*Chapter 21*
The halls glowed a dull red from the emergency lights. For Karma, the halls might've been as bright as ever. She could even see some things better, like where there was even a little adjustment of light. If anyone was carrying a flashlight up ahead, she would notice that change even from a distance.
Scanning behind them, she looked around for Gears. Rea was behind her. Gears trailed after them. Rea was protecting the doctor. His compact rifle was at the ready. Karma tried to spot anything that might tip her off to a trap. Fletcher never did like traps. He'd once said that they were too time-consuming when you could walk up and shoot people. Just because he said that didn't mean that he wouldn't set any. It had been a long time since she'd worked with him, so she wasn't a hundred percent sure what he would do next. If it was the same old Fletcher, then he would shoot out an electrical panel and start mowing people down.
They turned down the next hall. She took the lead. Directly past the cement column, she heard shots. The sound reverberated off the walls. Behind her, Rea pressed Gears to the wall. The area in close proximity to them looked safe, but the noise was loud. The gunfire was coming from behind them.
Rea took the radio from Gears. "Status report."
She heard a muffled voice followed by static.
Rea nodded. "The base is being attacked at two points—where the trains enter and at ground level near the wind generators. Ground-level is under control."
"Two points?" Karma whispered.
"Fletcher brought friends."
"He doesn't have any friends," she muttered.
Silently, Karma waved to indicate that Rea should take point. She put the doctor between them. The assassin part of her wanted to ditch Gears and Rea. She felt driven to hunt down the shooter, but she told Rea she would stay with him. She wasn't going to let him down now. As much as she recognized that Rea could take care of himself, she knew that looking after Gears was like herding cats. Rea was putting faith in her. She wouldn't desert him.
Rea came to the next corner of the hall. He angled only a small portion of his body around the smooth stone. The radio was passed to Gears. He lifted his weapon. Behind her, Karma heard more shots. Several pops bounced off the walls. Semi-automatic.
Wishing they had better cover, she ran into Gears. The doc came to a complete stop. He was cowering behind Rea.
"Karma," Rea whispered. "Who's ahead of us in the hall? I can see movement."
Karma bent around Rea. She dropped to a knee to make a smaller, lower silhouette. She peeked around the cement that capped the corner of the wall.
As soon as she saw Eric, she tucked her head back. She adjusted her rifle to aim at the floor.
"It's Eric."
"Is he armed?" Rea asked.
Karma wished she knew what he was thinking. Was he not trusting Eric now?
"No. He looks worried."
Rea gave a curt nod. He stepped slowly around the corner.
"Who's there?" Eric called out.
"It's just Karma, and me, and Gears," Rea responded.
Eric's shoulders relaxed. "Thank God."
"I'm not thanking God yet," Gears scoffed.
"What's going on? The lights are out, and I can't find anyone."
Eric was right. They hadn't seen anyone. Actually, with the kind of men she'd met on this base, Karma expected to see some of them cowering by now. Either that or ignoring the situation with the "we're all gonna die anyway" attitude.
"You should've stayed in your room. It'd be safer," Karma said.
"I know. That's what Ken told me to do, but after he left and didn't come back, I got worried. I was afraid he was hurt or that maybe..." He paused. "I was feeling like I was waiting for someone to bust in and kill me."
Karma asked herself what she knew about Ken. Rea had mentioned him before, but what did she really know about him? It wouldn't be totally outlandish if he were someone Fletcher was paying for information about the base. She should've asked more questions about him sooner.
She moved out of the way as Rea asked if Eric's dog was safe. As she kept a lookout down the hall, Eric assured him the pup was fine.
"We need to get to the electrical room. We can fix the panel, and it'd be safer than standing in the hallway." Rea's sentence brought her head out of her thoughts about Ken.
"I know some electrical wiring. I can help," Eric volunteered.
"No. You stay here. We have Gears."
"I'm not an electrician." Gears pushed up his glasses. "I can stay, and Eric could go. I'll hide under his bed."
