6. Cash

6

CASH

My body jerked as the bullet pierced my side. He fucking shot me.

I stumbled back, pressing my hand to the wound. I could feel the blood rushing from my body. "You fucking asshole."

He had the nerve to grin at me. "It had to look real. You should probably get that looked at."

I was about to pull my other gun and give him a matching wound when a look I hardly recognized passed over his face. Sadness. I swallowed hard as I watched what looked like years of memories flood his mind. I allowed the same to happen to me, thinking about that day at the river, our high school years when he really struggled to break free from me, and the final day I saw him before I went off to basic.

We'd never been best friends. In fact, we were more like enemies who always had each other's backs. But he was still my brother. My only brother, and the way he was looking at me, he was telling me goodbye. Moisture filled my eyes as he gave a final nod and turned away.

I watched him run out the door with Zavala and hoped we'd given him the incentive needed to take Rafe to the island, but we weren't done yet. "Fox! Get the boys on it!"

"Righty-O, boss!"

I turned and nearly collapsed, forgetting that I had been shot. "Son of a bitch! Someone get me a fucking gauze pad!"

FNG ran over to me, leaping over fallen concrete before settling on his knees beside me. "Fucking hell. He shot you?"

"It's sort of our thing. Just slap some gauze on it. We need to move."

"You should really have this looked at."

"The job's not done. We need to drive them out of here."

He shook his head and got to work. As soon as he was done, we headed for the door. Things were growing a little fuzzy, but I wasn't stopping until we ensured that Rafe got on that yacht. Even then, Zavala could kill him and dump his body in the ocean, but I had to hope we were giving him the push he needed to take Rafe with him.

I got in the passenger seat with Fox in the driver's seat. He hit the gas just as FNG slipped in the back with his umbrella in tow. I turned in my seat and raised my eyebrows in question. "You have a gun."

"Right, but this is my trusty weapon," he said, holding up the umbrella. "I never go anywhere without it."

"It's not a weapon."

"Right, but I always take it with me."

"Maybe you should rethink that."

"Why? Fox always carries his knives."

"Knives can kill someone. An umbrella only blocks water from hitting you."

"Au contraire. I have killed with my umbrella and I will kill again."

Rolling my eyes, I turned back around in my seat and picked up the handset, turning it to channel three. "Rae, have you got eyes on them?"

"Roger that. Can I shoot him?"

"You're not shooting him."

"He shot you," she pointed out.

"I know he shot me, but the point is that he's supposed to get to the island alive."

"How about just a nick?"

"No shooting him," I said forcefully.

"Boss, can I point out again that he just shot you? I mean, it's only fair that we return the favor."

"If anyone's going to shoot him, it's going to be me."

"You know, I'm liking this plan less and less."

"You aren't supposed to like it. You're supposed to do as I say and get them on the fucking yacht!"

"Geez, boss. You know, getting shot makes you really crabby."

FNG leaned forward between the seats. "I second that. I think you're much more amenable when you've just been stabbed or slightly maimed."

"I disagree," Fox spoke up. "I actually think he's more deadly when he's been shot."

"That's not the same as being grouchy," FNG said.

"No, but we want a deadly Cash, not a sissy."

"When have I ever been a sissy?"

"Boss, I hate to point it out, but you've lost your edge since you met Eva," Fox said.

"Yeah, I have to agree," FNG nodded. "You were a badass sniper and now you're all soft."

"Name one time I've gone soft."

"You got Max and Christa together."

"That was for the good of the company!"

"You hardly ever take Betty out of your pocket anymore," Fox said. "That alone should concern you."

"What concerns me right now is that I'm stuck in a car with you two!"

"Technically, we're in an SUV," Fox said. "I prefer the minivans, but to each his own."

"Boss, are you planning on doing anything?" Rae said over the speaker.

I looked out the window and saw Zavala's car slowing. "IRIS, you're up."

"Why does he get to have all the fun?" FNG whined. "You know?—"

A car exploded up ahead right as Zavala's vehicle was passing. I flinched at the force of the explosion, watching as Zavala's vehicle flipped twice before landing on its side. Luckily, the morning rush hadn't started yet, which kept casualties to a minimum.

I grabbed the handset. "IRIS, what the fuck was that?"

"Oops."

"Oops? We weren't trying to kill them!"

"Well, do I get points for being really effective?"

"No! It's not a points contest!"

"Right, but we got the point across. We will kill them. That's what you wanted."

"Yes, but I wanted them to be able to walk away from it. Rafe needs to get on that island."

"Boss, you said to pull a Slim Pete. That's what I did."

"In a Slim Pete, the other people still walk away."

"Maybe they'll hobble. Do you want me to go check it out?"

"No," I snapped. "What I want is for you to follow the plan."

"You know, I'm not feeling the love. Maybe you want to find a different EOD expert."

"Maybe I will."

"Wait, but you're going to let me do the next one, right? I already have it set up and it's not gonna be one you want to miss," he chuckled.

"IRIS."

"Yeah, boss?"

"I said a small explosion at the docks. You made a small explosion, right?"

"Define small."

"Not big."

"Right, but if I blew up a building, that would be big."

"There are no buildings at the docks."

"Exactly. I'm not blowing up a building."

"What are you blowing up?"

"Boss, if I told you that, it would spoil the fun."

Fox got my attention. "Boss, they're on the move."

I watched from where we were pulled over as Rafe dragged Zavala out of the car and hoisted his arm over his shoulder. Together, they hobbled away. They wouldn't get far like this. We were going to have to help things along.

"Rae, how about giving Rafe a helping hand."

I heard her sigh over the radio. "Fine, but when this is over, I want a new computer."

"Pull this off and I'll give you two."