Silent Waters

Chapter 63

Lee Brody never had a chance.

He died in his sleep with a single bullet to the brain. As far as Kilo was concerned, he was on borrowed time anyway. The instructions to Rivera and Dunbar this morning had been to put the kid out of commission. Leave it to them to figure a bang on the head was good enough. Of course, the instructions Kilo received with regard to the hijacking were very different from theirs. They thought it was all a big exercise. A drill.

And they didn’t know that before it was over, they’d all be eliminated. It was no drill.

Kilo looked around the hospital room one last time before reaching for the door. The suddenness of the fire alarm made him stop.

Between the regular blasts of the alarm, he heard the sound of running feet coming his way. He moved behind the door, his weapon drawn. The door opened with one sharp kick, and only Kilo’s boot stopped it from smashing against his face. He had no target. He couldn’t see anyone through the slit at the edge of the door.

“Christ!” a voice muttered from the outside of the room.

The lights from the hall illuminated the room. The dead man’s face was turned toward the door. The bullet hole visible even from a distance.

He saw a figure move outside the door. He fired, and the door slammed into him again, harder this time. He’d missed. He shoved the door back with his shoulder. He didn’t think they’d be armed, but he couldn’t be sure.

His ear piece buzzed. He ignored the voices and jerked the door open. A fire extinguisher smashed into his chest, knocking him off balance. Kilo never lost his grip on the gun, and he fired again as he stumbled backward.

Someone was running down the hall. He rushed out in time to see the emergency fire exit doors swinging shut.

“They’re heading down the stairs,” he said into the microphone. “Pick them up.”