turkey, but you know I'm all about bros before 'hoes."
Since Lula was a former 'ho, I wasn't exactly sure how to take this.
"No need," I told her. "I'll be fine on my own. Worst case scenario, he just runs away and escapes like he always does."
"You let me know if you need me to bring my glock," Lula ordered. I thanked her and hung up. The last thing I wanted around was Lula's glock.
When I pulled up to the address that Hal had sent me, I immediately spotted the black Mercedes. It stuck out in this neighborhood. This was a neighborhood filled with poor working people. Mostly Hispanic. I was surprised that Genovese had wound up here.
Though it was explained when a cute girl in her early twenties walked out of one of the houses and out towards the Mercedes. Looked like whoever stole it was still in the car. I got out of the Rav-4 and strode over to it.
The girl stopped talking when she saw me and stood up straight.
"Who are you?" She demanded. The guy in the driver side looked my way and got out of the car. It was Genovese.
"Hey, Ant," I said cheerfully.
"This your car?" he asked me as he closed the door and leaned against the car. He was tall and slim, with an olive complexion and dark wavy hair that brushed his shoulders.
"One of them," I answered as I reached into the back of my jeans and pulled out my cuffs.
"Nice car," he complimented me.
"There are plenty more where it came from, so I guess it's OK that you stole it," I told him. "I promise not to say anything about it when we go to the courthouse to set up a new court date."
"You must think I'm an idiot," he told me.
"No, I think you're very smart," I promised him. "I didn't expect you to take my bait so quickly, though."
"This is a beautiful car," he told me. "I might not even get it chopped up, now that I know it's yours." I took this chance to jump at him. I quickly got one wrist cuffed and was struggling to get the other one when I felt someone pulling at my hair.
"YOU LET HIM GO, PUTA!" The girl was screaming at me. I reflexively turned and shoved her into the car.
"Keep your hands off her!" Genovese exclaimed. He swung at me with the cuffed wrist. His hand missed my face, but the cuff got me in the eye. I could feel blood flowing immediately, but I knew the damage wasn't bad. I charged at Genovese and tackled him, but his girlfriend was still operational and she pulled me off him again. She punched me in the lip. At least she was small. Again, I could feel blood, but no significant damage.
I pushed her off of me one more time and went back to Genovese. It seemed that I hurt him when I tackled him and I didn't want to wait for him to get himself back together. I had both of his wrists cuffed behind his back when I heard the unmistakable click of a gun being cocked. I froze.
"Get off him, you bitch," the girl growled at me. I immediately put my hands up and stood.
"You've already assaulted me," I said without turning around to look at her. "You don't want to add 'with a deadly weapon' to that charge. Trust me."
"Only matters if I get caught," she murmured.
"Don't shoot her, Gloria," Ant said as he managed to get himself off the sidewalk without the use of his hands. I heard Gloria sigh, and then felt a blow to the back of my head. Things went dark after that.
I came to lying on the sidewalk in front of the house. The Mercedes was gone, and so was my Rav-4.
"Fuck," I muttered as I pushed myself up on my hands and knees and reached to my pocket for my cell phone. It was still there, thankfully. I dialed Ranger.
"Babe," he answered.
"The plan worked, but I hit a snag," I told him.
"Where are you?" He asked.
"South Trenton, on Centre Street.
"I'm on my way with Cam," he told me. "Hal actually left a few minutes ago to check on you. The Mercedes and your Rav-4 both started moving together in the same direction and I was worried you were a part of some high speed chase."
"Nope. They took the Mercedes and my car."
"They?" Ranger asked.
"Genovese and his girlfriend," I answered.
"They ganged up on you?"
"How else do you think they got away?" I replied. That actually got a small chuckle out of Ranger, which was as a full on laugh as far as I'm concerned.
"Are you hurt?" He got serious again.
"The girlfriend hit me in the back of the head with a gun, I think," I told him, "and my eye is kind of swollen shut. Genovese tried to punch me, but he missed and the cuff clipped my eye."
Silence on the other end.
"Also his girlfriend punched me in the mouth. It looks worse than it is." I could hear some shuffling, and then Cam's voice.
"Hey Stephanie," she greeted. "Ranger turned the phone over to me."
"Does it look like he's trying to keep his cool?" I inquired.
