Breaking Meredith (Disciples 4)

“Coming in. I’m behind the building on your left, do not shoot,” James shouts into the mic.

More bullets come streaming out of the plane door but thankfully I don’t hear any metal hitting cement that sounds like a grenade.

Andrew’s vehicle comes screeching to a stop behind my own with barely two inches to spare between the bumpers.

Hopping out of the SUV, he yanks a black backpack down with him as he charges over to Johnathan and me.

“Let me in there, Simon. You get with James,” Andrew says.

“Tourniquet on leg, serious wound on lower left abdomen,” I say

“Got it,” Andrew replies. “Let me see what you got going on under the vest.”

James comes skidding to a halt on his knees as he sidles up next to me just as two men lay down long bursts out the door of the plane.

“Motherfucker!” I hiss as I lift myself up and shoot over the engine hood of the SUV.

I hit one of the men in the thigh, and James doesn’t let me down as he fills the man full of holes as he tumbles down the stairs.

“How many do they have in there?” James asks.

“Should be four more. Four guards, Asad, and Meredith. Not counting pilots,” I say in a rush.

“Both pilots are dead, and I got a headshot on a guard. That makes three guards,” James adds.

“Any kills from you, Thad?” I ask through the radio

“One. Through the side window. I saw Meredith pulled back towards cockpit,” he replies.

Two guards, Asad, and Meredith.

“They’re going to be desperate. I wouldn’t be surprised if Asad doesn’t have some kind of reinforcements coming though,” James says.

“Agreed, we need to go in,” Thad says quickly, “But I’ll need space and time to move around.”

“Lucifer, we’re heading in,” I say into my mic.

“Be careful. We’re getting permissions to land now. The air tower is having issues. They are calling the local law enforcement,” Lucifer says over the radio.

“Damn, we’ll hurry,” I say.

“We need to airlift Johnathan, guys,” Andrew says from my side.

Looking down to the two men, I frown. Johnathan’s eyes are closed and he’s growing pale. At least he’s breathing though.

“Get him out of here on the helicopter,” I say to him.

Moving to the rear of the Escalade, I motion for James to follow me. “Let’s get a move on. They’ve been quiet too long.”

Nodding his head, he moves with me towards the back of the plane. Slowly we inch our way forward. I eject the half spent clip and put in my last one.

This better be a quick fight.

Reaching the stairs, we stand just below them as we look up into the open hatch.

James says, “I’ve got a flashbang.”

“Good, toss it then we head in,” I say.

Nodding his head, he pulls it out of a pocket on his tactical vest. Tugging the pin out, he squeezes the handle so it doesn’t go off yet.

He lifts his hand and says, “On three.”

Nodding my head, I watch as he counts down on his fingers.

Three… two… and he stops with one finger still up.

He cocks his head to the side like he’s trying to think of something.

“What is it?” I ask quietly.

“Did I really hear you tell Andrew to ‘embrace it, bitch’?” he asks just as quietly.

Oh, for the devil’s sake… of all the fucking things…

Rolling my eyes, I nod my head with a grin. “Yes, James.”

“Sweet!” he shouts with a laugh just as he tosses the flashbang grenade into the plane.

Ducking our heads down, we both slap our hands over our ears to muffle the sound.

When I drop my hands I hear a man shouting in anger and then Meredith emits a high-pitched scream of pain.

Enough is enough.

Charging up the stairs, I rush through the opened hatch as quickly as I can.

To my left, towards the cockpit, is a black-haired man holding a pistol out towards me as he tries to control Meredith and blink his eyes at the same time.

Lifting my rifle, I watch Meredith go dead still. She doesn’t want me to hit her.

Just as James enters the plane a shot rings out from the back aimed at him. I hear a loud thud next to my head.

The man holding Meredith pulls the trigger of his pistol three times before I’m able to make my one shot.

I feel the bullets slamming into my chest three times.

Each one feels like a fucking elephant just kicked me.

The man starts to drop to the ground with Meredith getting tugged to her knees in the process.

Shit.

I feel more kicks and something else.

I’m fucking hit too.

How many of us will die here on this fucking shitty tarmac?

Meredith is screaming over the gunfire raging behind me. James begins to shout Asad’s name out as Thad charges into the plane’s hatch.

I stand up and stumble towards the body of the man holding Meredith down.