“Get out of here,” she told them, but the pair stood their ground.
“We’re not leaving you, Ash,” Watson said, his voice quivering. The man was fighting his fear, just like Collins. She appreciated his loyalty, but if they all stayed, they all died. If they ran, she might be able to slow him down long enough for them to get away. This was a fight they couldn’t win, so a strategic retreat was not only their best option, it was also their only option.
Gordon, still smoldering, grinned, his sharp teeth gleaming white. A low, rumbling chuckle rolled from deep inside him. He was enjoying this little drama, taking pleasure in it. He knew the eventual outcome as well as Collins did.
“Leave, dammit!” she shouted, trying to reload her revolver. She used speed-loaders, which allowed her to reload all six rounds at once, but it was still hard to do with shaking hands. “Now!”
When they still didn’t budge, she tried logic. “You’re not field agents. This isn’t your job.”
Before they could respond, Gordon started toward them, hands open, ready to grab and crush.
As the trio backed away, Collins said, “How about we at least don’t make it easy on him then. Scatter!” As she shouted, Collins twisted the back of the speed-loader off, snapped the cylinder back in place, took aim and squeezed off a single shot.
Gordon’s head jolted back, halting his approach, only for a moment, but long enough for Watson and Cooper to head in opposite directions. Watson disappeared around the side of the large brick house. Cooper ran back inside.
Now facing Gordon on her own, Collins didn’t like her plan.
“And here I thought they were going to stay with you until the end.” He started toward her again. “Cowards.”
She pulled the trigger again, the noise of the gunshot rolling over the hillside. Gordon flinched as the round struck his cheek and bounced away. “Aiming for my eyes,” he said. He stopped, opened one eye widely, propping it open further with his thick finger. “There. Go ahead. See if it helps.”
Shit, she thought, Gordon would never expose himself to injury so willingly, unless it really didn’t matter. She fired anyway, hoping it would at least cause him some pain.
It did.
He howled as his head rocketed back. One of his armored hands clutched the wounded eye. When his head came back down, his remaining horrible eye glared at Collins. But he was still smiling. He took his hand away from his face. White, fluid gore oozed from his punctured eye. It was followed by something black and viscous. When it hit the ground, it made a ticking sound—metal on pavement. The bullet. When she looked back up, Gordon’s ruined eye was whole once again. And he was charging straight for her.
Collins fired her remaining bullets, none of them effective. She lunged to the side, hoping Gordon’s momentum would carry him into the brick wall at her back, but his reach was too wide. He caught her around the waist, clutching her with one hand. Her feet scraped against the pavement as she was pushed back. The scraping stopped when she was lifted up and slammed against the brick wall.
The air in her lungs coughed out. Her head struck the red brick, leaving a darker red stain. Her vision blacked for a moment before returning with spinning points of light. He could kill me, she thought, so easily. Why is he holding back?
Gordon leaned in close, his jaw dropping open. Impossibly wide. Sharp teeth just inches from her skin. The smell of rotting fish, carried by his warm breath, flowed over her.
Before his mouth reached her, a brick slammed into the side of Gordon’s head. The only effect it had was to gain his attention.
Watson stood twenty feet away, a brick clutched in each hand. “Leave her alone!”
Gordon released his grip on Collins. She slid down to the pavement, leaning against the wall. Somewhere deep in her mind, she shouted at her body to move, but there was a disconnect. Watson was on his own, armed only with bricks.
His patience gone, Gordon stomped toward Watson with deadly intent. Watson lobbed the bricks. One bounced off Gordon’s armor-plated shoulder. The next missed entirely.
Watson put his hands up in a defensive posture. Gordon raised his fists. He wasn’t holding back this time. As the fists came down, a loud boom filled the air. Gordon stumbled to the side as Cooper, holding a shotgun, ran to Watson’s side.
As Gordon recovered, Cooper pumped the shotgun and fired again. Gordon absorbed the shot, but took a step back. Cooper fired again, and again.
Collins tried to stand. Cooper would be out of ammunition in two more pulls of the trigger.
Boom.
One more.
Collins fought her shaking legs. She lifted herself a foot off the ground, but began sliding back down.
A hand caught her, holding her weight.
She looked up into the eyes of Katsu Endo.