Caribbean Gold

CHAPTER NINE

Alicia Myles never stood on ceremony nor backed down, and a night like this was hardly about to make her change her ways. A rap on the door of the container and a wrench of the handles brought a shaven head into view which she promptly introduced to a piece of broken metal she’d found just outside. When the head went down hard she found the shoulders and hauled out the rest of the body. Then she took its place.

Inside the door of the container she glared straight at Rob Russo.

“Crap, Myles, where the hell have you been?”

“Tanning. You?”

“Fighting. Wanna help?”

“Ooh, now you’re just teasing.”

Alicia sidestepped a lunging man, whipped the length of metal up and made contact with his head. He spun away, bleeding. She whirled the piece again, one skull, then another, leaving the men dazed in her wake. Russo bear-hugged a man into unconsciousness.

“Stop cuddling them and start hitting,” Alicia hissed. “No wonder you’re still a prisoner. Or…”

She paused as a man flew at her, then she spun on the spot and hefted him over a shoulder.

“Maybe you enjoy the manly contact?” she finished.

Russo finished the groaning man off. “Stop talking, Myles. The shit that comes out of your mouth could bury a cruise ship.”

Alicia met the next man head on, surprising him with her strength and speed. His blows were deflected, his arms bruised. She ended up breaking the metal spar across his skull and then stared down at the damaged pieces,

“Bollocks.”

Russo engaged the three men she’d already injured whilst another two confronted her. It seemed they’d learned their lesson as they came at once, fists flying. Alicia danced away but the area was tiny, leaving her nowhere to go. These men loved a fistfight, though. Alicia had counted on it — their guns had been left at the sides of the container. She bobbed and weaved, took a punch to the jaw and gave one back. Russo heaved one of his adversaries atop the other, and now there was a smile on his face.

Alicia echoed it.

“Come closer, boys. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

They leapt impetuously. Alicia was already sidestepping away. Three lightning fast jabs into nerve clusters doubled them over. The first she then sent smashing into the metal wall, an impact that dented the surface. The second she spun around and finished off with several more jabs, all faster than he could breathe.

He went down beside his friend, out cold.

Alicia turned to Russo, and saw him dealing with the two remaining, almost comatose, adversaries.

“Take your time,” she muttered and walked past, leaving him to finish. Outside, the air was balmy and the night relatively quiet; only a few thuds and quiet laughter from the nearby container that housed Healey and Caitlyn. Alicia angled her walk toward it, knowing those inside wouldn’t be as lax as Russo’s captors and Healey might not be in a position to help.

Russo bounded up, panting.

“Good dog,” Alicia said. “Finish your bones? There’s a good boy. Now get serious for a minute will you?”

Russo was caught between glaring and indignity, unable to think of a single thing to say.

“Jeez, you take a hit back there? Scramble what few brains ya got left? Now listen — they have Healey and Caitlyn in here. Healey’s been taking some damage. You ready?”

Russo held up two guns and two knives he’d taken from his own container. “Yeah, Myles. Are you?”

Alicia took her weapons without comment, then rubbed sharply at the place where one of the bruisers had socked her in the jaw. In her line of work such an injury wasn’t unusual but she wished more than a day or two could go by between the knocks.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

Alicia wrenched the bars that opened the doors and Russo barreled his way inside. Her first view was of his back and then the square box opened up to her eyes. Men stared in shock from various positions around the walls. Several were seated, caught out. A younger man standing by the only table in the room reached for one of the guns that lay there, but Russo shot him. Alicia opened fire and took down another. Her eyes happened upon a rifle that lay next to another handgun, confirming the remainder of a plan she’d been hatching in her mind. No time for that now though. Men flew at her from the edges of the container.

Healey’s head was hanging, a ribbon of blood pooling onto the floor at his feet. Caitlyn stared fixedly, unharmed, but almost unable to believe help had arrived in time to save them. Alicia willed her to remain as still as possible.

She remained close to the table, not allowing anyone to get past her and reach the weapons. A knife-wielder slashed at her throat but Alicia managed to fend him off, using her own blade to take him down. A man then flung himself at her, causing a wild back-peddle. She crashed into the table itself which broke under the impact, all four legs shattering and breaking away. Handguns tumbled and the rifle slithered to the side. Alicia dropped her knife but picked up one of the table legs and battered her opponent across the face. He rolled away, groaning. She jumped on him, then saw a blur rush by to her right, spun again and snagged the man’s legs just as he reached down for a weapon,

Desperate, she tugged his ankles, dragging him away.

It was a chaotic fray, reminiscent of a schoolyard scrap but much more dangerous. Alicia battered at both men with the table leg, then jumped atop the second man who was closest to the guns. A compact jab to the back of the neck took the fight out of him.

Russo tackled three, the soldier clearly knowing it was important to thin the herd as early as possible. One he shot, the other he collided with head on. Then he tripped but held on to the gun, firing upward as a man descended on him with a machete.

Machete!

The weapon sent even Russo’s blood boiling. Luckily said weapon only clattered to about an inch away from him, useless as its wielder collapsed dead on the floor. Before Russo sat Healey and Caitlyn, and beyond that Alicia still struggled. Another enemy figure stood close to Healey.

Alicia sat up and took a bead on the last man standing.

“Stand back, asshole.”

“Name’s Mike. What’s yours?”

“Stand the fuck away.”

Mike turned a little so that Alicia could see the bright blade he held poised at Healey’s neck. “Say what?”

Alicia picked up a gun and aimed it in a single movement. Russo made it clear he was also holding one. Mike merely grinned. “You want to save this kid. You let me go.”

Alicia saw the blade had already drawn a streak of red. “Stop.”

“Put your guns down. Let me walk.”

Alicia knew it would be straight to the next container for backup.

“Put the blade down and we’ll let you walk.”

“You hurt him, you die,” Russo added. “Only way out is to comply.”

Mike struggled visibly with it, torn between wanting to be anywhere but here and signaling his crew. The odds were not good and he clearly knew it. Alicia let him sweat, knowing the more he wavered the less sharp he’d be when the time came. As he vacillated Caitlyn stared Healey right in the eyes.

“He’s also playing for time,” she said.

Alicia tightened her grip on the gun. Mike flexed the muscles of his arm, blade about to dig deeper, but then Healey himself rose up, ties breaking, pulling away from the blade and swiping at Mike’s face. Shocked, the merc tried to lunge forward, knife wavering. As soon as the tiniest gap opened up, Alicia fired. Mike fell away, groaning, the knife clattering to the floor. He made a quick lunge but Alicia jumped in hard with blows to the abdomen. Mike’s forehead cracked the floor as he fell asleep.

Alicia met Healey’s wide eyes. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just give me a sec.”

“Thought you were gonna sit there all day,” she said airily.

Healey regarded her as if seeing her for the first time. “You kidding?”

“Do they still have Michael?” Caitlyn asked, although the answer was clearly obvious.

“Yep,” Alicia said. “I’ve rescued three quarters of you. Thought I’d save the boss till last.”

“Oh shit, we’re never going to hear the end of it,” Russo moaned.

“Damn right.” Alicia grinned.

“Hey, Myles, if it was up to you,” Russo blustered. “Poor ole Healey would still be sitting there.”

“Hey…”

“No time,” Caitlyn said.

Russo jumped for the rifle.