"Hard to say," Camryn replied. "We'll be with you in about 5 minutes. Would you like me to stay on the phone with you?"
It was possible that I might actually get used to this. It was weird for a Rangeman employee to actually have phone manners. I was considering taking her up on her offer when my phone beeped. I checked out the screen and saw that Morelli was calling.
"Thanks, but I've got another call. I'll see you two in a few minutes." I picked up Morelli.
"I thought you were going to be home when I got back?" Morelli asked. "It was real disappointed to just come back to Bob and a shredded potato chip bag."
"I'm sorry," I told him, "I got news on a skip and left in a hurry."
"Are you coming back soon?"
"I might have to go to the hospital first," I answered.
Once again there was silence on the other end. I imagined Morelli staring at his shoes and doing some deep breathing. He was also probably searching for Rolaids.
"It's not that bad," I promised him, "I just got in a little fight. Might need a few stitches on my eye."
"Jesus Christ, Steph," he murmured. "Where are you?"
"I'm on Centre Street right now. Ranger is coming to get me. He should be here in a few minutes."
"Let me know what hospital you go to. I'll meet you there."
As we disconnected, a black Porsche Cayenne pulled up and parked where the Mercedes had been. Ranger got out of the car and walked over to me, putting his hand on the side of my face that wasn't covered in blood as he inspected the damage.
"It looks worse than it is," I said again. "Though I am starting to get a bit of a headache."
"You probably have a concussion," Ranger told me. "Guns are heavy. Why was she pointing a gun at you?"
"I guess she really didn't want Ant to go back to jail," I murmured with a shrug. "Sorry about the car."
"We'll get it back," Ranger assured me, "I'm worried about you. This is a lot of blood, Babe."
"Do you think I'll need stitches?"
"Normally I would say probably not, but it's your face – and I like your face the way it is. Better have a plastic surgeon take a look. What ER do you want to go to?"
"I guess St. Francis," I answered, wishing that the night hadn't taken this turn. Ranger nodded.
"Cam, call Hector and have him send a fleet car to St. Francis," Ranger ordered as the two of us walked back towards the car. Cam was sitting in the front seat and didn't look like she intended to move. If I could narrow my eyes I might have done so. I'd never sat in the back seat of a car when Ranger was driving.
For expediency's sake, I got in the back, listening while Cam talked to Hector in perfect Spanish. I decided to call Morelli. Might as well take him up on his offer.
Cam
Ranger and I rode in silence away from the hospital once he was sure that Stephanie was taken care of. He left her with a really good-looking cop. Hector had dropped of the fleet car for her use and then went back with Tank. I wished that I could have gone with them, but Ranger wanted me to stay with him.
I didn't really get it, but I wasn't in a position to say no, so I stayed.
"Why am I with you right now?" I inquired once we had been driving for a minute or so. "It doesn't seem like you needed me." Ranger cut his eyes to me, but didn't say anything. I focused my attention back on the road. Even when other people were driving, I had a tendency to be constantly alert. I hated being in cars. Ranger's energy wasn't helping. I could tell he was riled up.
"I wasn't sure what I would be heading into," he answered. "I wanted back up."
"You could have brought anyone for back up," I told him.
"Well, you're my assistant," Ranger responded, and that was that. He was angry.
I had only known him for a few days, but as his assistant I thought it would be a good idea to try and become attuned to his moods. This was one I had not yet witnessed, and I filed it away for further use. He was distressed, he was anxious.
Outwardly, you couldn't tell. But I pride myself on being able to read a person. His body language was completely different than his usual calm confidence. The confidence was still there, and the calm as well – outwardly, at least, but I could sense something bubbling right beneath the surface that was starting to stress me out as well.
This is what made me a good assistant. My empathy.
"She's fine," I murmured. Though I didn't know much, I did know that Stephanie Plum was somebody who meant a lot to Ranger. In my first briefing, he had told me that I was to give her pretty much whatever she needed when she asked for it.
"I want you to help her track down Genovese," he told me. This caught me off guard.
"She won't stop until he's back behind bars, and it's only going to get more dangerous for her. Just help her. You saw what he did to her. She's always punching above her weight."
"And you think he's within my weight?" I inquired.
"I know he is well below your weight," Ranger answered. "I also wouldn't mind if you gave him a bit back for the shiner she's going to have on her face. I like her face."
