Page 77 of Secret Weapon

Hmm.

Inside, Hallie was on her feet, and I gave the two orderlies with the gurney my best Darla smile.

“Are you taking Miss Ottie somewhere?”

“We were just telling her friend that she needs to go for a scan.”

Tracie had mentioned tests.But they wouldn’t transfer Ottie to a gurney for that, would they?We were in the twenty-first century now.Hospital beds came on wheels.And the orderly… He was wearing a surgical mask, not unusual in a medical setting, but those eyes… I’d seen those eyes before.A thin scar bisected one brow, and he had a mole on his temple near the hairline.A bump on the bridge of his nose.The height fit.The build fit.And the scrubs didn’t lie flat against his waist.He was wearing a belt under them.

The eyes…

Russian mercenary, second-tier, possibly third.I’d stumbled across him in Moscow six, maybe seven years ago.That day, he hadn’t been my problem, so I’d let him walk.

Today?Today, hewasmy problem.

I tossed the coffee into his face.Boiling water made an excellent weapon, and it was the reason I always took my coffee black.Soaking someone with a soy latte, extra whip and a shot of syrup didn’t have the same effect.I scored a direct hit—yes, I’d rehearsed that move many times before—then punched him in the mouth with the heel of my hand before he could yell.Followed up with a carotid strike, the same move I’d used to floor Ana yesterday, and kicked him in the balls as he fell.Problem solved, at least temporarily.But wherewasAna?

I didn’t have time to ponder the question because Moscow’s buddy was coming for me, and this time, I’d lost the element of surprise.But I did have years and years of training on my side, so I grabbed the silenced pistol in his hand, spun back into him, and used my other arm to elbow the breath out of his lungs.Then I had the gun, and I turned it on him just in time for Ana to step out of the bathroom and wrap him up in a chokehold.

“Are you going to skip most of every fight this weekend?”

“I needed to pee, okay?”

“Did you stop to wash your hands?”

“Idi na khui.”

Hallie had pulled two sets of flex-cuffs out of her purse, but I waved her away.Too little, too late.I decided I’d been generous to award her half a point before.In a fight, she was worth a quarter at best.No matter, I had a syrette of tranquilliser in my hand now, and I split it between our two new friends.That should keep them quiet for a while.

“Are they dead?”Hallie whispered, glancing toward the door.

“Only sleeping.”

For the moment, anyway.

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