Rogue Read online

  “They’re here.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Rogue saw two men at the end of the aisle. Both wore sunglasses and were well-muscled. Tattoos wound around their necks. It was clear to her that they were ex-military. She’d been around men like them most of her life.

  “We run,” she said. “We can’t stand and fight in here.”

  Tom nodded at Juliani. “You okay with that?”

  “I’m faster than I look. Lead the way.”

  Rogue thought about offering to take the briefcase but knew Juliani would never let it go. He probably slept with it. Also, she needed her hands free. They didn’t know how many attackers were coming but it could be double figures, and possibly the replacement assassin too.

  She sped off last, waiting for their two pursuers to start running before pulling over two DVD racks that should slow them down. The plastic boxes tumbled across the floor, scattering and making a lurid din in the comparatively quiet store. Juliani was a step ahead of her. Tom reached the top of the aisle and turned right, heading for the back of the store where other exits would be available to them.

  Rogue gauged the approach of the first man, slowing to allow him to catch up to her. When he was close, she grabbed a DVD machine from the closest shelf, spun and smashed him across the face with it. She heard his left cheek shatter and then he flew to the right, smashing into a row of shelving so that it buckled and deposited all its goods on top of him.

  The second man rushed at her. Behind him, she saw a pursuing pack. Four men.

  Not good.

  Her mind ran through the possibilities. Running was the best option, and for many reasons. The second man was close enough to take on – and to take down – but that put her in danger of tussling with the next four men. She turned away and dashed to the right, reaching full pace as she saw the wide-open aisle before her. There were no sounds of pursuit, their attackers keeping it as low key as possible. Nevertheless, Rogue assumed the stores CCTV system would already have alerted its security guards and possibly the cops.

  Tom and Juliani were up ahead, the latter still managing to keep up. She closed the gap. They darted left and then right again, running along the back of the store. Tom pointed to a large set of warehouse doors and slowed.

  Rogue saw Tom slow before barging into the doors, bursting them wide open. Juliani skidded but managed to catch himself and follow. Rogue slowed for the gap and barely saw the blur that came in from the right. A figure hit her shoulder, sending her sprawling. Rogue’s intense training kicked in fast which, considering her lay-off, was again encouraging. She brought both arms up as she hit the back wall, shielding her head, took the pain of the impact and quickly assessed the situation.

  A boot flew toward her face.

  Rogue had barely enough time to bring her hands up. She deflected the boot, then drew her knife and slashed at both the man’s left and right hamstrings. He went down immediately, blood pooling from the back of his legs, across the floor. Rogue didn’t wait. She leapt up and ran into the warehouse, just seconds in front of four pursuers. She ran around a towering pile of cardboard boxes and pushed them from behind. They swayed and then started to topple just as the men appeared. It was a satisfying moment, watching them cry out and scatter. She passed between two trucks and headed into a loading bay. Tom was already racing through, shouting at any workers he saw to get clear.

  The rear doors were open, showing daylight.

  But it was still early. The lack of customers at this time meant fewer vehicles in the parking lot, and less places to hide. She glanced back, saw the four men picking themselves up, regrouping, and then four more appear behind them. She wished she had comms to keep Tom informed. She hadn’t anticipated needing them which meant they weren’t part of the go-bag. Whilst residing in Cocoa Beach she’d assumed that if she ever ran – it would be alone.

  Tom was already outside. Rogue heard a cry. She sprinted as hard as she could, burst into the light and saw their dwindling options.

  The way ahead was clear but led only to the enormous Home Depot. To left and right more men ran, another four in total.

  That made at least twelve. Almost certainly more. And not including the assassin who had to be here somewhere.

  Rogue made the only call available to them.

  “The store,” she shouted. “As fast as you can.”