Karma almost laughed at the picture of Gears under Eric's bed but stopped herself.
"No." Rea checked his ammo.
"Don't dump me here. Please. I can help, really," Eric begged.
"Karma, what do you think? Should we take Eric with us?" Rea asked after a second.
That surprised her. He asked her for her opinion. She thought carefully about what she wanted to say. She remembered all the things Fletcher said when he was setting up this deal with her. He said he was going to handle Gears and Eric. At the time, she thought maybe Eric was the client, but now she wasn't so sure. In fact, now she was starting to question all this work to kill Rea.
Why had Rea been the target in the first place? She never figured that out.
"I think you need to ask Eric if he hired Fletcher to kill you."
"I never hired a hitman!" Eric put his hand to his chest like he was having a heart attack. "I came here for help. I told you that. You of all people would know if I was lying."
Rea nodded. Karma figured that was him indicating Eric told the truth.
"Fletcher said he was going to handle Eric and Gears. That could mean one of them hired him to kill you, or they're on the hit list, too. This whole time I've been looking after you, but maybe they're involved in some way."
"I can't afford a hitman," Gears tossed out casually.
Karma, Rea, and Eric all turned to look at Gears. The doc was pulling on gloves while trying to hold the Beretta under his arm.
When Gears noticed the silence, he looked up.
"I'm not saying I would." Gears' brow furrowed. "I didn't mean like I'd do it. I didn't hire anyone. I'm just saying I don't have a bunch of extra money, and if I did, I wouldn't hire Fletcher. Besides, it appears he isn't a successful hitman. Shooting out a panel and killing everyone isn't a well-thought-out plan. I'd hire someone better if I had that kind of cash. Maybe, I'd suggest poison."
The silence continued. Everyone kept staring.
"For Pete's sake." Gears looked even more uncomfortable. "Stop staring at me. I never hired anyone. I like Rea. I like the base. I don't hire assassins to kill my friends. Stop it!"
Rea scrubbed a hand through his hair.
"Gears didn't hire him, Karma." He looked at her. "And we have to get moving to the panel. We can talk once we aren't sitting wide open in the hallway. Eric, you can come."
Karma nodded, but Rea didn't start walking again.
"I want to know why you didn't tell me any of this before."
She tried to read Rea's expression. Did he think she'd kept this from him intentionally? Actually, she hadn't thought about it until now.
"I was focused on protecting you. I didn't think Eric or Gears could be a target. I never knew how they were involved. They were names Fletcher gave in passing."
Another round of gunshots ended her explanation. Gears ducked behind her. More than one weapon was fired. They needed to find a safe place for the doctor and Eric. Rea grabbed the radio. He checked with Brice. After the brief talk, he tipped his head toward the next walkway.
"We need to move," he commanded. She agreed.
Rea took point down the hall. Eric and Gears hurried after him. She kept her ears and eyes open.
Karma scanned every corner they approached. More noises filled the halls. A man hollered. Several shots were fired. The radio kept up constant dialog. Rea put the volume on low.
When they reached the maintenance area, they heard more gunfire. It was closer this time. They all came to a halt. Gingerly, she moved ahead of Rea. She peeked down the last corridor. On the right side was the electrical room. A large man had his back to her. Something about him seemed oddly familiar. The stranger was trying to open the door. Another man flanked him with his gun at the ready.
She crouched next to the wall and aimed her rifle while she looked down her sights. Next to her Rea dropped to a knee.
"Who is it?" Rea whispered in her ear. "Is it Fletcher?"
"No, it's not Fletcher. It's two men trying to get into the electrical room." Karma studied the large man's frame. "He has dark hair and he's tall." Karma stopped speaking and took a deep breath.
This was unbelievable.
"It's Ken. Don't shoot him. He works for me," Rea said as he stood.
"That's not Ken. That's Keith, my father."
***
When I first worked on this, I have many different endings. I am happy that I went with this one. It always amused me. C.M.~