36. Liam

                                    

                                          


                          
Left, right, then left again. We closed in on each other. I grabbed the barrel of the gun with one hand and pushed left, ripping his wrist the opposite direction with the other. I flipped it over and pressed the magazine release. Before the man's fist could connect to my jaw, I kicked the magazine between his legs before he could notice and jumped back. His left arm lifted and I got ready to dodge again.
                          
The knife came at me so fast that I only saw a silver glint. I leaned back. The steel cut across my face. The burn started at my right ear and ended across my nose. Blood poured out; I could see it gathering under my eye and I stumbled back, ducked another blow and threw the useless gun as hard as I could at his face. He knocked it aside with one arm. I backed away, still facing him as he advanced.
                          
My face was drenched in blood now. The man cut down as I jumped right. I scurried down the hall, just barley avoiding getting slashed again, and turned left. The next hall was long. I ran as fast as I could. The next shots echoed out just as I turned right. Heavy footsteps sounded behind me. Guards had been alerted.
                          
I hit another T intersection and paused. I needed to go down, but there was no stairwell. The elevator was locked with a handprint scanner that couldn't be broken, just like the facility in California.
                          
The shouts go louder, and just as I made my decision to go right again, a hand latched around my shoulder and pulled me around the opposite corner. I didn't catch myself in time and hit the ground. The air was knocked out of my chest; I managed to catch my head before it could bounce off the tile. I covered my ears as gun shots and empty shells rained down above me. It was so loud that I couldn't hear anything besides the ringing if I wanted to, and I winced at the metallic smell of blood hit my nose. Someone dragged me up by the straps of the vest. I ran a hand over my right eye to clear my vision.
                          
A tall woman pulled her cotton mask down and began changing out the clip in her gun. The man ducked around the corner and disappeared. I shook my head, trying to get the buzzing to stop. The woman holstered her gun and put a hand on my shoulder. She defiantly didn't work for Colton Incorporated. She had a badge hanging around her neck; I had caught sight of the man's sheriff uniform. The woman shook me, and there was something familiar about her intense stare. "Are you alright?"
                          
"Fine," I tried to shake her off, but her hands just tightened.
                          
"Where are the others?" The man came back around the corner. He tossed a rifle to the woman, who caught it and slung it over her back. "Where's Gemma?"
                          
"I was looking for them but I got sidetracked." I glanced around the corner. Six of the guards were down, but the man in the suit was nowhere to be seen.
                          
"Can you shoot?" The woman asked. Before I could answer, she shoved her Beretta into my hand. "Just stay behind us and watch our backs. This is going to get ugly."
                          
They blew through anyone that stepped in front of us. I didn't even have time to aim before the path was cleared. It was hard to keep up; I was dizzy and the blood hadn't stopped pouring out of my face.
                          
The woman found the door first. It was almost invisible. She slowed to a stop and pressed a rectangular panel on the wall. The door popped open and she smirked at her partner. "I told you there were secret doors."
                          
He rolled his eyes and stepped through, gun drawn. I followed close behind. It was a stairwell, and we began our journey down. Every few feet, I turned to check behind us. I stumbled when I missed a step and the woman caught me. Her mask was back on and I didn't know if she was annoyed or smiling. She helped get my balance back. "You're doing good, Liam. Did Gemma give you a communicator?"
                          
I would have felt less stupid if Aristotle came from heaven and backhanded me. I held the button down. "Can you guys talk yet?"
                          
"Hurry up!" Gemma shouted almost immediately. Someone shouted behind her. "I'm going up the stairs now but everyone else is trapped in with Colton!"
                          
I repeated the message. They looked between each other and then picked up the pace. "Keep coming, we're on the way."
                          
"H-"
                          
The message was cut off abruptly. I bolted ahead, propelled by fear as a scream echoed up through the narrow passage.