  *

  Duncan McCole had never been back-up. He was usually the lead, or at least the second primary. He hadn’t even known there were three better assassins working for MI6 and the Old Men. He’d been called into their confidence just hours earlier, on learning that Tom Freeman, a good agent, had switched sides. Not strictly an MI6 job, McCole liked the sound of the high-figure pay day and the promise of more to follow. The knowledge that Tom Freeman had been picked before him put a dent in his ego, a dent that had to be well and truly beaten out.

  Good job that he was now being asked to kill him, as well as George Juliani, a Miami based treasurer.

  He’d arrived on scene to hear his targets had been sighted at a local Walmart. Clearly, it wasn’t a Ben and Jerry’s run. They’d arranged a meeting. It had been suspected that Tom Freeman would warn Juliani about the hit. Their patience in tracking him down the coast had paid off.

  Duncan stretched easily in the back of the big SUV, aiming a high-powered rifle at the rear of the grocery store where his quarry was expected to emerge. He breathed deeply, watching for movement through the lens. The hour was perfect. Few civilians moseyed between stores. Duncan passed the time focusing on their entirely ignorant heads. He knew what it was like to hold the power of God in his hands, to decide which skull would explode, how the deadly hand of fate touched one person and passed right by another. He was the executioner passing judgement in the shadows.

  Two men exited his SUV and set off at a quick pace, going for the rear of the store. They would be his spotters. The news from inside, delivered through his earpiece, told him Freeman, Juliani and the woman had entered the rear cargo bays.

  It wouldn’t be long now.

  Duncan prepared himself. It would be nice to get this kill out of the way and then head straight over to Tijuana. He’d been promised three days leave after that and there were a dozen vices he wanted to try out. He’d been told very little of the operation, which didn’t bother him a bit. He followed orders and paydays, not agendas. If the old men showed him a target, he would eliminate it for a price.

  Speaking of . . .

  He was slightly surprised as Freeman and Juliani burst out of the rear of the store. They slowed. Duncan then saw the woman appear just as the two goons from his SUV froze in surprise at their early arrival.

  Amateurs.

  It was a long way between Walmart and the Home Depot. Duncan took his time; focusing on Tom Freeman’s skull.

  *

  Rogue gauged the distance between her and two of the new attackers. With Juliani slowing them down, it was certain they would be intercepted before they reached the Home Depot. She could open fire, but there was no sound of sirens approaching, and she didn’t want to tempt fate. Quickly, she urged Tom and Juliani ahead. They would be at the DIY store’s door in under a minute.

  The two new attackers approached; one was well-built, his tight T-shirt showing off hard bicep muscle and an impressive six-pack. The other was equally as big but wore a cap and shades, which made him look bizarre in this situation.

  Rogue grinned at them, a tactic which always put men off. Six-pack slowed, a brief look of confusion flashing across his features. Rogue wiped it off with a spinning kick that sent him sprawling.

  Shades came in low. Rogue danced aside, kicked him in the head and pushed him. The momentum sent him to his knees. She experienced a rush of sheer adrenalin, the likes of which she hadn’t felt in two years. She was alive again, buzzing with energy, grinning widely as the early morning sun beat down on the asphalt. It was excitement and fear and confidence all coming together at once. It was the thrill of the
fight, something she’d never thought to experience again.

  Shades came around and she met his chest with a front kick. This sent him tumbling over Six-Pack, who grunted and collapsed. Rogue considered her position– gauging the positions of their attackers – and thought she could spare another ten seconds to debilitate her opponents completely.

  And as her eyes scanned the parking area, she saw it.

  The dark grey SUV with the tinted windows positioned at a slight angle to their position. She’d seen this scenario a dozen times before.

  “Tom!” she used the spare seconds to try to save his life. “Shooter!”

  At the same time, a shot rang out.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Tom flung himself to the ground the moment Rogue cried out. It saved his life.

  Rogue, accepting that the kid gloves were now well and truly off, dropped to one knee, and pulled her gun out. At this distance it wasn’t accurate, but the area was clear and she needed to create a distraction.

  And in the backpack, she knew the SIG machine pistol waited.

