Page 34 of Justified
“Get in here, we need to double up our efforts,” the guard said, which was exactly what I wanted.I came in, locking the door behind me.“We can’t stay here, we’re too vulnerable.”
“I agree,” I said, then shot him in his leg.
“Motherf—” he said before passing out.
I sighed.The only disadvantage I had attacking at this time of day was the lack of darkness to cover me.I thought I would have had an easier time infiltrating then, but who knows?He might have had even more security at night, so it was now or never.
“Don’t move!”another guard yelled.He was joined by two more.
Damn, how many guards did this motherfucker hire?!I went full out, taking their bullets as I fired back, rendering each one unconscious.One of the guards managed to get a direct hit to my skull and I fell back, crashing hard to the floor as blinding pain shot across my face.
“Ahhh shit!”I griped from the searing pain pulsing through my brain at the moment.
Thankfully, my super-healing came into play and the pain didn’t linger more than a few seconds.It was enough time for more guards to approach.I rolled out of the way as they fired their weapons at me, then braced myself for the pain as I stood up, taking aim.I shot my darts at the guards as I took their bullets to my chest, shoulders, and legs.
With those guards down, I took to the stairs, making my way through the mansion.I heard the floor creaking and knew someone was coming my way from around the corner.I pressed myself against the wall and waited until he came into view.I grabbed his weapon with one hand and wrapped my arm around his neck with the other.
“Where’s Walter?”I demanded.
“Fuck you, Jones,” he spat back.“You’re never going to get out of here alive.”
“I don’t want to kill you, but I will if you won’t tell me.”To prove my point, I kicked his leg hard enough to break his tibia bone.
“Ahhhhh fuuck!”he cried out.
I could actually see a white shard of bone poking out of his pant leg and knew that shit had to hurt.He screamed again as he thrashed about from the pain, but my grip on him didn’t budge.“Want your other leg broken?How about total blindness?I have no problem removing your eyes.”
“Fuck you!”
“Trust me, the man isn’t worth it,” I said, then I slammed him down on the floor and he landed hard with a loud groan.I grabbed his arm, bending it back, then chopped his elbow at the joint, shattering the bone.
“Ahhh, Jesus Fuck!Ahhhhh!”the guard screamed.
“Tell me what I want to know or end up in worse shape.Where is he?”I demanded.
“Shit, fuck… he’s upstairs,” the man said through spit and tears.
“Where at upstairs?”
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Fucking useless,” I said as I shot him in his shoulder with a tranq.As I made my way upstairs, I reloaded my gun with another tranquilizer round.I kicked down every closed door I came to in the hallway, then cleared the room.It wasn’t until I got to the fifth door that I heard whispers.I stood back, then kicked it open to a barrage of gun fire.I ducked back behind the wall after the first round, then braced myself before leap-rolling into the room.
The remaining guards continued firing at me, which would no doubt draw attention to any other guards who may be nearby.I had to end this now.I stood up, taking the bullets, which sent me back a few paces, but then I steadied myself and powered through, ramming one of the guards, which sent him crashing through the closet door.I rolled over into a prone position, shooting two of the guards who were shooting at me, knocking them unconscious.The guard I rammed was done for as he lay in a broken heap on the floor.I stood up, and there was one guard left who was protecting Walter.
“You’re one of those Enhanced Humanoid freaks,” the guard yelled.
EHS, Enhanced Humanoid Species, was the actual term.Something the government had come up with since the discovery of people with exceptional abilities.
I nodded.“Yeah, I am,” I answered, aiming my gun.He shot at me but I ducked and took my shot, hitting in him the leg and, a few seconds later, he was out of the fight too, which left me alone with my target.Finally.I stood up and looked at Mr.Darring trembling in his shoes like the coward he was.He was staring at all of the bullet holes in my uniform, which did resemble swiss cheese.I was glad it wasn’t my normal costume, those things were expensive to replace.I stepped closer to my target and he held his shaking hands out as if to stop me from moving forward.
“I—I can pay you money,” he said as his first line of defense.
“Fuck you,” I spat, then shot him in his neck with my last tranq dart.That meant if anyone else attacked me, they were getting the real thing.I walked over to Walter’s body, lifting him up, and tossed him over my shoulder.So far, so good, as I made my way through his house, passing by all of his unconscious security detail.I made it to the garage.The keys to the cars were in a locked locker, which I broke with ease.Time was of the essence now, because I had less than three minutes before the power cut back on.I took the keys to a Ford SUV, tossed Walter in the back, and climbed in behind the wheel.
By the time I got to the gate, only one guard stopped me.“Hey, what’s going on at the house, Jones?Is everything okay?”
I didn’t bother to play the game anymore.Instead, I punched the shit out of him, sending him crashing into the security booth.The guard slumped to the ground with blood pouring from his lip and nose, which definitely looked broken.I stepped out, walked to the booth, and pushed the button to open the gates, then climbed back into the SUV.This was probably one of the most difficult extractions I’d ever performed, but at least it was successful this time, if not still a little sloppy.
