Page 52 of Elliot

“What?”

“Nothing,” Elliot said as he slipped on a tactical vest, patting the pockets and figuring out what he had. He pulled his gun out of his shoulder holster and shoved it into a holster he’d clipped to his belt. One hell of a sharp-looking knife in a tactical case was clipped to the other hip. He grabbed a pair of black leather gloves and quietly shut the trunk, securing the rest of the equipment.

Time to go in. Elliot waited for a break in traffic and jogged across the street and down the sidewalk. Not one person did a double take as he passed. He spotted a break in the fence line and slipped through the chain-link. Needles and discarded pipes crunched under his feet. Elliot moved quickly and as quietly as he could through the detritus of an abandoned construction site. Hills of iron rebar rusted under tangles of weeds and debris that had collected against the base. He skirted along the roadway and pulled up short when he heard voices.

“Contact.”

“Understood,” Con acknowledged. At least the guy seemed to understand tactics. He maneuvered closer and made a snap move to catch a glimpse of the scene. Nothing and no one. With no one posted near him, he moved forward and took better cover, inching up.

“She’s a fucking cunt.”

Elliot froze. The voice was close.

“You stay here. Don’t let anyone up. I don’t want to be stopped. I’ve waited too long for this,” a second voice mimicked a female voice.

“If I wasn’t getting paid so damn well, I’d teach that little bitch how to talk to a man,” another voice said, followed bylaughter. Elliot reached for a rock and tossed it hard in the opposite direction. The thing clattered and made a hell of a noise.

“What was that?” one of the men asked.

“Fuck if I know. It wasn’t a car, and that’s all I’m watching for. No one followed us here, there aren’t any cameras in this place, and I’m not getting off my ass to chase a rat in a dump.”

Elliot rolled his eyes. The lazy bastards would make him work for it. He tossed another rock closer that time.

“Hell of a big rat.”

“Then go check it out. You think any cops will be mucking around in this place?”

“Yeah, no. But I want to see what’s making that noise.”

“Me, too,” one of the men said. “If it’s a rat, maybe the boss will pay us for it again.”

That got a laugh from everyone. “Sick fucker. I watched him kill that thing. He was smiling, and then he put it in a pretty box.”

“Yeah, well, I had to deliver the damn thing.” A man made a shivering sound. “I can beat the fuck outta someone, hell, even kill someone if the price is right, but I ain’t into killing animals.”

“Oh,that’swhere you draw the line?” The two men’s voices receded as they walked away.

Elliot crept closer and carefully lodged each footfall before transferring his weight. He crouched low, crab-walking behind the weeds and debris and listening intently. “I’m getting most of the audio,” Con said, and Elliot’s lip twitched.Good man.

“Boss is fucking the blonde,” one of the men said.

Elliot moved closer. He needed to neutralize them before the other two came back.

“So?” the other returned.

“So, don’t mess with her.”

“Man, mind your own business.”

“Whatever, dude. Your funeral.”

“Like that pansy ass would try to take me out.”

“No, but he might pay one of us to do it,” a third voice said.

Fuck. Three. Well, alright. Change of plans. He knew he was close.

He stood up and said, “Or me.”

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