Crosshairs

Chapter Fourteen—Code Red Part II


Edward followed Isabella, keeping them on the track as Charlie directed them through the dizzying twists and turns of the labyrinth. Thanks to Edward's ingenious idea of using the sound system to create feedback, they were able to detect where the kidnappers were in the tunnels.

Two groups were moving, but the number of men and who were still unknown to them. The information still allowed Charlie to herd the groups away from the other residents, who'd been all accounted for, as they were loading into vans for safety. He had them heading straight back to the facility.

According to Charlie, word had reached most investors; they wanted blood and would not settle for anything less. However, Laurent was to be brought in for questioning. Before Isabella harbored the idea of a hunt for the parties responsible for the hit, she had to save her fiancé's brother.

"The next right," Edward whispered. Isabella needed all her attention on moving forward, in case any stragglers or Laurent were still inside the Center. She was their first line of defense, and Charlie was keeping their rear clear by closing all the tunnels behind them. "How much longer until he uses the gas?"

"Forty-five seconds." Isabella held up a finger to her lips. "You're rather loud, my love." The teasing in her voice was a dare. Dare to say another word and she'd make sure he couldn't.

She was right, so he simply pressed forward, but they soon came to a dead end. "Your father is losing his touch."

"You're going to regret saying that." Isabella shook her head and silently laughed.

Charlie grumbled through Edward's earpiece. "I may be in a wheelchair, son, but I can still hurt you with a snap of my fingers."

Edward's eyes narrowed, watching Isabella roll her eyes. "Not me, but he probably planted a device on you just in case they decide to take you instead of your brother." She kept her voice low as she skimmed her hands along the right end of the wall. "It can send a pretty powerful jolt through your system if needed."

It took considerable control not to pat his pockets to see if the old man had planted something. "What are we looking for?" He heard the click a moment later, the wall sliding away to reveal some kind of storage room.

"Eagle One, we're clear. Are the remaining residents safe?" Isabella waved Edward through, kissing him hard once. "Remember what I said, Red-Tail."

Don't get shot.

Edward returned her glare to tell her silently the same, but nodded. They listened as Charlie relayed the residents had been taken to another safe house until the Center was clear for their return.

Grace and stealth had Isabella moving into position near a bookshelf in a group therapy room. Her face remained neutral, but Edward caught the coldness in her eyes. He would never want to be at the end of that stare, though he had seen it earlier.

"Shoot anyone that isn't the asset." Even now, without anyone present other than themselves, she remained professional. "If they're armed and ready to shoot, use kill shots, if not, shoulder or legs. I need one or two to interrogate. Laurent is mine."

The snarl on her lips made Edward's almost curl in the same manner.

Edward would rather kill everyone involved in the kidnapping, but understood they needed answers, too. Laurent couldn't have worked on his own to orchestrate the attack, and the Rossi Family hardly had the ability to pull it off without the information reaching the Cullens.

"They're heading your way, Phoenix, Red-Tail," Charlie indicated over their earpieces. "Pretty fast according to the feedback loop Red-Tail created."

"Both groups?" Edward wished he knew how many; they only counted three of the kidnapper's team among the dead. Their teams and those of the Center's, were already accounted for, having lost a couple of their own, too.

"Yes, but there are a few stragglers in the labyrinth, Collin's taking care of them."

Considering the condition in which they left Collin, Edward doubted the man would be able to do much.

"I'd say five seconds until they intercept." Charlie turned his attention the security footage from the therapy room, watching his daughter and soon-to-be-son-in-law awaiting at least a dozen men.

Isabella rolled her shoulders twice, aiming her Glock at the shelf, with Edward's assault rifle just behind and above her shoulder. "Don't hesitate, Cullen."

"I won't." Edward had killed a number of men and women, his first at nineteen years old. It didn't get easier, but he could handle it.

The shelf slid open to reveal a disoriented Jasper Cullen, his eyes rimmed red, the color of his blue irises dulled after months of depression and drugs. Several grunts and coughs that filtered from behind him, belonged to the men working for Rossi and Laurent.

"Come to save me, little brother?" Jasper weaved, blood dripping from his temple.

Charlie whispered in Isabella's and Edward's ears. "One man is crouched behind him, holding him up, gun aimed between his seventh and eighth vertebra." Edward didn't know why that piece of information was important, but Isabella instantly reacted.

She fired a shot between Jasper's legs, earning a yelp as the man holding him up started to fall to the side. Before his head hit the ground, he was dead, a bullet between his eyes.

Bullets started flying, Jasper started to collapse, too weak to stay up on his own. Edward instinctively lunged forward to catch him. He hissed as a bullet caught his thigh, tumbling on the ground with his brother in his arms. Despite the pain, he rolled until his brother was under him, looking up to check on his Isabella.

