The breath bursts from my lungs when I slam against the hardpacked dirt, but it’s not a bullet that takes me down. There’s no heat radiating through my body, no spilled blood. Jay lies on top of me, shielding my body, and tries to shield my gaze as I turn to my left and find myself staring into Colum’s Bishop’s dead eyes.
A trickle of blood slides from his forehead and drips onto the dirt, and another spreads from his shoulder and stains his shirt, gushing forward and pooling just beside my hand.
Voices scream in my ear; Eric shouts that their target is down. Spence shouts that Jay is down. Alex and Oz scream for everyone to stop shooting. And all the while, Jay drags my face back to his and cups my cheek. “Don’t look over there, Sugar Plum.”
“Are you okay?” Scrambling out from beneath his heavy body, I race to my feet and drag him up. “Jesus, are you okay?” I grope at the stupid suit and try to find the blood. “Did he hit you, Jay?”
“Only two shots,” Kane says in a low voice. “Both are in Colum’s body. He didn’t even get a shot off.”
“Fuck!” Alex rages at Kane. “Fuck! You weren’t supposed to do that, Bishop!” Alex storms across the space and contaminates his scene. “You weren’t supposed to shoot! You’re supposed to stay clean for Jess.”
“I didn’t make the kill shot, Chief.” Kane lets his Glock dangle by the tip of his finger. “I was only disarming him. You made the kill shot.”