There were six masked figures right in front of Taylor. Six to two. Not a fair fight, but who cares?
'Who are you?' Leo cried out again, squinting at the darkness. He turned to his sister, who was gently making a patting motion in the air. He knew that it meant to be silent, but he blinked when he saw Taylor's hand moving, like she was ushering someone. Catching Taylor's eye, he mouthed the words, Are you sure? She nodded.
Giving an A-OK sign by joining his thumb and forefinger together, Leo started talking to distract the intruders. 'What's the matter, huh? Suddenly scared outta your wits? And I thought you were so daring back then!'
Meanwhile, Taylor raised her Beretta 501, and placed her eye at the scope. She found her target, and squeezed the trigger. She shot the first guy in the chest. As fast as lightning, her hands worked the bolt, manually extracting the first casing. Just as quickly she shot the next figure, this time aiming for the leg. She took the other three with shots to the leg as well.
Just as Taylor was going for the last guy, she heard a loud click, and cursed inwardly. Her magazine was out of bullets. Her hand went for the spare magazine while her other hand removed the empty one. In one fluid motion she replaced the magazine and dropped the other onto the ground. It made a loud crack.
Out of the blue the last guy came forward, twisting Taylor's hands so that the gun, which had been her ally until then, trapped her hands behind her, causing Taylor to flinch in pain. The masked man pulled gently, just enough to tug Taylor towards him, back against his chest. There was a loud crack of gunfire, and both looked up to see Leo aiming his gun at them. The man chuckled softly.
'Leo certainly remembered what I taught him,' he said, kissing Taylor's cheek. Taylor's breath caught in her throat. She knew that voice! It continued. 'But I expected less than what you gave. I didn't expect you to shoot us all, Red. I underestimated you. You've grown. For the better.' He let her go, and she turned around to face him. Pulling off the ski map he wore, Taylor looked at Chris Perry. 'Chris? What are you doing here?' she shook her head wearily, showing for the first time signs of weariness; a touch of fatigue crept into her voice.
Chris looked back at her. 'Hey,' he chided. 'You've been dragging again, haven't you?' He didn't recieve an answer. 'Tay...'
'Fine!' Taylor shot out. 'I haven't been sleeping for two days just to plan this, okay?' She lowered her voice. 'I've waited so long for this chance. I can't afford to lose it.'
'Okay,' Chris said, taking a step back. 'Just let me come with you. No, no, you don't get to overrule it,' he said, holding up a hand to stop the stream of indignation from Taylor. 'You let me come, I'll deliver him to you. Personally.'
'What about them?' Leo's voice broke through, instantly reminding Taylor and Chris that they weren't alone. Chris had a sneaking suspicion that Leo was listening in on the conversation. Then again, who can resist? He looked at the bunch of figures lying on the floor, and realized with a start that he forgot about them. 'Guys,' he called. 'You can get up now.'
'Thank you God!' someone muttered. Taylor strained her ears. 'Wait. Danika? What are--' she did a double take as she came face-to-face with the rest of Code X. 'Daniel...Brodie...Nathan...Sam...What the hell--?' she pounced on Chris. 'What have you done?'
Chris was, to give him credit, looking calm and at ease. 'We're here to assist you in your mission.'
'This is not a freaking mission!' Leo interrupted hotly, drawing attention to himself. 'I'm taking charge here! My sister and I will do what we do best. We don't need your help.'
'He's right,' Taylor said, her voice becoming cold once more. 'We don't need your help.'
Everyone looked at Chris. He was, after all, the one who called the shots. 'Taylor,' he began. 'Look, I know how much this means to you, but just let us do this with you.'
It seemed to take an eternity, but after exchanging several words with her brother, Taylor nodded. 'Okay. You're in. All of you.'
'So,' Brodie asked as he pulled out his Glock. 'What's the plan?'
Leo gave a smile that showed all his teeth. 'We get in, and kill the man who killed my mom. Easy-peasy.'
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