Page 15 of Bullet Unleashed

CHAPTER FIVE

COLLIN LANE

The presentation is going well. They’re eating out the palm of my hand.

“The best part of my job is making sure you, you’re loved ones and your belongings are safe and secure. Stryke Security believes in taking the offensive approach to protection. We get after it, so the bad guys don’t come after you. Are there any questions.”

Bad guys. Everything in life is subjective. Who really determines who the bad guys are? And what makes a guy, good? It’s all in a person’s point of view. From my perspective and that of my clients, I’m not just a good guy, I’m a great guy. I guarantee our services and make sure we secure our clients better than most in the business. Failure is not only an option, it doesn’t exist in my world. Being the number one brand in security means the company lives and dies by the name. If the name means nothing due to fuck ups, then the confidence we have from our clients becomes eroded. And without clients, I’m out of business. Stryke Security is more than a company, it’s my brand. It’s my life. Fucking up a job, means fucking up my life, and if someone fucks with my life, I fuck theirs.

My cellphone buzzes in my pocket, and it can only mean one thing. Since I told the team not to disturb me unless we have an update, I’d better take this call.

“My assistants will handle the paperwork and answer any additional questions you may have,” I inform the crowd assembled for the presentation. It’s a mix of businesses and individuals dressed in custom tailored suits and designer outfits. All of whom are looking to protect something they consider of value. All of whom are willing to pay my price to ensure confidentiality and certainty. “Excuse me, I have to take a call.”

Stepping out into the brightly lit hallway of the building where my central office is located, I pull out my phone. “This better be good news.”

“We didn’t get it.”

My jaw clenches and a heavy sigh escapes my lips. “What do you mean, you ‘didn’t get it,’ Tucker?”

“We ran into a problem.”

“Unacceptable.” I pace a few steps and repeat. “Unacceptable, Tuck. This was a simple retrieval.”

“Boss, she had help. I don’t know what to tell you.”

The phone feels like it’s about to shatter in my hand from the pressure I’m applying to it. “Tuck, I know what to tell you. Get. It. Done. Or you don’t come back here. Do you understand?”

“Understood.”

Eyes shut, I pinch the bridge of my nose, before I head back into the conference room.

#

CHASE DANIELS

The big one disconnects his call and heads back into the motel room. The moment he opens the door, I rush behind him and push him through it, while plugging two bullets into the back of his neck, separating his spinal cord from his brain and ending his life. He’s dead before his body hits the floor, and I train my gun on the second man sitting on the edge of the near queen-sized bed. His eyes are wide and his mouth is open, but he’s not saying anything. Not yet anyway.

“Who are you working for?” I ask as I kick the door shut behind me. “I won’t ask again.”

He presses his lips together and clenches his jaw. Of course, he chooses the hard way. They always choose the hard way. Until the pain starts.

I aim at the quadriceps muscle right above his left kneecap and squeeze. The silencer on my weapon reduces sound, but his scream as the bullet punches a hole in his leg is loud.

“Shit! Stryke Security,” he cries. “We work for Stryke!”

Stryke? They’re pretty big time.

“What do they want with the girl?”

“Fuck outta here,” he bellows. “I don’t know. Tuck knew everything, and you just murdered that man. I’m just here for support. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

My communicator chirps in my pocket, meaning it’s time to check in. I have an assignment waiting for me.

“Hold that thought,” I tell the man on the bed, right before I shoot him in the head.

Never leave witnesses. It’s rule number one.

The life of an assassin teaches you to be silent as the grave you want to put your target into. My portable communicator is a small, silver device reminiscent of the smartphones of old with attached keyboards, and serves all things mission related. These communicators are state-of-the-art with advanced satellite connection in even the most rural of places, touch sensitive screens, inputs to attach flash drives and SD cards, and other things to help accomplish the mission the assassin is tasked with. Each assignment, we are given a new one in which to communicate through heavy encryption, the status of our mission. This one is the one I’m to use for whatever assignment I’m about to be given.

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