Page 49 of Silk Shadow

This was it. In a second, she'd feel a bullet enter her skull and then her head would look like that guy's.

Oh, God. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Please let it be quick.

Then there was a shout and he let go of her hair. She toppled over, unable to support herself. Looking up, she saw Phoenix had him in a headlock, a pistol pressed to his temple.

The other men were shouting and training their rifles on Phoenix, who was holding their leader in a vise-like grip.

"Drop your weapons!" Phoenix yelled.

They didn't know what to do. They aimed at Phoenix, and then turned to aim at Viper, and then her.

Viper's voice rose above the shouting.

"He said, drop your weapons!" He had a pistol and was leveling it at the interpreter. With their two top men incapacitated, the rest put down their weapons.

She sobbed with relief. They'd cut the head off the snake, and the body had withered and died.

"Izzy, get the rifle and come and stand behind me." Viper’s voice was steady, but firm.

She struggled to her feet and looked around.

"Over there. Do it now, Izzy. And get behind me."

She picked up the gun, unsure of how to hold it. Was it loaded? Would it go off? She’d never even touched one before. Fumbling with it, she darted behind him.

Phoenix began to walk backward, still holding the boss by the neck, the gun flush against his head. "Move and he's dead," he threatened.

The men stared at them, edgy and nervous. The rain was fast becoming a deluge. It dripped off their faces and pooled at their feet. At any moment all hell could break loose. Izzy just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"We are no threat to you," said Viper, his gun still pointed at the interpreter. "You let us go, and we'll leave you alone. Understand?"

He nodded.

“Tell them.”

The interpreter did as he was told.

Phoenix came around to where they were standing, still holding the leader in a head lock. They backed into the undergrowth until they were out of sight of the gang.

"Keep going," murmured Viper. The men up ahead hadn't moved.

When they got about ten meters out, Phoenix brought the butt of his pistol down on the leader's head with enough force that he crumpled to the ground.

"Is he dead?" Izzy asked. He'd gone down like a sack of potatoes.

"No, but he'll have a sore head when he wakes up," muttered Phoenix. "Come on, let's get the hell out of here."

They turned and ran. She clutched Viper's hand they raced through the jungle back toward the beach. How they knew which direction to go in, she had no idea. All she could see was a dark mesh of dripping, tangled trees and bushes.

Still, somehow they made it, and twenty minutes later they emerged onto the wet sand.

"Thank God," gasped Izzy, as her shoes sunk into the sand.

The two men grabbed their inflatable from where they'd left it and dragged it back down to the sea. "Let's try further up the coast," Viper said, as they shoved it into the shallows. The storm had made landfall further to the south, so they'd only caught the tail end. Even now, the rain was abating.

She climbed in, her legs shaky, then collapsed onto the base of the boat.

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