Nirvana Effect

54



Tome got into the Bug. It had skidded to a stop at the gate, and one of his warriors had opened its passenger door for him. He slammed the door and shouted, “Go!” He could already hear gunfire in the distance, near the brick mansion.

The young man was on his third lightness in a day. He knew he might die from the after-pain. He did not care. That might have been a concern of Tomy but not of Tome. It was what must be done. No one else could be trusted to get the money and the guns.

The top of Liang’s house was crenelated. Automatic weapons were manned at each corner and firing wildly at the Onge vehicles.

Tome watched as two of his Onge leaned out of the front car windows. Each fired a few shots with their rifles. The two machine gunners atop the turrets dropped and their guns fell silent. The Onge reached the house. A flatbed full of Liang’s guards were pulling out from the back. The Onge fanning out of the vehicles shot it to pieces before the guards even had time to fire back. One bullet dropped each man, in just the way that Tome’s men had been trained. Efficiency. Their assault had come too fast for even the hardened criminals and ex-military under Liang to make a stand.

The power of the nectar.

His Onge warriors ran one of the cars through the front door of the estate. It was an iron door, but it could not stop an SUV. They were in.

Tome followed behind with gun in hand. His job was the safe. It turned out being in the music room, and quite obvious. There was a guard he had to drop, which was his first tip-off.

The floor sounded different near the grand piano. Tome shoved it into the middle of the room and flipped away the throw rug. One of the floorboards beneath had a recessed handle. He pulled it, revealing a passage below. He checked his gun. He was sure there would be a few more surprises before he got the cash.

Liang wasn’t home, but his hideout reserves would be down there. It would be quite a sum, all they needed to set up shop in Sri Lanka.