Isabella uttered an expletive, firing several shots. She ran forward, another three rounds hit their marks before pulling out another gun and a throwing knife. The sharp blade was a blur before it sank into the throat of a masked man, as the one before him fell, clutching his chest.

Edward saw a giant asshole charge toward her, a warning caught in his chest. If he yelled, would he distract her? He watched helplessly as her first bullet to the chest did nothing to stop him. Determination set in her shoulders, she kicked off the opposite wall, flipping over the man.

The asshole had no chance as the tip of her gun dug into the nape of his neck. She fired without hesitation. Blood splattered high into the air, spraying her hair and mask with brain matter. She didn't bother to wipe it away, moving forward as the other men started to run away from her. The ground was littered with bodies, her boot-clad feet weaving with ease through them.

Edward heard the unmistakable sound of a bullet loading into a chamber.

.

.

.

Isabella dropped two more men before they were out of weapon's range. "You have incoming, Eagle One. Laurent is not here, end them."

"Close the entrance. I'll gas the rest." Charlie moved into action, one eye on the surveillance footage and the other on the labyrinth's system. He would have the remaining six to eight men enclosed in a corridor within seconds. His eyes widened as he caught something strange in the hallway outside of the therapy room. There, the reflection of the wall clock in a mirror hadn't changed in the last few minutes, at least. "Shit, the hallway footage is on a continuous loop. Repeat, I do not have a visual."

Isabella whirled around, running full throttle toward Edward and Jasper, reloading her weapon. She came to an abrupt stop once she realized they were no longer alone. Her simmering blood started to boil, as her rage grew, never a good thing in the business. It couldn't be helped, not with Edward's life on the line. Even if she was pissed as hell with the man.

She pressed the trigger to close the shelf behind her. "You're not getting out that way."

Laurent's eyes darted from her to the man he held a gun to his head. "Considering I have Jasper Cullen, I find that hard to believe."

She had two choices: allow him to enter the labyrinth, which Laurent had likely memorized. The gas her father was flooding the corridors with would kill him, but at the cost of Jasper's life.

Would Edward blame her?

She wasn't sure about that, his family was too important. Even if he forgave her, he could grow to resent her. It wasn't an option.

The head of the Center's security was crouched beside Edward, a gun pressed between his eyes, a smirk on his face. His sky mask sitting above his brows. "I'd do what he says, Phoenix."

Edward's breath was choppy, but he didn't take his eyes off the asshole nearly sitting on his chest. His weapon dug into his back, out of reach and useless. One look at Isabella could end their lives. There would be no missing his feelings for her in his eyes, and he knew it. They'd use it against them.

Isabella shrugged. "I could let you pass, but then you'd all be dead within minutes."

Laurent let out a growl. "You're gassing the others."

The asshole security guard spat out a few choice words, his gun turning toward Isabella. His knee pressing into Edward's wounded thigh and making him grind his teeth to avoid crying out. "My brother is with them!" The other knee on his chest shifted slightly, enough to cut his breath shorter.

"Brothers that betray together, die together." Isabella almost looked bored, unconcerned. "Now, tell me, how much did your betrayal cost, Ramon, Laurent?"

"Three-quarters of a million dollars," Laurent sneered, shaking his head. "And a chance to do something other than cater to a bunch of spoiled brats."

Some residents were quite spoiled, but they deserved treatment, too.

"They're paying you what?" Ramon's lips twitched, tossing off the remainder of his mask. "I'm getting a fucking measly fifty thousand, and I may have just lost my brother!"

Laurent's right eye twitched, his usual tell right before he blatantly lied. "If he's gone, you'll get his share."

"Not good enough!"

The pressure eased off Edward as Ramon, a man in his late twenties and of Spanish descent, started to rise to his feet. His gun still on Isabella, but he wanted to turn it toward Laurent. Edward could see it in his shaky grip.

Then it did turn toward Laurent.

Before it could aim toward Laurent and Jasper, a knife sliced through Ramon's fingers, his gun falling toward Edward's chest. He caught it and shot the asshole in the neck, blood splattering over his face, forcing him to spit some of it out. Another shot hit Ramon's temple from another direction, chunks of his brain exiting his skull with the bullet.

Laurent's grip on Jasper tightened, his voice frantic. "I'll kill him! I'll kill him!"

Edward aimed the gun at him, grunting as he pushed Ramon's body off him. He rolled toward his good leg and rose to his feet, his aim never wavering.

"You'll be dead within seconds." Edward remained rooted to the spot, hating himself. He'd been so caught up with Isabella as she'd disappeared into the tunnel, that he hadn't heard the security guard or the Center's chief manager enter the room.

