~Chapter 24~

Nathan cautiously entered the freezer, MP5 at the ready and eyes darting all over.
“You would have to be damn insane to hide in here.”
The frozen carcass of a cow just to his left shifted slightly and, completely out of reflex, Nathan riddled it with bullets. The frozen pieces of the cow fell to the floor in chunks, revealing nothing behind it.
Nathan relaxed slightly, and that was when the guard stepped out from the back of the freezer and fired three shots with his P229.
“AWW! SHIT!”
One of the bullets left a groove in the top of Nathan’s shoulder, cutting through the black material of Nathan’s shirt.
Nathan fumbled with the clasp on the holster at his side and, finally, drew his Colt and placed a .45 bullet in the man’s shoulder.
The Guard spun around and landed face-first on the cold metal freezer floor.
Nathan approached and placed the barrel of the Colt against the back of the man’s neck.
“Screw you.”
The gun roared and the man jolted, then went still.
Nathan swept the rest of the freezer and, finding nothing, walked out of the newly-made frozen tomb.
Wraith met him at the door and looked questioningly at Nathan.
Nathan shrugged, “Nothing to worry about, just had to take care of a stray.”
Lexy looked over Nathan’s shoulder and saw the man lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.
“Um… how did that go?”
Nathan slipped the clip out of the handle of his gun and, reaching into his pocket, pulled out three .45 caliber bullets.
“Kinda messy, but could have ended worse.”
He manually loaded one bullet into the pistol and replaced the two bullets in the clip. He slid the clip home and holstered it again.
Emma approached and stared at Nathan’s shoulder.
“Nathan, you’ve been shot!”
Nathan reached up and touched his shoulder. He grimaced at the blood that covered his fingers.
“Damn… ‘spose yer right.”
Ignoring the injury, Nathan switched his MP5 to the other hand and looked to Wraith.
“We ready to go?”
Wraith nodded and the team moved out of the kitchen. The Informer halted them just before they reached the bridge leading to James’ headquarters.
“Okay, listen: there is a security booth at the end of the bridge, just before you get to the door. We need to clear the booth before we can move on to the command center.”
Nathan nodded, “Good deal. Let’s go.”
“Emma, stay at the rear.”
Emma nodded and moved behind Lexy.
The team moved forward, Nathan taking point.
“Damn… this is when Max would have been useful. Where is a good marksman when we need him?”
Wraith reached behind him and took a large gun from a holster on the back of his belt. It had an extended barrel and a silver scope attached to the top.
“Desert Eagle, .44 Mag rounds, set up for target shooting. Think you can remember any of your Marine sniper training?”
Nathan grinned and slung his MP5 over his shoulder. He accepted the pistol and the two extra 9-round clips from the Informer.
Nathan checked the action and clip. Satisfied with the weapon, he slid the extra clips into his back pocket and glanced up at Wraith.
“How many in the booth, yah think?”
“Ten at the most.”
Nathan nodded, “’Ah only got 9 shots, so you guys better be right on my ass in case there is ten of ’em.”
Lexy hoisted her machine gun to her shoulder and nodded to Nathan.
“Don’t worry, we got your back.”
Nathan gripped the pistol in a two-handed stance and took off down the bridge at a run.
The first guard appeared at the door of the booth and the Desert Eagle boomed once. The man fell and another took his place. Nathan squeezed the trigger once again and the second guard sprawled over the body of the first.
Nathan stood over the corpses and, taking up the wide stance of an expert marksman, fired repeatedly into the booth.
Seven shots, six bodies.
“Damn, LEXY!!!”
Nathan threw himself back on the ground as a hail of bullets from the remaining two guards opened fire with their M4’s.
Lexy and Wraith ran up and each dropped a guard.
Emma looked down at Nathan, “You okay?”
Nathan got to his feet and, his shoulder paining him, grimaced.
“Like hell I am.”
He handed Wraith back the Desert Eagle and the clips.
“Nice gun, Josh know you have that? I recognize the Shark insignia on the grip, that’s one of Josh’s guns.”
Wraith smiled slightly, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Nathan rolled his eyes, “Whatever. Come on, people, one more door to kick through.”
