(18+) Smooth Xscape (Complete)

Ch. 11: Pistol power

"Gun... Joe... Hurry... Get the..."

And clumsily, he hurried up to stand, while he searched his own body until his shaking hands grabbed our only advantage; the pistol.

"Step away from the lady!" he screamed. But there was nothing authoritative about it. If anything, if would might trigger someone to laugh until they die. But you don't laugh at someone holding a gun. Especially a person that quite clearly doesn't know what he's doing.

I quit vomiting long enough to elbow the Mexican in the stomach, and he croaked down while I jumped over to Joe. He turned around towards me, probably to hand me the gun, but...

"JOE! NOOO! DON'T POINT THAT SHIT AT ME?! HIM!" I shouted, well aware that he could easily pull the trigger unintentionally. But then, the Mexican jumped me a second time, and I struggled to keep his hands away from my throat.

A true gentleman, Gail... Who the fuck is he, to think that 'ladies first' also includes fistfights on board a hot air balloon?!

I pushed his chest to get away, and then tripped and fell against the half-wall that was the edge of the basket. And the man stumbled forward, madly determined to end my living days. I heard both him and Joe shouting, and probably also the other Mexican too, but all of them silenced when a loud 'pang' erupted through the air. And then the Mexican charging at me, tripped on my thigh, and fell head first over the railing.

"Holy cow, Joe..." I mumbled.
"You killed him."

All three of us stared at the man that involuntarily dived through the air, until he looked like a tiny dot, or a little stone, that disappeared into the ocean underneath us.

"I-I didn't...! Honest to God, Missy. I didn't shoot him!"

The intensity in Joe's voice increased rapidly, and both of us started yelling at each other, only to be cut off by the remaining Mexican. Both me and Joe reacted by reflex, and I ripped the gun out of Joe's hands and pointed it against the man, that I soon discovered was more concerned over a mechanism of the burner that made heat to keep us airborne. Something was wrong.

"¡Esta roto! ¡Esta roto!" he yelled, and his eyes were large in fear. Me and Joe looked at each other shortly, before we walked closer to him.

Keep your distance, Gail! It might be a trick to steal your gun!

"What's wrong?" Joe asked, adorably concerned and eager to please, as always. But we both learned soon enough, that this was not a distraction to overpower us. Joe had shot and damaged a valve stem on the burner...!

"¡Esta roto, y no se que hacer...!"

All three of us looked at the damaged apparatus, and then at the slowly growing landscape in front of us.

"Uhm..." I started.
"How big are the chances of not reaching shore?"

I turned to the nervously sweating Mexican, who looked like a question mark.

"No entiendo lo que dices."

Of course it had to be the man who actually knew English, that fell overboard...

I cursed inwardly and pointed at the balloon and then at the shore. But then my eyes darted right back at the pear shaped ball.

There's a hole in the balloon, goddamnit!!! Joe shot a hole in the fucking balloon!

I groaned in increasing anxiety, which made both men look in the direction I was staring.

"Oooh, shit..." I heard Joe whisper, and the Mexican crossed his heart and folded his hands to start praying. So I slapped the top of his head.