She shook her head and walked toward the door. “I can’t.”
—:—
Gunner heard the sound of gunfire the second she opened the door, dove to cove her, and pulled her back into the room.
He fired when he saw the tip of a gun edge at the turn to the elevator.
From what he could tell, there was only one gunman. There was nowhere to go from
the corridor the shooter was in but by way of the elevator. There were no rooms, no stairwell.
He eased down the hallway, staying close to the wall, with his gun pointed directly at the corner. He may not be able to hit the person firing, but if he saw the gun again, he’d hit it, and in the moments directly following, he might be able to make the turn fast enough to kill the bastard.
When he heard the elevator’s ding, he ran forward, reaching the spot where the shooter had been just as the door came to a close. He pressed the button again and again, and then watched as it descended floor by floor.
Earlier, when he thought Raketa had left, he’d slipped the earpiece of the mic off and set it on the table. He pulled his phone out instead, calling for backup.
He ran back to the room to check on Raketa while he listened to the phone continue to ring.
“Where is that sonuvabitch?” he seethed.
Raketa’s eyes were wide when he walked back in the room to find her gun leveled at him.
“Oruzhiye?”
Gunner nodded.
“He’s alive?”
“Yes.”
“Iisus Khristos,” she muttered, lowering her gun.
“We need to leave. Now.”
“There’s someone following me,” she told him. “From the embassy, but I think he might be UR.”
“He’s MI6, but that’s not important right now. We have to go.”
Gunner led Raketa the opposite way of the elevator and to the stairwell, calling for help while they made their way up.
When they reached the roof, Gunner kicked the door open and held Raketa close while they watched a helicopter land.
“I thought you were dead,” he said when he saw the man flying it.
“I thought you might be too,” he responded with a distinct English accent.
“Raketa, meet Pimm Torosyan.”
“We’ve met,” said Raketa.
“Not officially,” said Pimm.
“No. Not officially.”
“Where are we headed?” Gunner asked once they were in the air.
“We have to make a quick stop to refuel, but I heard you fancy islands.”