When she picked up the medical case and started towards the merchandise, Tundra felt mostly on top of the world. The costs associated with completing this contract were higher than she had expected, but she was getting twice what she had original expected to make right away. She supposed that should make up for the fact she had to let Nightshade go. Well, she had to for now. After they got as many of the biosynths as possible, the bitch was fair game. She would beā¦surplused, as Hawk had so succinctly put it. She was just going to have to deal with the arrogant, beastly-looking woman for a bit longer. Maybe after they got the girl, Nightshade could be removed then, discreetly of course.
It was the loss of manpower that was the most annoying of all. She had fifty men in her employ and had brought thirty-five with her. That should have been enough, but obviously she had not taken into count that bad luck does occur even to the best. Ah well, the dead ones could be easily replaced. Obviously they were lacking in skill and ability if they had been killed. There were only seventeen of her men left here, and one at the lodge. Still, it was almost over, and she could look forward to recruiting some fresh blood for her group.
Tundra had eyed Nightshade strolling over to the merchandise. Such a casual, careless gait, like she knew she was invincible. Tundra's jaw tightened. So what if she had cause to be so arrogant about herself. Few people would dare tease something as dangerous as their merchandise, but of course Nightshade would. She had to. It was her cute little trademark. It was that final "I'm better than you are". Tundra had gotten it herself once. Operation Ratsnake wasn't completely lost; she would have salvaged it, but no, they had to bring in Nightshade's team who took the credit for the entire operation, and made her seem the fool. Now who was the fool? One member had turned traitor, and soon everyone would know what he had done, and the perfect, indestructible Nightshade would be caught in a trap so obvious even a rookie could see it. It was going to simply be a matter of patience. First the sale had to go through. She had to prove the biosynths could be obtained, and then buyers would come out of the woodwork.
The helicopter's approach masked whatever it was that Nightshade said to the merchandise. Suddenly she whipped out a knife and had it against his throat. In a horrible burst of intuition, Tundra knew something had gone terribly wrong. The merchandiseā¦somehow he knew what Nightshade was doing. She had made a scratch on his throat, but it seemed planned. In a flash, she understood. There wasn't even the time to shout a warning to her men, who were completely focused on Nightshade, whom they thought might destroy the merchandise, and therefore their fee. Nightshade suddenly dropped to her knees as he spun around, and then the most dangerous, well-trained killing machine that ever walked beneath the sun was free, and seemed just a bit pissed.
When Janice hit the ground, she could only hope Cole was agile enough to not trip over her and fall flat on his ass. That would be a comedy of a rescue mission right there. She shouldn't have even wasted the half-second of worry. The guards couldn't shoot at this range; hitting Cole would kill him for sure, and Cole knew how to take advantage of that. He grabbed the guard to his right, hauling him off of the ground, and pitching him into three of the other guards, sending them all to the ground.
Cole wanted to laugh at the guards. He would have if there had been more time. The cold that had been numbing them had barely affected him. As a matter of fact, it had been roughly like putting a cold pack on his knee. His body regenerated much slower when he was awake, but it did regenerate, and with the sudden surge of adrenaline, he was feeling about ninety percent, which was still far more than any norm could deal with. He jumped high, twisting in the air, and landing behind them easily. This was too perfect. He's played this game so many times with one of his siblings. Catch the attention, and then pass it back and forth to confuse the enemy. They weren't watching Janice anymore as they went after him.
The guard that had been thrown had kept hold of his rifle, but his sidearm had slid out onto the snow. Cole's acrobatics had distracted the guards for half a second, and that was all Janice needed. She had the gun in hand, and fired several shots into their backs. That might be dirty fighting, but when it was nineteen to two, Marquis of Queensbury rules went out the window. Four men fell immediately, and two others were suddenly made unconscious by a blur that became Cole when he slowed.
A few shots rang out, but not many. The helicopter was whipping up the snow, blurring vision, making it impossible to see what to shoot at. Janice caught a glimpse of Tundra trying to signal it to leave, but they were having a hard time seeing her as well. A hand grabbed her arm, and Cole hauled her up quickly. Without a word, the both ducked low, and sprinted towards the helicopter.
Cole broke right for the pilot, and Janice went to the left for the co-pilot. They stayed low, and the pilots didn't recognize them until it was too late. Cole had the door open, one hand catching the pilot by the throat, and even over the rotors, Janice could hear the sickening sound of a neck breaking. The co-pilot jerked back, hitting the release on his harness. He didn't notice the gun muzzle coming over the other side. Cole ducked, most of the splatter missing him. They both got in quickly, Janice throwing the body onto the ground. Cole's hands moved fast, lifting them off of the ground before Janice could get her harness completely on. Janice scanned the clearing, for a moment, catching sight of Kevin. He seemed to have sensed her, and turned, and for a moment, she swore their eyes locked.
I'm sorry, she thought. For a moment her stomach cramped with the pain of betraying him. But it's now or never, and I can't let you do it. I'll still protect you and Devon, but I can't let you do this. Then the helicopter turned, and he was lost to her view.
