Page 157 of Crimson Tears

Damien is beside me watching carefully. Slowly, I take my backup rifle off of my back and hand it to him while keeping my scope focused on the boy.

“Killer, Boris.” I say over comms. “I need you to look at the southernmost building. There’s a boy standing next to the barrel fire.”

“This is not part of the plan.”

I roll my eyes as Boris tries to scold me. We can never just stick to a plan. However, as soon as he realizes what is happening, his tone changes.

“I think it’s normal by now for us to never stick to the plan, Old Man. Where do you want us to aim, Sweetheart?”

I smile when Cillian immediately takes my side, already knowing what I’m going to need from him. Four men, four shooters, and one kid who hopefully makes it out of this unscathed.

Physically, at least.

“I’ve got the shooter, Damien will take the man behind him.”

A quick glance at Damien, and he nods as he finishes setting up the rifle.

“Killer, you take the man on the boy’s left. Boris, get the one on his right. That should give us all the best vantage points without having to worry about our bullets hitting the boy. We only have one shot at this.”

Damien laughs quietly. “Pun intended.”

This man can make a joke in any situation. Some might think that’s an exaggeration, but I’ve seen him dancing down the aisle at a funeral.

I take a deep breath as I check Damien’s set up. Then, I adjust .02 degrees to the left for the wind tunneling between the buildings.

When he gets into position, I do the same. The argument has gotten more heated; the boy now yelling and waving his hands in the air when I need him to stay put.

“Now or never, Ness,” Cillian says.

Inhale.“Three. Two. One.”Exhale. Pull the trigger.

Our high powered rifles still make a swoosh sound even with the silencing equipment, but hopefully it’s low enough not to alert anyone. I hold my breath as my target falls to the ground. Then, one by one, the rest of them fall, leaving the boy standing in shocked silence.

Shite, I didn’t even think about him panicking.

Damien stands immediately and signals to Az, who takes off running down the stairs with him, and I quickly follow behind. Lev keeps us updated as we head straight to the boy, watching the area ahead of us so all we need to focus on is being quick. We can’t risk the boy running or causing a panic, and our shots were loud enough that someone could have overheard.

At least six of the eighteen men are down, and I hear confirmation of Alexi and Evie taking out four more as Damien and I attempt to keep up with Az.

The second we round the corner, Az lays at the boy’s feet so he doesn’t scare him, but it also helps give him something to focus on while Damien and I lower our masks.

“We aren’t here to hurt you,” I rush out when those bright eyes meet mine.

Pain and fear flash across them, but so does hope. I have no idea what language the boy speaks, but his shoulders instantly relax, so I assume he understands me.

“There are more of you, right?”

The boy looks from Damien to me. The shock and panic I expected from him is wiped away in an instant, and I suddenly feel as if we’re standing in front of a soldier.

“There are,” Damien confirms.

“Good.”

The kid bends down and pets Az on the head. Azazel doesn't push into it though; he stays still and on alert, sticking to his job.

When the boy stands, he breathes heavily before jumping right into the information we need.

“There are eighteen guards on at night, and four of them stay in the bunkers with us. The bunkers are divided by gender. The girls are in the north bunker, and the boys are right here.”

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