The Razor's Edge: A Postapocalytic Novel (The New World Book 6) (21 page)

Autry stepped into the hall and looked towards the stairs. Seeing no one was coming, he grabbed Gordon and Samantha and pulled them inside. “Get in here.”

“They’re trying to kill us,” Gordon said.

“Help me drag the bodies in,” Autry ordered.

Gordon did as he asked.

With both bodies inside, Autry closed the door and said, “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Jacques took
me, Sam,President Cruz and his mother hostage
. He forced me to sign a treaty giving him all of Cascadia. I wouldn’t have done it, but he was going to hurt Sam.”

Autry looked at his dead guards and said, “What a fucking mess. I should beat your ass.”

“Goddamn it, Jacques is going to kill us.”

“I heard you, but did you have to kill my men, what the fuck?”

Gordon was tired of hearing Autry complain. He ran to the window and looked out. The moon had set over the mountains and with no exterior lighting it was impossible to see what was outside. “What’s out the window, just below us?”

“Swimming pool,” Autry replied.

“We don’t have time. This room is being watched, I guarantee it,” Gordon said a slight tone of panic in his voice.

“No, it’s not,” Autry said confidently.

“Jacques has all the rooms wired.”

“He does, but my men checked and removed everything. We’re safe to talk.”

“Autry, we need your help. Where is your chopper? We need it; please help us get out of here,” Gordon begged as he approached Autry.

“You’re asking a lot, Gordon. Just you being in here is putting the Republic of Texas in a precarious position.”

“Damn it, Autry, they’re trying to kill me and Sam!”

“That might be the case, but it doesn’t have anything to do with Texas.”

Disgusted by his response, Gordon pushed past Autry and walked to the door. He placed his ear against it and listened. “It’s quiet out there.”

Samantha sat on the edge of the bed and shook.

Seeing the fear coursing through Samantha and the panic in Gordon, Autry came to a quick decision. He walked up to Gordon and said, “The chopper is located just east of here, maybe a five-minute drive.”

“Where’s the pilot?”

“You’re looking at him.” Autry said, standing tall.

“I didn’t know you were a pilot,” Gordon said.

“I’m not licensed, but I know how to fly,” Autry declared.

“You’re not inspiring confidence,” Gordon said.

“Well, I’m all you’ve got. Take it or leave it.”

Gordon gave Autry an odd look and asked, “What happened to putting the Republic of Texas in a precarious position?”

“It could be, but I’m not Texas. I’m Autry Lewis and I’m your friend. I never leave a friend in need.”

“Thanks, brother,” Gordon gushed.

“Give me one of those rifles and some extra mags.”

Happily Gordon gave Autry an extra M16 with five extra thirty-round magazines.

“Well, it’s not the most tactical, but it will do,” Autry said, stuffing the spare magazines into the pockets of his jeans and coat.

Gordon walked over to Samantha, who still sat on the edge of the bed, her head hung low. “How you holding up?”

“I’ll be fine. I’m just tired, Gordon. I’m tired of all the killing, all the blood and death and chaos. I’m just tired,” Samantha confessed.

“Me too.”

“Please promise me that if we survive, we’ll take the kids and leave, go as far away from these troubles as we can.”

He hated making promises while under duress, but he needed her in the best mental condition he could get, so he relented and told her what she wanted to hear. “I promise we’ll take the kids and leave, but first, we need to get home to our family.”

She nodded and stood up.

“You rowdy kids ready?” Autry asked.

Always one to give cliché comments when cued up, Gordon let it pass. Normally he would have responded with,
I was born ready
, but he didn’t think making fun or being cute was appropriate with Samantha there.

“We’re ready to go,” Gordon said.

The three walked to the door and stacked up.

Autry would take point, as he knew exactly where to go.

With a count of three, Autry opened the door and took a peek. “Looks clear.”

“Thanks again, Autry,” Gordon said.

With a devilish grin, Autry replied, “Let’s go break some shit!”

***

They entered the hall and sprinted down past the stairwell Gordon came from towards the opposite end of the hall where an additional stairwell was located.

Autry grabbed the handle and asked, “Everyone good?”

Gordon squeezed Autry’s arm, signaling they were ready.

Slowly, Autry opened the door and listened first.

Silence.

With the others close behind, Autry entered the stairwell.

Samantha closed the door quietly behind her.

They all stood for a second and listened.

“It’s too quiet,” Gordon said.

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” Autry said.

“Can we go?” Samantha asked.

“C’mon,” Autry said and raced down to the main floor. “This door exits out into a hall east of the lobby and near the gym.”

“What are we waiting for?” Samantha asked. She was nervous and wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

“Easy, missy, I need to explain where we’re going just in case we get separated,” Autry said.

“She’s just anxious, as we all are,” Gordon said, defending Samantha.

“We’ll exit right and head straight for a door at the end of the hall; that leads to the outside to a sidewalk. We’ll go left until it ends then onto a street and head right.”

“Okay,” Gordon said.

Autry opened the door but couldn’t see anything either way. “It’s pitch black, shit. Dude, I can’t see anything.”

Gordon understood his concern and asked, “How far down is the door?”

“Twenty maybe thirty feet,” Autry replied.

“You hear that, Sam?” Gordon asked.

“I can’t wait anymore. Let’s go,” Samantha said.

“Let’s go. We’ll make a run for it. You go, I’ll come out and provide cover if needed then will follow,” Gordon said.

“Okay,” Autry said.

Samantha grabbed Gordon’s arm and asked, “You’ll come right along, right?”

