The gun was waving in front of me and I knew I could reach it with a kick, but could I pull that off? I remembered back to the night I’d leapt onto that guy’s back and snapped his neck. Maybe I could.
Everything physical was easier now. I could run up several flights of stairs, taking three at a time, with the same level of difficulty as a leisurely walk down the street had once been. I shifted my weight and went for it. My foot shot up and knocked the gun from his hand.
Wow, I’m definitely badass. That could’ve been in a Bruce Lee flick. This is why transfers needed a manual. Someone should tell us about this sort of thing.
I grabbed the gun from the ground before either of them could get to it first. Stepping back, I kept them both in view. “This is how it's going to go.” I waved the gun towards the guy on the ground, “Get up. You're coming with me.” I pointed to the other one. “You. Stay here. On your belly.”
Neither of them put up an argument against the crazy lady with a gun and perhaps a black belt. They just nodded their heads.
“You, up, now!” The intended victim got to his feet as his would be killer dropped to the ground.
I took a few steps backward, with the guy following me out towards the door. I walked backward, keeping them both in view, as we made our way across the deck. The whole time, I imaged how badly I’d ruin my new persona if I fell on my ass.
Once we got to the ladder, I waved for him to go first. “Climb down and get the hell out of here.” I'd just saved the guy from being shot. This was exactly what he wanted, so there wasn’t an argument. He took off over the boat and ran down the dock.
I climbed down a bit more slowly, trying to keep the gun ready. Who knew if the lunatic in the boat had another one stashed somewhere? Crazy people often had a multitude of weapons at their disposal. If you dipped your toes into the crazy pool, you needed to be prepared for a swinging machete to come your way.
The wooden dock felt solid beneath my feet as I stepped off the boat and saw Malokin waiting. His hands were in his pockets and the look on his face was a cross between satisfaction and surprise. I wasn't sure which emotion was stronger.
His eyes shot to my neck. I'd thought I'd caught a couple of scratches there, but nothing compared to the damage he couldn't see on my back. It was making my shirt stick to me, but it wasn't lethal; just enough to be annoying. I walked slowly and deliberately in his direction. The last thing I'd want him to think was that my back was hurting. A position of strength was crucial in bargaining. His smile became more generous as I neared him.
I lifted my chin slightly. “I want to see Kitty.”
“Certainly.” He turned and I followed him back to the car. “That was impressive.”
That? Yes, I'd moved quicker than a human could, and had more agility, but it wasn't something any one of us probably couldn’t have pulled off. If he couldn’t figure that out, I wasn’t going to inform him, especially since we were heading where I wanted. Instead, I said a simple, “Thank you.”
We'd just gotten to the car when the downpour started. He held the car door open for me, ever the gallant and I grabbed the rain jacket I'd brought with me. I'd had a feeling there might be rain in the forecast and now I could use it to shield the damage on my back from his eyes.
“She's close by,” he said as he got in the driver's side. He pulled out and let the engine loose. It felt pretty fast, but maybe I was just used to going at my Honda's max speed of thirty.
It took us about ten minutes to get to our destination, neither of us speaking much during the ride. I’d been too distracted, waiting for my phone to ring the entire time. No irate Harold? I'd definitely pissed off someone with the golf ball sized hail that was coming down. I was pretty sure Malokin didn’t talk because he was distracted by the dents being made in his hood.
We pulled into an indoor parking garage, leaving the suspicious storm behind, his car looking worse for wear. He proceeded to the elevator and pressed the top floor button when we got in. How many places did he have? My guess was they were countless, to make it harder for someone like myself to track him.
“Why did you want that man saved?” I asked, breaking the silence in the elevator.
“Just to see if you could.” He smiled again. It was as if this whole situation were his private joke.
What was I missing here? I could feel my blood, or whatever it was that ran through this body, start to spike and boil. I wasn't used to letting guys like this walk all over me, and it chafed at something integral to who I was. “Why do you think you can run things so much better?” I asked, my temper slipping out.
“Just a feeling,” he said with a shrug, completely unperturbed by my question. He stood there, next to me, as if he already owned the world.
I gripped the railing behind me so as not to grip his throat instead. The floor buttons lit up one after the other as I wondered how many floors it would take to kill him. Could I do it the space of time it took to travel three floors? It was tight, but my anger might give me the burst of speed needed. Too bad I couldn’t find out.
We didn't stop until we reached the top floor. There was only a small private hallway and a single door on this level, which was already ajar. It opened up to a large suite, where five men already waited. Three were sitting on the tufted leather couches, the other two stood by the windows. Of course he'd have thugs. He was Big Bad, after all. He’d need to have the prerequisite brawn surrounding him just to keep up appearances.
I walked in confidently but was anything but. If I did manage to walk out of here tonight, what condition would I be in? Would I be walking out or crawling? I could take the beating, but I wasn’t so sure how I’d hold up to a gang rape.
Malokin waved his hand and all but one man left the room. He was the smallest of them and didn't look like much. His dark navy suit had a soft sheen that slid across his narrow shoulders as he walked toward us. The blue of his suit made his hair an even blander shade of brown.
When I'd met Malokin, I hadn't immediately been sure of who he was or how to take him. This guy I hated instantly. It might have been the way he strutted across the room toward me. His eyes openly assessed every detail of my face and form, giving some aspects way more attention than others.
I'd worked for and defended some pretty sleazy people. I didn't use the word hate easily.
Malokin patted the man's back as he stopped by his side. “Karma, I'd like you to meet Luke.”
“Hello.” I held out my hand in greeting even though I didn't want to touch him. Not only did he take it, he brought my knuckles to his lips. A smile was beyond my capabilities. Luke was lucky I didn't yank my hand back.
“Luke is my right hand man. He oversees many of my interests. You and he will be getting well acquainted.” Then he looked at Luke, “Luke, if you wouldn't mind giving us a moment?”
There was a slight narrowing of the eyes that told me Luke would mind. It was less than a second's slip before the pleasant expression was back in place. So, Luke didn't like playing second fiddle. Still, he nodded his head and exited gracefully into the room where the other men had gone.
“I want Kitty, now.” My patience for a meet and greet or Malokin's fake niceties was over. I'd put some skin in the game, now it was his turn.
“Come with me.”
He turned and walked in the opposite direction of where the other men had gone. We stepped into an interior office, decorated with wall-to-wall polished wood. Any space that didn't have wooden bookcases, had intricately carved paneling. He stepped behind a desk that had a monitor sitting upon it and pulled out the chair.
“Have a seat.” Everything felt like it was going to be a trap, and between that and my still bleeding back, it was wearing me down. I felt an inner shakiness, born from operating on an empty tank with nothing but adrenaline fueling the engine.