Laurent's eyes darted between Edward and Isabella; though, he knew her only as The Phoenix. He'd seen her kill over a dozen men, even saving his life twice in his two decades of service. The chances of walking out of the facility alive were zilch, but if he were going to die, he'd make sure he'd send someone else to hell with him.

"Please forgive me," Isabella said, firing her gun, hitting Jasper, his body arching within Laurent's hold. Unable to carry the load as Jasper slumped forward, Laurent dropped Jasper.

She didn't give Laurent a chance to talk his way out of the situation, firing once, striking his right shoulder. Her second bullet went through his left bicep, the third and fourth, to each of his knees. Laurent's weapon fell out of his reach, his body contorting on the floor, bellowing out his pain.

Edward scrambled toward his brother, checking the wound. "The bullet went through and exited, all you got was flesh."

Isabella looked him in the eyes, the cold steel there alarming Edward. "The asset has fifty pounds on Laurent. I figured dead weight would be too much for him in his current state of mind." She reloaded her weapon, kicking Laurent's gun farther away. "The police will arrive soon and we shouldn't be here."

Edward didn't question her, using her support to jump to his feet. They worked together to restrain Laurent who has passed out from the pain. Jasper groaned as Edward helped him up.

Isabella stood in front of Jasper, checking his eyes. "It appears they drugged him."

"You shot me, bitch." Jasper glared at her, but it quickly brightened. "I'll forgive you if you get on your knees and suck me off."

Edward punched his brother in the jaw, figuring an unconscious brother would be easier to deal with than listening to him demean his fiancée.

"What did you do that for?" Isabella grumbled, shaking her head. "Now you have to carry him on a fucked leg, while I try to do the same to this asshole." She turned and kicked Laurent in the ribs twice. "Eagle One, send in evac vehicle, we're going to need some help."

"Understood, Phoenix. ETA on emergency services is seven minutes."

"Be ready in three."

.

.

.

Edward kept another groan from surfacing; his leg was fucking killing him. He fucked up and it was clear Isabella wasn't someone who would easily forgive him for his transgression. If he had allowed Jasper to fall after she'd shot the first man who held his brother hostage, it would've given her ample opportunity to kill everyone behind him. He wouldn't have been held at gunpoint, Jasper would be all right, and the risk to more of her team would be minimal.

He acted on instinct. Jasper was his brother; at the time, he didn't think of anything else other than saving him from harm. Though, a mild concussion would've probably been preferable to a bullet through his shoulder.

A dark SUV drove up to a large window on the lower floor, two men exiting to shoot it out and help them through it.

Isabella released Laurent to the hands of some overgrown man with a ready smile for her. "Bird Brain, give me a report." It was the first words she'd said since giving her last order to Charlie.

"When are you going to stop calling me that?" Bird Brain grumbled, shoving Laurent to the floor of the back of the SUV. He wasn't gentle, which Edward appreciated.

"When I've forgiven you." She shot him a glare and helped Jasper into the SUV. Her eyes never meeting Edward's.

"Damn, Phoenix! You're still sore at Paul Senior's mistake and that was seven years ago."

"Which is why you're not supposed to fuck up." She turned her dark gaze to Edward as she hissed out the words, slipping in the front passenger seat. "Get in the back. You'll be able to remove the mask once we're a mile from here. Until then, keep your head down."

Edward said nothing, only following her instructions. From what he gathered, the two men with them knew her identity, which meant they were the chosen few within her crew of assassins.

"Daddy Swan is royally pissed," Bird Brain said, as he pulled away from the main building and headed toward side exit. "Considering this was a success, I don't see why."

Isabella kept her head down, but her eyes were on the road. "He's not the only one pissed."

Bird Brain turned to look at Edward. "I'm guessing that you're the reason."

"I had to protect my brother."

Bird Brain whistled. "I'm Jake. Bella doesn't like me much, but she has a good reason."

Edward's eyebrows rose, his lips slipping into a sinister smile. "Then I don't like you much."

Jake laughed. "Figured as much." He turned his attention to Isabella. "So, I heard you're going to be a Cullen, Swan?"

"That's yet to be determined."

The words were delivered with a coldness that it silenced everyone in an instant. It was clear any more discussion would not be tolerated.

Edward sat back, their eyes meeting on the rearview mirror. Neither looked away; each of them standing their ground. They would have it out soon. The discussion could make or break them.

She'd soon learn hell would freeze over before he let her go.


AN: You didn't think it would be easy, right? Thanks to Midnight Cougar for making this readable, any mistakes are my own since I'm incapable of leaving things alone. Don't worry we'll get some E/B alone time in the next chapter, I can't promise it'll be pretty. I've been challenged to write something more sob-worthy than This My Wish, to avoid it, I realized I haven't written smut in ages. So I'll write a smut shot to post sometime this week. LMAO Yes, I'm aware I'm an angst wuss.