Chapter 6 - Close Quarters
The muzzle of the silenced pistol leveled directly at my chest. The passengers around us froze in terror, paralyzed by the sudden shift in reality, their eyes widening as they scrambled toward the opposite end of the car.
“You’re making a mistake,” I said, my voice steady, projecting calm while my muscles coiled like springs.
“The only mistake was letting you walk out of the desert alive,” the operative replied, his finger tightening on the trigger.
He lunged forward to grab my jacket, but I dropped my weight instantly, sweeping my foot hard against his leading ankle. Combined with the sudden sway of the train car as it settled against the platform, his balance broke.
He stumbled forward, crashing heavily against the metal handrail.
I didn't hesitate. I drove the reinforced base of my heavy duffel bag directly into his jaw with all the rotational force of my core. The impact echoed like a gunshot in the confined space.
The pistol clattered from his hand, sliding across the slick rubber floor beneath the seats.
He recovered faster than expected, throwing a brutal right hook that grazed my cheek, sending a sharp burst of heat across my skin. I ducked inside his guard, driving my elbow upward into his solar plexus.
He gasped, all the air rushing from his lungs in a single violent expulsion, and collapsed onto his knees.
Before he could reach for the backup blade concealed at his belt, I delivered a swift, decisive kick to the side of his head. He slumped sideways onto the floor, unconscious.
The train doors remained open, warning chimes beeping insistently.
I grabbed my duffel bag, scooped up the fallen pistol, and stepped out onto the platform just as the doors slid shut behind me, sealing the unconscious operative inside the departing train.
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I crossed the subterranean corridor at a fast walk, taking the service stairs two at a time until I emerged into the cool midnight air several blocks away from the station.
My cheek throbbed where the punch had grazed me, but there was no time to tend to it. I pulled out the burner phone and tapped out a rapid, encrypted text to Carter: Package secured. Intercepted on transit line. Heading to the lake rendezvous solo.