  But, for now, there was no time. Tom crawled behind a van, dragging Juliani with him. Another shot rang out, impacting the side of the white vehicle, tearing a hole the size of a satsuma in the metal. Rogue loosed three more bullets, satisfied when one struck the rear of the distant SUV.

  She ran, joined Tom and Juliani and urged them to make ready.

  “Is it over?” the treasurer asked without hope.

  “Don’t be silly,” Rogue said. “It’s just getting started.”

  “You sound like you’re enjoying it.”

  Rogue bit her lip, and then noticed Tom giving her the all-knowing eyes. “It’s like any activity,” she said. “You don’t know how much you miss it until you take a break.”

  “Activity?” Juliani echoed. “This isn’t a fucking gym class.”

  Tom peered over the front of the van. “No movement.”

  Rogue checked their rear. “I see nine running towards us.” she made to stand up.

  “Wait,” Tom restrained her with a touch of the hand. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

  “Now?”

  “Yeah, now. It’s important. Since you left Six, they introduced a new way to contact the old men. Leave the sentence ‘hear my soul speak’ and your phone number in the draft box of this email account.” He reeled off an email address

  She listened, gazing at him the whole time. “I don’t like it that you’re telling me this now.”

  “Just in case.”

  She grabbed the front of his shirt. “There’s no just in case. Understand? We do this together. Now, shut the hell up and let’s get going.”

  “You two go first,” Tom said. “I’ll cover you.”

  Rogue swallowed a negative reply. If it was anyone else, she’d refuse to let them cover her ass. But she had to trust someone and luckily, Tom was the only man in the world she would tolerate to do that.

  She grabbed Juliani’s left arm. “Stay on that side and run like hell. You ready?”

  “For this? No.”

  She hefted him and pushed him away from the van. Tom leaned over the hood and opened fire, loosing a full mag. Rogue dashed for the Home Depot’s entrance, running past steel barriers for the tinted front doors. She gambled on them opening inward and was rewarded with a fast entry.

  She flung Juliani inside.

  Then turned and opened fire as Tom made the run. The back of the SUV resembled a cheese grater where it had been peppered with bullets. Its occupant was no doubt keeping his head down.

  Tom made it. Rogue shrugged out of her backpack as she retreated inside the store, then dropped it onto the floor. She picked out some spare mags for the Glock, the SIG and spare rounds for that too. Then she secured the bag back over her shoulders.

  Juliani was waiting. “This place is huge,” he said, mopping the sweat from his forehead with an already soaked handkerchief. “We can easily get lost in here.”

  “That’s not the aim,” Tom said. “The aim is to escape the area.”

  “We can’t fight them all,” Juliani said.

  “Agreed,” Rogue nodded at the countless, ceiling-high racks that made up the aisles. “Let’s start over there.”

  Nobody took any notice of them as they walked quickly across the dusty floor and headed up an aisle marked ‘Exterior and Interior Paint’. Once hidden by the racks they picked up the speed, rushing from one end to the other.

  “They’ll expect us to use the rear exit,” Tom said.

  Rogue agreed. “There’s usually a gardening area,” she said. “And a builder’s area. Both are outside.”

  “Hurry,” Juliani fretted.

  “Man up,” Rogue told him. “It’s gonna get messy.”

  They rushed along a second set of aisles, moving further from the entrance. Tom brought up the rear. Rogue held the SIG down the length of her leg and pushed the Glock back into her waistband. Juliani still clutched the briefcase. They passed a startled employee who turned to stare after them and then two families searching for new lawnmowers.

  Tom said: “I see them, and they see us.”

  Rogue spotted the gardening area up ahead. A double set of glass doors slid apart as she approached. The area was external but fenced off from the parking lot. Racks of flowers, shrubs, paving, mortar and stone chippings filled her vision.

  “There,” Tom said, seeing a route through the materials.

