The Edge Of Justice

The Edge Of Justice Chapter 24

He collapsed on top of me, writhing in pain, holding his knee, and I flipped us over and drew a knife, placing it against his larynx. “You can either shut up of your own accord, or I can shut you up. Which one will it be?”

He quieted instantly, hatred burning in his eyes. I removed my hand and allowed him some breathing room. “Now, it seems like I'm looking for a man named Malcolm. You wouldn't want to save your life by telling me where I can find him, would you?”

“I will say nothing!” he snarled, and then spit up at me, a glob of mucus landing on my mask.

I smiled and leaned closer. “Then it seems like we get to do this the fun way.”

Adder raised an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged. “The fun for me, way then.”

With a curt nod, Adder moved up, setting himself in the intersection so he would be able to warn me of anyone approaching, and I got to work. Hauling the man up into a sitting position by his collar, I pulled a zip tie from the small pouch on my hip and tied his his hands together. Something landed at my feet, and I looked down to see a small length of what looked multicolored wire. “Ooh, a new toy,” I said, bending down to pick it up. I recognized it right away from the colors, and smiled again, nodding my thanks to Adder. “Do you know what this is?” I asked the now immobilized man.

He shook his head, still defiant, so I explained. This is “PrimaCord, also know as detonation wire. Usually this stuff is just for setting off a series of charges, but this one's special. Five hundred grain cord, which would cut through granite.”

Not giving him time to move, I wound the cord around his bicep and fixed a fuse cap to the end, and looked down in time to see a match land at my feet. “Now, you'll tell me what I need to know, or I'll blow your arm off. See, if I cut it off, the veins and arteries will probably close quickly, which means someone will have a chance to save you if you're found in time. With this,” I wiggled the match, “the arteries will be shredded, and it'll take about three minutes for your heart to pump all of the blood out of your body, which will be the most painful three minutes of your life.”

He opened his mouth to speak, and I closed it quickly with a quick jab to the jaw. His head kicked backward, bounced off the stone wall and came right back. “If you're going to lie, or tell me you wont say anything, I don't want to hear it,” I said, my tone low. “Death, or cooperation, it's your choice.”

He was visibly shaken now, his eyes darting between the PrimaCord and the match, and I knew I'd get the information from him. “Follow this hallway down to the end, turn left, and follow that path to the end. There is a wooden door. His office is behind it.”

“Thank you,” I said, standing to my feet and bringing a finger to my ear. “Did you get all of that?”

“I did,” Stacey replied. “And Dexide just changed your rules of engagement now that we know where Malcolm is. Now you're to kill everyone you come across.”

“Everyone?”

“Everyone.”

She said something else, but I was no longer paying any attention, because Adder caught my eye and motioned down the hallway to the left and held up two fingers. I nodded and motioned for him to stay put, removed the det-cord from the guard's arm, and popped the needle out of my glove. I scratched the man sitting at my feet and watched his eyes close, then positioned myself at the edge of the hall, waiting for the two to come closer.

The slowly moving shadows showed they the men were armed, so I removed two throwing knives from my waist holster and waited till they came a bit closer. Leaning out quickly, I threw both knives in quick succession, one of the blades embedding itself in the target's eye. He went down screaming, while the other knife bounced off of the second man's chest and clattered to the floor. Adder leaned out and fired one round that slammed into the man's chest, knocking him to the ground, and I rushed up, kneeling next to the man with the ruined eye. I reached toward the knife to remove it, but Adder's black boot slammed down onto the butt of the handle before I could touch it, sending it directly into the man's brain, shutting off his screams as quickly as shutting off a light switch.

A hand wrapped around my ankle, and I whirled to find the other man still alive, and realized why my knife had bounced off. A vest made of thick Kevlar covered his torso, and I could now see Adder's bullet still on the outside of the garment. Another pop, and the man's head exploded, and I sighed in frustration. Standing up, I went nose to nose with the Marine, my tolerance of him quickly turning to dislike. “Neither of them needed to die,” I growled.

Adder looked unfazed, setting his rifle to hang from the sling on his shoulder, and spoke for the first time. “The one with the eye was already dead. If you had pulled out the knife he only would have screamed louder, and you would have stabbed him. The other one, well look for yourself.”

I did, and now saw the pistol in his hand, the pistol I guessed was aimed at me when Adder had shot him. I quickly changed my opinion of the man in front of me again, and nodded. “And furthermore,” he added, “you need to drop this “I don't want to kill anyone unless they deserve it” bullshit. That's what almost got us all killed in the mess, and it's what will get us both killed down here, so either you man up, use the skills you have, and kill any mother-fucker that get in our way, or I'll shoot you myself. As far as I'm concerned, you're a Marine now, and you will act like one. Are we clear?”

I nodded, not letting him see the smile under my mask. “You know,” I said as we turned toward the hall the guard had directed us down, “I kinda like you.”

“This is the military, Ghost. Don't ask, don't tell.”