(2013) Shooter (9 page)

"
Hey now, no need for that attitude. It'll be over soon."

Panicked muttering. That was always what they said in movies before they were going to kill you.

"
And I'm not going to kill you. I meant we're here." The car stopped with a sudden jolt to illustrate his point. The driver's side door opened, and the car shifted with the change in weight, and the door closest to my head eased open, and I tried not to scream when a pair of hands found their way under my arms, dragging me out of the car.

"
You're a calm one. I'll give ya that." I was hauled upright. "On yer feet, girlie."

I finally looked at my captor; a short, stocky, grizzled man who looked more like someone's kindly grandfather than a kidnapper. His blue eyes betrayed a little bit of softness below his gruff exterior. But any comfort that this might have given me was quelled at the sight of the pistol at his side.

"
Here, you can walk by yerself, but if you try to run, one; you dunno where you are, and two, the others aren't as nice as I am."

I heard perfectly the subtle tone of warning there. He meant business.

So I dejectedly followed him, a little uncoordinated, as my left foot had fallen asleep.

We were in the most, quite frankly,
ghetto
place I had personally ever seen. And that's all the description it really needed.

I was led into a dark warehouse. This was so hopelessly cliché I thought I was going to be ill. But that could very well have been the headache.

What we found inside, I wasn't prepared for.

Seven people. Three, dressed in all black, one female and two males, standing off to one side. They held rifles and looked like they weren't to be fucked with. One older man, gray streaked hair, pristine, expensive suit, loitering with his hands clasped behind his back. His cold steel gaze fixed in me, and I shuddered, despite myself. Another person, a beautiful lady in a deep blue dress, stood beside the man in the suit. Platinum blonde hair and delicate features, she had looked like she belonged in a modeling agency, rather than here. She wore the same frigid smirk that the man had been using.

Two more. One was an Asiano man, standing way off to the side, a pistol in one hand, and the other hand on the shoulder of a small Hispanic girl who looked scared shitless. She was bound, as well, and our eyes locked as I was led past her.

We were in the same boat; I had an ally, even though neither of us were capable of much in our current states.

"
Good, everyone is present." The cold man spoke, smoothing his suit. "We can get started."

Get started with what, exactly? Was my first panicked thought. Then he continued. "Bring the young ladies here, please."

Shit.

"
Come on." Grandpa muttered under his breath to me. I (very reluctantly) followed, all the way to about five feet from the lady in the dress. The Hispanic girl was placed right beside me. We didn't dare look at each other.

"
You obviously have no idea why you are here, of course, as no one has told you… and I ordered them to be brought here strictly
unharmed
, Jason. Miss Pryor is bleeding."

I didn't even care if I was bleeding or not. How the hell does he know my name? Why am I here? What have I done? But only then did I register the slow trickle of blood running down the side of my face from my forehead.

Jason/Grandpa answered quickly. "She's really fast, boss. Had to stop her somehow."

"
There are much better ways of doing that, and for god's sake, un-gag her." Suit guy scolded softly. His eyes went an even more frightening color, and I flinched away when his gaze fell upon me again.

Jason gently untied the strip of clean cloth in my mouth, and it fell to the floor, forgotten.

I held my breath and kept my mouth shut. Suit Guy turned his attention back onto me. "I do solemnly apologize for your treatment, Graecia. And yours, Miss Serrano. It was not my intention for either of you to come to harm."

My feet went numb. He knows my whole name. How does he know my name's Graecia Pryor?

The air was thicker now, it seemed, and I was having difficulty breathing.

Who is he?

And why me and this other girl? What is the purpose of us being here? I mean, all I was doing was walking home, going to do my homework, hang out with my big sister.

I finally dared to croak out words. "Why are we here?" I whispered.

Lady-in-the-dress snorted. "So, it speaks." She had a musical voice, as serene and assured as it carried the threat of a painful death.

"
Sinclaire," Suit Guy scolded softly. "That so happens to be an extremely relevant question." He turned his attention back to me. "You see, I need you two young ladies to do something for me."

"
What do we need to do?" What my question really was; are you going to kill us?

I may have had the courage to speak, but my sentence quivered with an undertone of pure fear, and I was sure he'd picked up on it.