  He was certainly quick, she allowed. In truth, they made a good team, but she’d never tell him. At least, not for another few weeks. She realised then she’d not only purposely suppressed the profound thrill of real danger, she’d buried the warm feeling she got when she knew she was working with a close equal.

  She paused at the door, sending the two men ahead. Tom started looking for the easiest way to scale the metal fence. Rogue turned. Three men rushed at her, weapons at their sides. It seemed they were fancying their chances through speed and surprise alone.

  Not a chance.

  Rogue grabbed an eighteen-inch square slab from a display next to her and swung it into the oncoming faces of the three men. Two were rushing through the sliding doors together. The thin paver shattered against their faces, taking them down to the floor and into instant oblivion. Rogue was left with two broken pieces in her hands and an assailant lunging for her face. She took his blow, head jerking to the right as he struck. Her right hand reached down to pick up the SIG she’d laid carefully against the paving display.

  When the man lunged again, the barrel was pointed at his chest.

  “Oh-” was all he managed. Rogue pulled her trigger, backing away fast. The man’s body flew back into the store. She spun away to check on Tom’s progress but came face to face with another figure.

  “Hey, what are you doing?”

  It was a store employee. His nametag read ‘Spencer’. Rogue let the bone-breaking blow she’d been about to deliver flow right out of her and spoke very quickly.

  “They’re chasing us. They’re not interested in you,” she said. “Hide now. If they see you here, they’ll kill you and you can’t go that way.” She pointed back at the store.

  She moved past him, expecting him to scarper. Tom had pushed plant pots, paving stones and rubble bags together to form a stairway that reached the top of the fence and was urging Juliani to climb up first.

  Spencer reached out a hand. “Are you in trouble?”

  She hesitated at the care that filled his tone, at the open look in his eyes, and examined him. Spencer looked to be in his twenties, tall, with black hair. He held himself awkwardly and squinted at her as if his eyes were strained. With one look she knew this man couldn’t grasp the urgency of this situation quickly enough, let alone defend himself.

  “There,” she said, pointing to a gap Tom had made in the rubble bags. “Get down there and don’t move until it’s all over.”

  Spencer started walking, still questioning her with his eyes. She accompanied him for
three steps before turning back to cover the door.

  “They’re coming!” she cried.

  As a group opened fire, Rogue peppered the door with rounds of her own. Glass shattered, and framework buckled. Her enemies ducked and dived or were thrown backwards. Bullets flew back at her, smashing into the bags and plant pots all around. Two smashed into a row of chimney pots, smashing the terracotta stacks to pieces. Rogue ducked behind a pallet of decorative chippings.

  Tom and Juliani were dangerously exposed.

  A handgun fired, its bullet igniting sparks from the metal railing close to Juliani’s right hand. The big man staggered, fell to his knees and would have slipped all the way back down to the ground if Tom hadn’t steadied him.

  “Give it up!” A voice shouted. “There’s nowhere to go!”

  He was probably right, Rogue reasoned. Their enemies were inside the store. They had the fence covered. She could hear sirens now, fading in and out on the breeze which meant they were still distant. She saw Spencer peeking out from behind a bag of pebbles and waved him away.

  Idiot.

  “Here,” he said in low tones. “If you come down here – there’s a gap in the fence.”

  She almost cheered and a grin touched her face. Spencer gave her a geeky smile in return. She shouted at Tom and Juliani.

  “Get down here, boys.”

  She scrambled across a patch of open space to reach Spencer’s hideout. The shooters weren’t ready, and only managed to fire two rounds, both in her wake. Spencer met her and then remembered to give way. A moment later Juliani landed close by.

  “Who the hell is this guy?”

  “Spencer,” he said. “Sales and repayment plan advisor.”

  “Really? Do you also do escape plans?”

  Rogue dropped to all fours, lowered her head and studied the fence. “Apparently,” she said. “he does.”

  Tom’s boots scraped past her head. “Any chance of making it happen faster?”

  “Get down here,” Rogue said.