Page 106 of Into the Gray Zone

Knuckles kept his eyes on the men, seeing that the target was apparently arguing over something, his phone in his hand. The other man was pointing down the stairs, causing the target to shake his head. Ultimately, the target agreed and began going down. The other man waited until he was in front of him and then followed.

Knuckles said, “Target is going down, but he now has a trailer with him.”

“Roger all. We’ll pick him up when he exits. If he still has the trailer, I’ll make the call on the assault.”

Knuckles turned to Brett and said, “Let’s get a little closer.”

They walked quietly to the small room, and Knuckles moved to the stairwell, straining his ears. He heard the footsteps going down, and it seemed like a lot longer than just a single flight. He heard Brett hiss, saw him standing at the pit with the ropes going down it, and went to him.

Brett pointed at a plaque on the wall and said, “This is some sort of water system for the palace. It goes all the way down to the lake.”

Knuckles glanced into the pit, smelling the overpowering stench of ammonia. The middle part of the shaft was cloaked in darkness, but the very bottom was illuminated and he could see it was about three stories down. Deeper than the ground floor. He saw an undulation in the dim glow, like the walls were moving, and whispered, “What’s that?”

“Bats. The shaft is full of bats.”

Knuckles caught movement at the bottom and focused on the lighted area. A figure came into the illumination. He whispered, “Someone’s down there. Keep eyes on. I’m calling Pike.”

He stepped out of the room, going back to the hallway, and clicked on the net, saying, “Pike, he’s not coming to you. He’s in some type of water shaft that goes below the ground floor.”

“What’s he doing?”

“I don’t know, but if I were to guess, it’s a personal meet. There’s a man at the bottom of the shaft that I think is waiting on him.”

Knuckles heard nothing for a moment, and knew Pike was deciding if the meeting was important enough to intervene. He finally came back. “Wait for them to finish and we’ll stick with the plan.”

Knuckles heard Brett hiss. “Get over here! He’s getting his ass kicked.”

Knuckles ran over to the shaft and stared down it, seeing their target in a rear naked choke, his flailing arms causing shadows to flicker on the walls.

What the hell?

“Pike, Pike, the target is being eliminated. I say again, the target is being eliminated.”

“What? Say again?”

“He’s being killed right now by two goons.”

“Stop it. Interdict the assault.”

Knuckles heard the words but knew there was not enough time.

The hold the target was in would render him unconscious in seconds, but if held longer than that, it would kill him fairly quickly. He would more than likely be dead by the time they could make it three floors down the narrow stairwell.

He saw the ropes in front of him, wondering if they were new for the exhibit or from the sixteenth century. Brett saw his focus and said, “Oh, no. Not doing it.”

Knuckles ripped off his jacket and said, “Oh, yes you are.”

He reached out, grabbed one of the ropes, and pulled on it. It held, for whatever good that proved. He wrapped his jacket around his hands, took a grip on the rope, and leaned out into the pit. The line held his weight. He looked at Brett and said, “Get your ass in here,” and began sliding down the rope, using his feet and hands as friction points to slow his descent.

He entered the darkness and felt an explosion around him, a horde of bats bursting out of the shaft, slapping into his body in a frantic effort to escape. He tucked his head, pursed his lips, and kept streaking to the bottom. He reentered the light and saw he was right above the fight, one man directly below him, the other still holding the target.

He let go, dropping straight down onto the first man, slamming his shoulders and driving him into the ground. He rolled upright just as Brett hit the ground next to him. Knuckles turned to the man he’d landed on and punched him in the head to ensure he was out of the fight, then turned to the other one. The second man flung the target away and went into a fighting stance against Brett. The target dropped to his knees holding his throat.

Brett brought up his fists and the second man began doing something out of a kung fu movie, becoming a whirlwind of kicks andpunches. Brett blocked two, caught the man with a jab, and then was hit in the shoulder with a roundhouse kick, the blow knocking him to the ground. The man turned to Knuckles, hissing and screaming like he was in a Bruce Lee movie. He attacked and Knuckles backed up, letting the flurry hit nothing but air.

He ended the routine with a spinning back kick and Knuckles batted it aside, then dove into the man, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist. He lifted him off the ground and slammed him back down with his weight behind it. The man continued to fight like a wildcat, catching Knuckles with two elbows to the head that nearly rendered him unconscious.

Knuckles tied up his arms and tucked his head into his chest, knowing he didn’t have to win the fight alone. Brett reentered the brawl, wrapping his arms around the man’s neck just like the man had done to the target and began squeezing like a python.

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