"Noted," I answered. "Still, bounty hunting wasn't in the job description you gave me." I didn't want to say this out loud, but … well … I didn't hunt people. Not anymore.
"I think 'various tasks as required' was on there," Ranger countered. I did my best to contain a sigh as I glared out the window. I needed this job. I couldn't fuck it up in the first week.
"Fine," I answered. "I'll take care of it."
Rangeman's control room was incredibly sophisticated for the size of the operation Ranger was running. It reminded me of New York City in that, if you wanted something, you could have it.
After a few minutes of searching, I had all of Genovese's known addresses, and a few for his closer associates as well. I doubted he would be at the girlfriend's house since that was where all the shit hit the fan, so I looked into other options. The car had been stolen near his home in West Trenton. It was possible that he would go back there. He obviously felt like he had nothing to fear.
"Wrong …" I murmured as I printed out the page and headed towards the door. Unlike the rest of the Rangeman employees, I preferred to not wear all black if I could avoid. A six-foot tall black girl walking around in all black attracts attention. I preferred greens and blues and browns.
I looked at myself in the mirror before walking out of my Rangeman apartment. Black boots, blue jeans, white tee, muted green jacket, black gloves Hello, unthreatening millennial. I pulled my hair back. Curls attracted attention as well.
As soon as I got back with Ranger, I had decided that going after this guy myself was going to be a lot more efficient than going with Stephanie to do it. She seemed like an idiot. Nice, but on the clueless side. What on earth had she been thinking going after this guy alone?
"Maybe you're not that much smarter than her, since you're going after him alone," I murmured to myself, grabbing my gun before closing the door behind me.
I could hear the noises of what Ant probably thought was satisfying sex on the other side of the apartment door in West Trenton. I knew it was Ant because this was the address they had picked up the Mercedes from. I had asked Tank why Hal hadn't just picked up Genovese while he was at it. He said Ranger likes to let Stephanie make captures on her own. It makes her feel like he doesn't completely control her life.
Shaking my head, I knocked on the door. I didn't have that kind of time. I wasn't there to be a second-rate bounty hunter's assistant.
"What?" I heard someone yell from the inside. I opted not to answer. Seconds later, the door swung open, revealing a tall, scrawny man in nothing but his boxers.
"Oh, hello," he said, pouring on the smarm as he leaned against the doorframe. "What can I do for you?"
I reached for his hand and quickly snapped a cuff on. Forcing myself into the apartment, I slammed him against the wall and got the other hand neatly cuffed as well. I had surprise on my side.
"What the fuck is this?!" He demanded. "Who the fuck are you?"
Once again I opted not to answer. The less I said the better, as far as I was concerned. In, out, on with life.
At least it would have been, if I hadn't heard the gun being cocked behind my ear.
In that moment, it was as if everything went completely silent. I could feel Genovese's wrists under my hands as I pressed him against the wall, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the cool metal of the gun barrel at the back of my head and the whooshing sound in my ears.
An eerie sense of calm came over me and I wished it away. I pushed away. I needed the anger and fear to come back. I didn't want what the calm brought with it.
A breath in.
A breath out.
"Get out, bitch," a female voice said behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see someone much smaller than me. It was amazing that she had even gotten the gun to the back of my head. I turned around.
"Next time you point a gun at me," I told her, "you better pull that trigger much faster." I moved to her left and redirected the gun with my left hand. She squeezed off a round that ended up in Genovese's leg. His scream gave me the distraction I needed. Her guard was down, I punched her in the nose with my right hand, and then reached down to twist the gun out of her hands. I then used it to smack her across the face.
She went down hard. I stood over her prostrate form, knowing that I did not have long before someone came to investigate the sound of the gun.
I crouched down. She was slowly coming to.
"You shouldn't call other girls bitches," I told her, pressing the hot end of the barrel into her forehead. She cried out as she regained full consciousness. "And you shouldn't point guns at people you don't intend to shoot.
I got up and kicked her in the face to make sure she stayed out, taking a sick pleasure in the way her neck snapped backwards, before turning back to Ant, who was slumped on the floor against the wall, looking like he was about ready to shit his pants. I dropped the gun and moved towards him, grabbing by his hair to drag him down the hall.
I couldn't believe that the hall was empty. Gun shots must not be a strange occurrence in this neighborhood.
