Page 83 of Coercion

Whatever he’s about to say, I don’t hear it. All I hear is the raging blast of something as it explodes around me. My mind registers what it is, my body moves instinctively to protect Nico, to pull us both to the ground as it feels like an inferno suddenly burns above our heads.

A high pitched shrieking rings in my ears.

I can’t do anything but wait until the carnage stops. Only, when it does, the sound is replaced by something infinitely worse. All I can hear are moans, men in pain, men dying.

I get to my feet, throwing off the shit that’s landed on top of me.

“Nico.” I say, yanking away what looks like half the damned ceiling.

“Help me up.” He says, holding his hand out.

I haul him to his feet and for a moment we just stare around us. The bar is gone, half the walls have collapsed, the air is thick with smoke and I can see the flames as they lick up all the spilt alcohol.

“We have to get out of here.” I say.

Nico nods but he looks off, like he has a concussion.

At what was once the doorway, he goes to walk out and instinct steps in, I yank him back just as we hear the sound of a machine gun going off.

“The fuck?” Nico growls, ducking down even though he’s now far out of the line of sight.

I pull my pistol out, taking aim. If I hit the bastard then another replaces him.

Nico pulls his own gun, resting against some miraculously still standing fragment of the wall and he starts shooting.

“We need back up.” I say.

He nods back but he doesn’t take his eyes off whoever is out there and he doesn’t stop shooting back.

I pull my phone, calling for backup, though I suspect others already have. You can’t seriously expect to blow up Nico’s bar and not have anyone react to it.

Out front someone moves.

I see the shadows, I hear the shuffling.

I don’t have enough damn rounds in my pistol to deal with a full attack.

Someone tries to sneak in around the blown out wall. I slam the back of my pistol into their face, then put a bullet in their head. They collapse as I steal the assault rifle from their now dead grasp.

“They’re coming.” I shout.

Nico looks across at me before his eyes dart back. I don’t know how big this mag is, how many rounds I now have to play with, but I don’t have time to check. I take aim, blasting the shoulder of the first arsehole. Whoever is behind him clearly gets the warning and they change tactic, spreading out, coming at us from all sides.

I shoot one after another, ducking down whenever they shoot back. I don’t look for Nico. I don’t take my eyes away from any of the bastards in front of me.

One comes running at me like he’s fucking Rambo and I take great delight in shooting through his stomach. That’s what you get for thinking you can simply walk up to me and kill me. Like it would be that easy.

Gunshots ring out around me.

I know more of our men are now alert, are now shooting back. Finally we’re actually defending ourselves.

As I glance over at Nico, I can see him caught in a shootout but he’s not noticing the man creeping up behind him.

I take aim, pull the trigger and nothing. No bullet. No fucking ammo. I fling the weapon, snatching at a piece of shrapnel and I launch myself at the bastard, yelling as I do.

We land in a heap, narrowly missing the gunfire from whoever is still shooting. Nico turns, staring at us and I bury that piece of metal so far into the man’s throat he instantly starts gurgling up blood.

Nico pales as he realises how close the man got.