Full Disclosure (Nice Guys 2)

Cody angled his body to ram his elbow into the window. Only then did he see the flash of metal as the sun caught the gun barrel being aimed his way. Shit! Cody went for the dive, but he was too late. The first bullet struck him somewhere in the chest, knocking the breath from his lungs as glass shattered around him. He was forcibly shoved backward, slamming into the back of the seat. The second bullet ripped through his shoulder, and the searing pain rendered him powerless.

Cody fell to the side. He couldn’t get enough air in his lungs, and the pressure in his chest was excruciating. His body wouldn’t cooperate. He tumbled forward, and picked up a faint clicking noise from underneath the vehicle. The darkness began, filling in from the sides. Shit, his vision blurred. Mitch and his family filled his thoughts. The lack of oxygen proved too much. The darkness took him.

~~~

“Fuckin’ shit!” Mitch bolted up, yelling at Aaron. “Where is he? Where the fuck is he?”

“He was still in the parking lot when the phone went dead,” Aaron said. Mitch heard the intensity in his tone, and Aaron was slamming the keys to his keyboard as he typed. “Hang on, Mitch. I’m patching you through to 9-1-1.”

“What’s your emergency?” Mitch heard a dispatch officer say. On the need to get to Cody, he was up and out the door. Airport security had stayed close by, no doubt trying to keep an eye on him. Whatever the reason, he was thankful to see them. He needed immediate help.

“I’m Deputy US Marshal Mitch Knox. I’ve been on a telephone call where a local state trooper in Austin, Texas, is being kidnapped. I believe there were shots fired,” he told the dispatcher a little desperately before turning to the airport security. “I need a ride.”

“My truck’s outside,” the security guard said.

“Do you know the address of the incident?” she asked. Aaron, who was still on the call, spouted out the information he’d gotten before Cody’s phone went dead.

“They made it outside his apartment complex. Cody was loaded into a vehicle when I heard a possible shot and the phone went dead,” Mitch added. He could feel the panic taking over, making him helpless. Shit, he was so fucking worried about Cody. He forced himself to remain calm. He had to use his head, think rationally, when all he really wanted to do was scream.

“We have officers on their way. Can you identify the trooper involved?” the dispatcher asked.

“His name’s Cody Turner,” Mitch answered and stumbled as he said Cody’s name. Fuck, what had happened? And his next most immediate thought was how he’d just found Cody. No way could he lose him now. That sent a crashing blow to his heart.

“Oh no,” the woman finally said. For the first time in this conversation, she left the standard communication dialog she was required to give to each caller. He could hear her advising the officers en route to the scene. “Sir, my boss is taking over the call.”

Thank god the security guard ran. Mitch followed, ducking around to the arrivals entrance. The airport security’s white truck sat right out front. Mitch entered on the passenger side and then thought better. He scooted all the way over, taking the driver’s side before the guy made it to his side of the truck.

“I’m driving, get in. I need your phone.”

Mitch activated the speaker and dropped his phone on the dash as he waited for dispatch to continue the call. He started the truck and took the phone being offered by the security guard. He dialed Cody’s number and pushed send.

“You keep pushing this number until someone answers,” Mitch said, giving the guy a hard, no-nonsense look. Seconds later, he peeled out of the parking space, taking corners faster than he should.

“Deputy Marshal Knox, I’m Officer Carmichael,” a new voice began, and he immediately interrupted him.

“I’m at the airport. I need an escort to the scene. I’m heading south leaving terminal…” Mitch looked around. “Where the fuck are we?” Mitch bellowed. The fucking guy should have seen he had no idea where he was. What the fuck!

“Terminal C,” the guard said. “Still no answer.”

“Terminal C. I’m heading south,” Mitch advised.

“Just a moment,” he heard the new dispatcher say. “All right, we have an officer en route to you. What are you driving?”

“A white F150. It’s airport security,” the passenger answered loudly for Mitch, totally redeeming himself. In a softer tone, he said again, “Still not answering.”

“Fuck!” Mitch yelled, the anxiety of the uncertainty was getting to him. He couldn’t lose Cody. Not now. Had he just listened to Cody’s last few minutes alive? His mind spun out of control. Had he heard Cody being killed? There was no way he knew that for sure. Colt survived the attack, so had the Greyson kid, Mitch reasoned, trying to calm himself. He refused to consider that neither of those men had been shot at point blank range. Mitch said a silent prayer, begging for Cody’s life.

“Deputy Marshal, there should be a patrol car on you at any minute,” the new dispatcher informed. An Austin PD patrol car pulled up beside Mitch and pointed forward through the window. Mitch nodded. The officer turned on the sirens and punched the vehicle forward. Mitch did the same as they flew through the streets of Austin toward Cody’s complex.

~~~

Mitch pulled into the entrance of Cody’s apartment complex where the gates were now draped with yellow crime scene tape, marking the area off. The officer that stood at the entrance, keeping everyone out of the parking lot watched him, yelling as he motioned him to move on.

Mitch threw the truck in park and got out, still gripping his phone, and he worked his wallet out of his jeans. The officer was on him, but he held his badge in the guy’s face, ignoring him completely. He forced himself to concentrate, to focus on Cody, not the havoc that now stole his coherent thought.