Good Intentions - Adrian Hell #6 (Adrian Hell Series) (22 page)

I go to say something, but stop myself.

I’ve always had this ability to make things… I don’t know… slow down. I’ve learned how to stay calm to the point where things seem to start moving slower than normal, which ultimately helps me see things other people don’t. It helps me plan my next move, react quickly, and find resolutions to problems others probably won’t even identify.

It also seems to be linked to my spider sense, as if my subconscious automatically activates the ability when it knows I need it. It only ever happens when shit’s hitting the fan… or when it’s about to.

I stopped myself from saying anything because the world is slowing down right now. The room is unchanged. The people in it aren’t doing anything different. But… yeah—there’s definitely a noise that doesn’t belong. It’s like a roaring, whooshing sound, and it’s coming from outside.

I turn to look out the window.

“Shit! Everyone move!”

I lunge to grab Kaitlyn by the arm and sling her through the open door. She stumbles and falls to the floor. I ignore Pierce and move to follow her, but I’m not fast enough. Time resumes its usual speed as the RPG hits the building just below the window. The impact shakes the foundations, like an earthquake. The thunderous explosion completely shatters the glass, hurling thousands of tiny shards into the room.

I grit my teeth. “Fuck!”

I didn’t make it out of the room. I was blown into the far corner by the blast, and I’m lying face down in agony. My back feels wet and sticky, torn to shreds by the glass. With the exception of the loud, constant ringing in my ears, I’m completely deaf, and my equilibrium’s all kinds of screwed.

What the hell just happened?

I push myself up with one arm and look to my left. Pierce is laying a few feet away from me, looking almost as bad as I feel.

I frown. Christ, it’s hot…

I look behind me at the window.

It’s gone. There’s a sizeable hole in the side of the building, and flames are climbing into the room. I shake my head, trying to clear some of the fog. Background noise is slowly starting to register. The crackling of the flames is prominent. I can also hear what sounds like… crumbling, maybe? And screams. Definitely screams…

Shit, Kaitlyn!

I turn the other way and look over at the door. I can see a pair of legs lying motionless, but nothing else. Man, I hope they’re still attached to someone…

I take some deep breaths, but because of the smoke filling the room, I start coughing. “Kait… Kait… Kaitlyn!”

I close my eyes and frown, summoning all the focus I can to drown out the extraneous noise.

I still can’t hear anything.

“Kaitlyn!”

I listen carefully.

“…ian!”

Was that…?

“Kaitlyn?”

“Adrian!”

That’s her!

“Kaitlyn!” I grimace as I try to move, which sends a pain shooting across my back like a lightning strike. “Where are you?”

“I’m—”

Woah!

Shit!

I’m sliding backward uncontrollably because the floor’s just crumbled away! My arms are stretched up, my hands desperately searching for something to—

“Ugh! Fuck me…”

—get a hold of.

Ah!

Some of the thin, metal framework used to reinforce the concrete is sticking out in places. I went to grab one piece in particular, which is jagged and sharp but mistimed it. It sliced my palm open and is now sticking literally
in
my hand! I ignore how much it
fucking hurts
… and grasp it as tight as I can, because my legs aren’t resting on anything.

I close my eyes for a moment. This is one of those times where I know I really don’t want to know the answer, but I need to ask the question anyway.

I open my eyes and look down.

“Oh, shit!”

I look back up quickly and close my eyes again.

Yeah… there’s nothing below me except a three-story drop. That crumbling noise is getting louder. The building itself looks pretty old, and the blast must’ve damaged the structural integrity. The impact of the RPG has compromised the entire east wall of the office block, so the floors below are starting to disintegrate, too, like a domino effect.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself, but this is one of those rare moments where I’m finding that very hard to do. I hate heights. Like, seriously fucking detest them. Planes are okay. I can even handle jumping out of them, because I usually have a parachute on my back at the very least. But this… there’s no ’chute, there’s no safety net… just a big fucking drop. Three stories is probably about… what? Thirty feet? Maybe forty? That’s enough of a drop that I wouldn’t just fall—I’d plummet. And while that, in itself, might not kill me, it’d do some serious damage. But this isn’t a normal drop. Scattered thirty-to-forty feet below is a huge pile of burning rubble. Falling…
plummeting
onto that shit would
definitely
kill me.

