Page 128 of Balls to the Walls

“This is a crime. False imprisonment! Vandals! Thievery and treachery! I will not be silenced!”

I grabbed the gun from my thigh holster and slid a dart into place, then spun and fired a dart right in the side of her neck. She immediately stopped yelling and slumped to the floor. FNG caught her, lowering her at the foot of the bed before turning back to me.

“Harsh, boss.”

“She wouldn’t shut the fuck up,” I muttered, turning back to my scope.

“Alright, people, let’s get in and out with as little damage as possible,” I said.

“Right,” Eli snorted. “Bullseye, you do realize that IRIS has control.”

“On my mark,” Lock said. “Three, two, one, mark!”

I took the shot, taking out the first target that was closest to the window. After he dropped, I shifted to the second target, taking aim, and firing another round into the man screaming at Lock, who just busted down the door.

“Bullseye, we’re in a standoff,” Lock said. “We do not have a shot. I repeat, we do not have a shot.”

“Moving positions,” I said, grabbing my rifle and rushing into the living room. The target had moved to the right of the window, which I could now get a bead on. “Come on,” I whispered. “Just a little to the right.”

The target wasn’t giving me enough to work with. Any way I looked at it, there was only one option. “Lock, I need to shoot the hostage.”

“You’re gonna do what?”

“I don’t have a clear shot. When she drops, you take the shot.”

“Bullseye, that’s a negative!”

But I was already lining up the shot. If I hit her just right, there wouldn’t be much damage. Not permanently anyway. I took a deep breath, calming my body as I counted off in my head. “There you go, Sally,” I said, running my hand over her barrel lovingly. “That’s it. Give it to me, girl.”

“This is like listening to a porno,” Lock muttered right as I took the shot.

The bullet struck her in the leg. She screamed as her body weight collapsed, giving Lock just enough time to take the shot. The hit was true. Blood splattered from the back of his head and then it was over.

I saw Lock’s team move in and scanned the rest of the floor for any activity. It was all clear.

“Nice shot, Bullseye.”

“Weren’t you just telling me not to take the shot?” I asked Lock.

“I’ll let you fill in the chief of police as to why you felt shooting the hostage was the best way to go.”

“It all worked out for the best,” I laughed. I was just about to put away the rifle when I spotted movement two floors down in the stairwell at the end of the building. I swung the rifle to the window below and waited for the figures to pass. Two men ran down the stairs, both armed and wearing masks.

“Movement in the stairwell on the east side of the building,” I said into comms. “FNG and I are giving chase,” I said, slinging my rifle over my shoulder and abandoning my stand. I ran out of the room, grabbing FNG on the way. We rushed out of the apartment and hit the stairs two at a time. “Someone get eyes on the suspects!”

“Roger that,” Fox answered. “I have the perfect music for the chase.”

I rolled my eyes, expecting to hearWest Side Story, but instead, a long, low sound emitted through comms, making me flinch as it ricocheted through my mind.

“What the fuck is that?”

“It’s Icelandic throat singing, boss.”

“It’s irritating as fuck. Turn it off!”

“It’s supposed to be soothing. See, if we’re calm, the suspect will be calm.”

I ran down the last flight and shoved the emergency exit open, rushing out into the alley. “That’s not how it works, Fox! If I’m calm, they’ll fucking shoot me!”

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