They turned to face the large double-door.
Emma gulped, apprehension at meeting James Hughes again filling her heart with dread.
Scarlet looked over at her, “You okay?”
Emma nodded, then shook her head.
“I… I don’t know. I don’t want to see him again.”
Scarlet nodded, “I understand… you can wait out here, if you want.”
Emma glared at the door, “No. Let’s do this.”
Nathan and Wraith strode forward and, taking half a step back, kicked the door open.
The room was a large, circular bank of computers with a raised platform in the center of the room that looked like the bridge of a spaceship from Star Trek.
James Hughes stood in the center of the platform with his arms clasped behind his back like Captain Kirk. He spun around as the door crashed open and stared at them in shock.
To one side, sitting in front of a computer, was Cipher. He stared at them through his yellowed glasses, eyes wide, fingers frozen over his keyboard.
Nathan’s MP5 spat twice and two guards to their right fell in crumpled heaps to the floor.
Wraith took care of the guards that appeared to their left, and then began to walk around the room, looking over the banks of buttons, flashing lights and blinking screens.
Nathan stepped over the body of the two guards he had shot and approached Cipher. He stopped a few feet away and leveled his .45 at the Hacker’s head, eyeing the .9mm sitting next to the Hacker’s workstation.
“Go for it, I dare ya.”
The Hacker didn’t move.
Nathan winked at him, “Smart choice.”
Emma stopped a few feet behind Lexy who was staring up at James.
James stared back, his face paling slightly as he saw Emma.
“Emma, you will regret this.”
Lexy spoke up, her voice soft but forceful.
“No, James, this is something you will regret. We know about your ‘Plan’, and we cannot allow you to carry it out.”
James stared at her with a look of disgust.
“You cannot… Do you know who I am!? I am James Hughes, Director of the Board, leader of the most powerful criminal empire to grace the United States since Al Capone! You have no say over what I do or do not do! Who the hell do you think you are!?”
Lexy had always been a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable admitting she was married to the heir to the Taske Empire. But as she stared into the wild eyes of James Hughes, confidence quelled the hollow uncertainty building in her chest. Her realized there was nothing to wrong, nothing to be ashamed about the power her name gave her. The only thing to be ashamed of was what she could do with the power, should she chose too.
“I am Lexy Taske, heiress to the Empire you claim to control through my marriage to Josh Taske, son of Sean Taske and the one the Underworld fears as the Sharktooth.”
James face paled slightly as Lexy took a step towards him, her weapon at her side, her eyes locked with his.
Panic began to seep into James’ voice, “There is only four of you! You can’t stop me! You won’t stop me!”
Lexy shook her head, “I might not be able to stop you, but I am not alone here. Give yourself up, James, if you don’t then when Josh gets here…”
“Josh Taske!? Josh Taske is here!?”
Lexy nodded, and that was when everything straight to hell.
Everything seemed to slow down, everyone seemed to move so slowly. But Lexy seemed to move the slowest. She watched in horror as James reached behind him and drew a shiny silver pistol from behind his back. She watched in fascination as he pointed it straight at her, and pulled the trigger.
The muzzle flared and the sound of the gunshot filled the room. Lexy could almost see the bullet coming towards her.
She thought she heard another shot ring out, but then Wraith was in front of her and, as if a part of some morbid still-movie, Lexy saw the Informer’s body jolt and saw blood spatter into the air as the bullet pierced the man’s chest.
Emma saw Wraith take the bullet and she ran forward screaming. She raised the P90 in her hand and, her vision blurry with tears, poured her entire clip into James Hughes’ body.
Running forward, Lexy caught Wraith as his body slumped to the ground. She stared into his fading green eyes, frantically trying to think of what she could do.
“Wraith, you shouldn’t have…”
Wraith smiled up at her, “Eh… Don’t worry… You have Josh, kids, something to live for… *cough* …Besides, my life ended years ago.”
Tears streamed down Lexy’s cheeks, “Wraith, no… you can’t go, we still need you!”
Wraith’s eyes closed, “No… you have all you need.”
Those were the final words of Wraith, the man who didn’t exist.