The fair-haired guy tried to jump up and go for his gun at the same time, his reflexes pretty good, but Dan hit him in the chest, knocking him back into the easy chair, and fired again at his head before moving around the corner.
One of the suited guys was just sitting at a computer and staring across the room, as if wondering what the commotion was. The other was scrabbling in a drawer, probably for a gun that should have been on him. Dan hit him first, then the static one.
But that was where he ran into difficulties. Because he couldn’t see the other casually dressed guy. There was a door to a bathroom, but there was also a desk in the far corner that was surrounded by dividers like a cubicle.
Dan stepped back to the cover of the corner, checking behind him to make sure of what he already knew, that he was surrounded only by bodies. He waited a beat then and said, “If you come out now, I won’t hurt you. If you make me come over there, I will.”
“I wouldn’t do that. I’m armed!”
He was in the cubicle.
“Wrong answer. If you’re armed, I’ll kill you.”
He heard him mutter to himself, “Oh God, oh God.” He was panicking, and Dan guessed from the informal dress that this was the other tech guy, probably the Josh who’d exchanged messages with Adam.
Dan had come in here intent on killing all of them, but it was amazing how quickly that need for vengeance had dissipated, or at least become discerning. He’d still take down the other part of the team, wherever they were, probably at Brabham’s house, because those were the people who’d done for his friends and tried to do for him. But there was nothing to be gained from killing this guy.
He spoke now, desperately weighing his options as he said, “If I come out . . .”
“Throw the gun out first. If you come out with a gun, I’ll shoot.”
“How do I know you won’t shoot me anyway?”
“If I wanted to shoot you, do you think that cubicle or a gun or anything else would stop me?”
There was silence, and Dan was beginning to get impatient, thinking of the returning lunch party, but then a gun slid across the floor from behind the cubicle.
“Okay, I’m coming out. Please, don’t shoot me.” He stood with his hands raised. He had longish hair and the beginnings of a beard, a young face beneath it all, like some grad student who’d considered becoming a folk singer but had fallen into this by mistake. “Seriously, I’m just a tech guy.”
“Are you Josh?” He nodded. “Yeah, it was me who sent the message from Adam’s phone. Adam’s dead.”
“Oh God.”
Dan took the cuffs and threw them to him.
Josh caught them and Dan said, “Come out from behind the cubicle and put them on, hands in front.” When he hesitated, his expression pleading for more assurances, he added, “You’re still alive. No reason you can’t stay that way, as long as you don’t try anything stupid.”
“I won’t, I promise.”
He stepped out, desperately trying to avoid anything that might resemble a sudden movement, and put on the cuffs.
“Okay, move over here and sit on the edge of this desk where I can see you.”
Josh did as he was told and Dan was pretty sure he wouldn’t try anything, but he still kept an eye on him as he moved the two bodies from the easy chairs, dragging them and dropping them behind one of the desks. A lot of blood was visible on one of the chairs, from the head wound, so he took an overcoat that was hanging up and threw it over the chair, the result casual enough that it was unlikely to arouse suspicions.
He walked back to Josh then and said, “They should be back any minute. I’ll be straight with you, I’d intended to kill all of you today, for what you’ve done to me and my friends.” Josh tried to respond, no doubt to argue his innocence, but Dan put a finger up and silenced him. He pointed at the two bodies he’d just moved and said, “Those two I would’ve killed anyway, but I don’t want to turn this into something bigger than it needs to be. You understand?”
“I think so.” He didn’t, but it probably didn’t matter, either.
“What I’m saying is your two colleagues who went to get the lunch, I don’t want to hurt them, but if you speak or try to attract their attention in any way, I’ll have no choice but to kill all three of you.”
“You . . . you always have a choice.” Dan raised his eyebrows, his expression alone asking Josh if he really wanted to debate this issue. “I won’t say a word.”
“Good. Is the rest of the team at Brabham’s place?”
He nodded and said, “We’re only the logistical side here, we . . . we just . . .” Something about Dan’s expression cut him short.
They sat in silence for a few seconds. Josh still looked eager to say something else, and opened his mouth but stopped himself when they heard the elevator mechanism spring into life.
Dan pointed and said, “Move onto that desk there.” Josh moved quickly and Dan walked to the far side of the entrance door from where he was able to cover all the angles.