My gun was still pointed the other way. I tried desperately to bring it around, but my arm felt leaden and impossibly heavy, like I was dragging it through thick mud. His finger twitched toward the trigger. I wasn't going to make it.
And then, when he was surely just milliseconds from firing, a percussion of loud cracks rang out from the corner of the room. Plaster floured the air, and the man's expression went loose. As the red punctures on his chest began to blossom out across his shirt, his legs caved underneath him, and he fell limply to the floor.
For several moments, all I could do was stare. I'd been resigned. In my head, we were already dead, and it took a while for me to understand that that wasn't the case.
I turned slowly to Sophia. The gun I'd given her was still trembling in her hands. Every part of her was shaking in fact. She'd emptied the entire clip, only hitting him twice, but that was all it had taken.
The pistol dropped to the floor. "He was going to shoot you," she said woodenly.
That jolted me back to reality. Glancing over at each body once more to check for movement, I stumbled over and wrapped her in my arms. "I know. I know. You had no choice."
She nodded slowly, although her eyes were still distant. She was the strongest woman I'd ever met, but killing is something you can never be prepared for. It changes you. I couldn't believe I'd put her in that position.
I pulled her against me tightly, stroking her hair. She was in shock, and really needed time to recover, but that wasn't a luxury we had yet. For now I had to comfort her enough so we could move.
The fight felt like it had taken hours, but I knew from experience it was probably only about fifteen seconds. Still, we had to leave. There was a good chance that even through the solid walls someone had heard the shots. The police would likely be on the way, and spending several hours clearing up the mess would only serve to leave us more exposed. Then of course there were our assassins to consider. Things had just gone up to a whole new level, and I doubted that whoever was responsible would suddenly back down just because they'd lost this fight. More men could be on their way. We had to get somewhere safe.
"Sophia, look at me. We need to move now, okay?"
She turned slowly and stared for several seconds, before eventually blinking several times and nodding. "Okay. I'm okay. Let's go."
After scooping up our two weapons, as well as those of our assailants, I led her into the study. "Just getting some supplies," I said, removing my emergency duffel from the bottom of the cupboard.
She didn't reply.
Unzipping the bag I surveyed the contents; two changes of clothes for each of us, cash, phones, passports, and a laptop computer. I'd hoped to God we wouldn't have any cause to run, but I'd been prepared nonetheless.
I withdrew one of the phones and powered it on. It was a cheap, prepaid model, bought from a convenience store. In other words, it was utterly untraceable to me.
I guided Sophia back towards the front door, pausing briefly to snap pictures of the two men. Even as my brain struggled to process what had just happened, the logical part of my mind was still firing on some level. We couldn't stay, so I had to collect whatever evidence I could.
The air outside was warm and heavy. Raising my gun, I scanned the yard slowly, searching for any further danger. It was unlikely — it made more sense for our enemies to just stay together and ensure the job got done — but I wasn't taking any risks.
The garden appeared to be empty.
I started moving towards the gate with Sophia in tow. I could see how hard she was trying. The expression on her face was constantly shifting from frightened confusion to grim determination as she battled to keep her emotions in check.
As we passed the security guys' car, I couldn't help but glance over, already knowing what I'd find. From a distance nothing had looked wrong, but up close, it was Tony's shocked expression that greeted me. He wasn't moving. The red misting on his skin was lit up vividly in the moonlight like a poster for a horror film. Aaron would be around the back somewhere, in a similar state. I felt a hollowness building inside me, but I shoved it to the back of my mind. Not now.
Sophia followed my gaze, and let out a little cry, but I reached out and seized her chin, pulling her eyes to mine. "Don't look." She trembled a little in my grip, her eyes glistening and impossibly wide. "Don't look," I said again. And after a moment, her expression hardened and she gave a curt nod.
"We're going to take a taxi," I said, as we headed up the street. The house was only a five minute walk from the main road. It would be easy to flag down a cab at this time of night. "We need to get somewhere private. For all I know, the car is bugged. I need your phone too."
Her brow furrowed slightly, but she pulled it from her purse and handed it over. I threw it, along with my own personal one, into a bush. "Can't be too careful." I handed her the second prepaid. "Use this instead. I've got one too. The number is already programmed in."
To her credit, she simply nodded again. I was partially awed and partially sickened at how quickly she was becoming used to this.
As I'd suspected, a cab was easy to find. I directed the driver towards Newtown, towards Sophia's house. That wasn't where we were really headed, but I had no idea how many resources our enemies had anymore. I wanted to keep them on their toes.
Once on King Street, we jumped out and hailed another taxi. "North," was all I said to the driver.
Sophia took my paranoia in stride, sitting and staring out the windows, hugging herself lightly despite the warmth. I didn't know what I could say, so I stayed quiet too.
The ocean fanned out in front of us, as we drove out over the Harbour Bridge, but my mind was racing too fast to appreciate the view. When we arrived at the mini-CBD that is North Sydney, I ushered Sophia out once more and then, picking a random direction, we began to walk. I figured if I did everything as randomly as possible, it made the chances of someone guessing where we'd gone almost impossible.
Two blocks later we found a hotel. It wasn't particularly big, nor were the rooms particularly nice. Sterile was probably the best word to describe it. Cheap furniture, cream coloured linen, and the slightly sickly scent of lemon detergent in the air. People didn't come to this part of town to holiday. They flew in on rushed overnight business trips, their only requirements a clean bed and a well-stocked mini bar. The mere fact that we were a couple checking in together drew a raised eyebrow from the concierge.
The moment I closed the door behind us, something seemed to drain out of Sophia again. She sat down on the bed and turned to face me. "I thought you said that place was safe."