My arm is getting tired, to the point where the only thing keeping me hanging on is the fact the metal piping is stapled to my hand! There’s nothing for my left hand to grab, and everything around me is crumbling and falling slowly away to the ground below.

I take another long breath, trying to block out the pain from my hand and my back… I ignore the fact I’m hanging out the side of a building, three stories up, surrounded by flames… I also ignore the fact that, right now, Lily is most likely looking on from whichever building she’s in, watching me through the sights of her sniper rifle. She could shoot me any moment and put me out of my misery. Or, assuming she’s a good enough shot, she could shoot my hand and make me fall to my death instead.
That
would suck.

I sigh.

I am so screwed right now.

I look down again, and immediately wish I hadn’t. This is fucking surreal. This morning, I woke up beside Lily nursing a hangover. And now, six hours later, I’m dangling above certain death because she’s trying to kill me.

I really can go from ‘normal’ to ‘fucked’ in the blink of an eye, can’t I…

“Adrian?”

I frown.

Huh?

I look up and see Pierce staring back at me. He leans over and lowers his arm.

“Adrian, gimme your hand!”

You don’t need to tell me twice!

I reach up…

Ah! Just short!

I shake my head. “I can’t reach you.”

He sighs. “Okay, hang on.” He disappears again.

I roll my eyes. “
Hang on
… Really?”

He reappears, leaning over farther than before. “Try now.”

My right hand feels as if it’s being ripped in two! I swing my body slightly from side to side, once… twice… and…

I throw my arm up and grab hold of his hand.

He grimaces from the effort. “Gotcha!”

He pulls me up as best he can, just far enough that it takes pressure off my other hand and allows me to find some footing. I manage to heave myself up the rest of the way, climbing up onto what’s left of the floor in Kaitlyn’s office. I roll over on my back and stare at the ceiling.

“Holy… shit…” I take a few deep breaths. “Thanks…”

I lift my head and look over at him. He’s lying on his front with his feet hooked around the legs of a small table. He’s wedged the table in one of the gaps that’s appeared in the floor. Risky move, but I’m grateful nonetheless.

We both struggle to our feet and quickly move out into the hall. The structure out here seems more stable, but I don’t want to hang around any longer than necessary. Kaitlyn is standing over by the stairwell with three of Pierce’s team.

Three?

I frown and look behind me.

Oh, crap…

Those legs I saw before
are
still attached, but the poor bastard has a pretty big hole in his chest. Looks as if something impaled him during the initial blast.

I turn to Pierce, who’s staring at the body. “I’m sorry, man.”

He shakes his head. “No time for that now. We need to get you out of here. Follow me.”

He pushes past us all and takes point, heading down the flight of stairs for the exit. Two of his team go next, with Kaitlyn just behind them and me just behind her. The final member of his team is bringing up the rear.

We make it to the first floor and dash out onto the sidewalk. We don’t stop until we’re across the street and around the corner. There’s a large crowd of people standing nearby, looking on with morbid fascination. Sirens are blaring in the distance and getting louder by the second, so the emergency services will be here any moment.

We keep moving until we’re far enough away from the building that we can safely stop to catch our breath. We all stand in a tight circle. Pierce looks hurt, but it’s not obvious where. He’s taking some deep breaths and seems to be managing. The rest of team looks mostly unscathed. Kaitlyn’s sitting on the edge of the curb, staring blankly at the ground. I know the onset of shock when I see it. I’ll give her a minute—she’s smart, and it’s her job to understand how the mind works. She’ll know what’s happening to her, so I’ll give her some time to process things before I say anything.

I look down at my right hand. Goddamn, it’s a mess! There’s a deep gash running horizontally across my palm. I try to clench my fist, but I can’t. It’s as if there’s something physically stopping my fingers from moving that close together.

“You need to get that looked at.”

I look over and see Pierce staring at my hand.