"
You will see, in a moment. But be assured that so long as you cooperate, you won't be harmed." He answered patiently. "Any other questions?"

I took a chance on that one. "Who are you?"

I figured that if he said he needed me to do something, he wouldn't kill me just yet.

"
Hopefully, your future employer." He smiled, and his eyes softened. "For now, call me Kendall."

That might have been an alias, for all I really cared. What I had wanted was some clue as to why I had been brought here. But before I could meditate further on this one, he snapped two fingers at the Asiano man, and that one disappeared from my field of view for a moment. I dared not turn and look to see where he had gone. I did, however, look at the girl beside me, now that she wasn't flanked by any big, scary people.

She looked like she was either going to throw up or run for it. Or both. She was shaking pretty violently, and her olive skin was paler than I'm sure it should have been.

I had the sudden thought to reach out with my elbow and touch hers. I meant to reassure her. She glanced at me and back at the floor.

Kendall had been watching. "If you run, Julia, the both of you will be shot." He whispered. "You will find in a moment that your fates are tied."

He glanced back at me, a meaningful look in his eye, before a loud scuffling sound drew his attention behind me. I took the opportunity to whisper to Julia. "It's going to be fine. We just have to do what he says."

It was a pretty shoddy attempt at reassurance, if I do say so myself, but I tried.

Seemed to work, though. She stopped shaking as badly, and took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

I just hoped that I was right.

The scuffling noise got closer, and I was finally able to see what the source was. The Asian was dragging a chair along the floor.

It had someone on it, bound, with a black hood over his head. The bag rustled, he was grunting something. He must have been gagged as well.

Who the hell is that?

Julia subconsciously scooted closer to me.

I couldn't utter another word. What were we supposed to be doing? I didn't like the errant thoughts that bubbled up.

Jason walked right up to the chair and took the hood off the man's head quickly.

I saw his face, one I'd never seen before.

Kendall walked up beside me, holding a gun, and I tried not to flinch when he put a hand on my shoulder. "I want you to kill this man."

I'm not even sure I realized what I heard the first time. "You want me to…"

"
Take this man's life." He finished with a grim tone.

I blinked several times. "I… I can't…just…
kill
someone!"

I didn't ask why he wanted me to kill somebody. After all, nothing else about this made any sense, why would that?

"
Both of your lives depend on this. You can, and you will." His voice went frigid again, and something cold and metallic pressed into my right hand.

A gun. To kill a faceless stranger in front of me.

My heartbeat quickened. "I cant just kill him." I shook my head, as though that would make it all be over. I pleaded silently to all the people here. I can't do it. "Please."

The Asian man slipped the hood off of the man's head.

The man glanced around the room, terrified utterings periodically escaping the gag. He was shaking his head hysterically, and fighting his bonds with extreme effort. His face was red and veins stood out on his forehead. He looked like an older man.

"
Who is that?" I croaked lamely.

"
It doesn't matter." Kendall answered smoothly, and I felt my wrists fall free. I was still holding the gun.

I raised my arm and looked at it for a moment, trying to come up with a way out… I could fight, couldn't I?

No. I would be shot before I could do anything. I'd never even held a gun before. And the three in the corner looked like badasses.

The pistol was custom, ivory handle etched with the image of a skull and crossbones. The barrel was longer than most, made for accuracy. Someone put a lot of love into this gun. Did they know what it was being used for?

"
Graecia. Do it."

I stared away from he gun and met Julia's eyes. She was watching me with a mixture of horror, pity, and pleading.

I met Keller's cool gaze and pleaded silently, shaking my head slowly. He shook his immaculately groomed head and nudged me toward the stranger.

"
Do it." Sinclaire added from somewhere off to my side.

I felt all eyes on me as I waged a mental war with myself.

I not only held my own life in my hands, but those of two others as well. And the enormity of the 'task at hand' truly set in.

Could I become a killer?

Even to save my own life? Someone else's?

Would I? Was it truly worth it?

If I don't, they'll just kill all of us. Surely there wasn't any need for
everyone
to die?

But I'm being told to commit murder.

And how did I know that this wasn't all a sick game and they weren't just going to shoot me in the back after I did the deed?