“Of course,” Gordon assured her.

“Everyone ready?” Autry asked.

“Let’s go,” Gordon said, his rifle at the ready.

Samantha switched places with Gordon.

“One, two, three,” Autry said and burst out of the door headed right.

Right behind Autry, Samantha raced out.

Gordon stepped out and pivoted left, his rifle raised.

It was pitch black, as Autry said. It didn’t make sense.
Why are the lights off?
Gordon thought.

Autry covered the distance quickly. Not being able to see clearly, he slowed down when he thought he was close and held his hand out in front of him.

With her left hand Samantha found Autry and placed her hand on his shoulder.

With his arms extended out in front of him, Autry found the wall and moved along it until he felt the door. Quickly he tried to open it but couldn’t. “Shit, it’s locked.” He tried again, nothing. Frustrated, he stepped back and kicked it.

Autry’s kick echoed down the hall. Gordon didn’t know what it was but by the sound assumed they had reached the door. He stood and took off.

“There’s something blocking it,” Autry said.

Bright, blinding lights suddenly came on, illuminating the hall.

Autry and Samantha recoiled from the lights, using their hands to shield their eyes.

The sudden eruption of light confused Gordon but didn’t slow him down.

“Everyone freeze. You can’t get out; you’re surrounded,” a voice boomed from far down the hall towards the lobby.

Gordon looked over his shoulder and saw guards, their rifles leveled at them. He stopped and brought his up.

“Put down your weapon. You can’t escape. You’re outnumbered,” the voice said.

Autry kicked the back door repeatedly, but it wouldn’t move. “Shit!” he barked.

If she was going to die, Samantha was going out fighting. She lifted her rifle and aimed.

“Put down your weapons,” the voice roared.

Gordon counted twenty guards. The person speaking was right; they were outnumbered. It was hopeless.

“Fuck it!” Autry said and brought his rifle up and shot the lock on the door.

The crack of the 5.56MM round penetrating the metal door bounced off the marble floor and wood-paneled walls.

“President Van Zandt, I appreciate what you’re doing. You’re a fighter, I respect that, but you’re also hardheaded and don’t know when you’ve been defeated. It’s over. Put down your weapons and surrender to my men,” Jacques said, his voice booming down the narrow hall.

Gordon looked for Jacques but couldn’t see him. The glare from the lights made it difficult to see clearly.

“What should we do, Gordon?” Autry asked.

Knowing his actions would lead to Samantha’s death, he lowered his rifle. “We can’t win.”

“We can’t give up,” Samantha defiantly declared.

“It’s over,” Gordon relented. He would fight if it was just him there, but with Samantha there he could only think of her. What aggravated him was this proved Jacques’ point: his weakness was his family.

“We can take them,” Autry barked, his rifle still leveled at the guards, with one directly in his sights.

“Stand down,” Gordon said.

Autry grumbled and lowered his rifle.

Heartbroken with the outcome, Samantha followed suit.

“Toss your weapons on the ground,” Jacques ordered.

Gordon looked at the rifle and for a brief second reconsidered.

“Put your weapons down and we will forget everything that happened. As you’ll see, we’re forgiving here in Western Canada,” Jacques boasted.

The faint sound of gunfire could be heard coming from outside and even inside from higher levels.

The guards out in front of Gordon looked around, unsure of what was going on.

“Four of you go bring them to my office. The rest of you go deal with that situation,” Jacques ordered, his voice showing concern.

Four guards headed for Gordon while the others headed towards the gunfire.

Gordon looked for Jacques, but he wasn’t to be seen. He had slipped into the darkness near the lobby.

The gunfire grew louder.

Samantha walked up to Gordon and took his hand.

He looked at her and said, “Whatever is going on, this is our second chance.”

Tucked snugly in Gordon’s waistband was a Beretta 92F 9 mm pistol. Ever so slowly he moved his right hand towards it.

Seeing what Gordon was doing, Autry blurted out, “I will need to speak with a representative in Austin immediately!” He began to motion with his hands and continued to talk, “Do you boys know who I am? I’m a two-time World Series champ!” He walked past Gordon and kept rambling.

With Autry distracting the guards, Gordon acted. With his left hand he pushed Samantha out of the way and snatched the pistol with his right. He raised it and let two rounds go immediately. They struck the guard closest to him.

Autry grabbed another guard and began to wrestle with him.

Gordon moved towards the guards. He pointed at another guard and shot him in the throat.

The guard clenched the entry wound and began to gag on his own blood.

Grunts and cursing from Autry and the other guard could be heard. They had gone to the ground and were grappling with a knife that Autry had pulled out.

The remaining guard pointed his rifle at Gordon.

Gordon saw the guard but knew he was too late.

A gunshot cracked behind Gordon and hit the last guard in the shoulder, causing him to discharge the rifle. The round whizzed by Gordon’s head.

Not wasting a second, Gordon put two more bullets in that guard, both striking him in the upper chest.

The guard went limp and dropped to the floor.

The bitter struggle on the floor Autry was experiencing had taken a turn. He straddled the man and thrust down with his knife.

The guard blocked Autry’s movement and the two were frozen at that point.

“You can’t win; you can’t beat me. I’m stronger than you; you won’t win,” Autry said, mocking the guard.

Gordon walked up and shot the guard in the head.

The deafening gunshot rattled Autry, who jumped off the dead guard. “What the fuck?”

“We don’t have time to fuck around and wrestle,” Gordon said.

“I had him though; you didn’t need to do that.”