I nod. “Yeah, it’s pretty bad, but there’s no time for that now. What’s our next move?”

He gestures down the street with his thumb. “Our SUV is parked down there. We have plenty of ammo and some spare guns in the trunk. You can take it and get the fuck outta the city. You need to re-group before you try taking Lily out.”

I shake my head. “I’m not running. Not my style. I know roughly where she is right now, so I’m gonna finish this before she causes any more damage. Unless… y’know,
you
wanna go and do it?”

Pierce smiles and shakes his head. “That’s not my job, it’s yours. My job is to keep you alive long enough to do yours, not do
your
job for you.”

“Fine.” I turn to nod at the building, which looks like it’s getting ready to completely collapse. “But right now, she’s desperate. She’s not thinking straight, which makes her all the more dangerous. I can handle myself, and shit like this… innocent people could die. I can’t allow that.”

He smiles faintly. “Ever the white knight, eh, hero? But this isn’t a discussion. Collateral damage isn’t your concern. You work for The Order—don’t forget that. I saved your ass because I was told to. Now, don’t be a dick. Don’t stop using your brain after what we just went through. Get… the fuck… out of here. Re-group and come back stronger. As things stand, you’re in no position to take her out, so don’t try. If you turn cowboy, everything I just did for you will have been for nothing, and that’ll really piss me off.”

I take some deep breaths and stare at the ground. My vision blurs slightly as I consider my options. There aren’t many…

I re-focus and look at my arm. WWJD. Yeah… Josh would tell me that, as much as I hate it, Pierce has a point. I need to get Kaitlyn out of harm’s way and get back to full strength before I try to do anything else. I’m sure The Order can clear up this mess—it’s not my problem.

I move over to Kaitlyn and sit beside her. I nudge her gently with my elbow. “Hey. You alright?”

She turns to me.

Oh, man, she looks pissed!

“No, I’m not okay, Brad… Adrian… whatever your name is!” She points to the smoke billowing in the air from her office building. “That was my
life
! I moved here to start over. To start up a private business, which I did, quite successfully, I might add. And you’ve just reduced it to dust! I have nothing now!”

She lashes out and hits me twice in the chest. Compared to all the shit that hurts right now, her strikes don’t even register. But I let her hit me, and I’ll keep letting her for as long as she needs to. She has every right to be pissed at me. I brought this on her. Like an idiot, I thought I could offload the emotional crap from my life onto her without consequence.

This is me. There are
always
consequences.

She hits me maybe five times before she runs out of steam and simply starts crying. I put my arm around her and she falls into me.

“I’m gonna keep you safe, okay? You have my word. But we gotta get out of here, alright?”

I stand, and a moment later, so does she. I look at Pierce and hold out my good hand. “Gimme the keys to your SUV. You’re right. This is gonna take some time.”

He nods and throws them to me. I catch them easily. “Thanks for this. I know what my job is, and I’ll do it.”

He stands tall. “I know you will. All this…” He shakes his head. “…doesn’t change shit, Adrian. The Order understands that sometimes a job isn’t straightforward. Sometimes, things go wrong, and sometimes we have to react, as opposed to being the pre-emptive machines we’re all trained to be. For those times, people like you have people like me. Now get the fuck out of here.”

I nod once, take Kaitlyn’s hand, and set off walking along the street as quickly as we can without drawing attention to ourselves. The SUV is parked one street over, maybe a block away. It’s a black Suburban. I throw the keys to Kaitlyn. “You need to drive.” I hold up my right hand. “I doubt I’ll be able to steer with this.”

She nods and climbs in behind the wheel. I get in beside her and slam the door closed with my left hand.

“Where to?” she asks.

I shrug. “Not sure. Just get us away from here. Head out into the desert. It’s away from the city, away from people, and the open terrain will make it easy to spot anyone following us. I’ll make a call once we’re out of Abu Dhabi and we’ll go from there.”

She takes a deep breath and seems to compose herself. She doesn’t question me. She just guns the engine, quickly spins the car around, and hits the gas as we drive away, leaving the carnage in the rearview.

19

21:30
AST