Dominque opened the car door silently, grateful that the car was so old the keys were mechanical rather than electronic. No beeps to betray her. She’d removed the bulb from the overhead light to make sure that it wouldn’t draw any attention as she got into the car.
She took a breath, wondering if she should have taken care of the guards before she did this. It was a calculated gamble; if she failed, she would lose any chance of getting Danjuma inside. This was about getting him in, no more, no less. At least not yet. Another breath and she started the engine, quickly reversing out of the space without turning the lights on.
She slipped the car into first gear and pressed the cigarette light into place. “One,” she said and hit the accelerator, keeping the count going. “Two,” the men at the brazier had turned to face her, surprise lit up on their face by the flames. No one reached for a weapon. “Three.” The car picked up speed, hurtling towards the gate. She pushed the clutch and put the car into neutral. The car began to slow slightly, still moving forward. “Four.” She opened the door and dived out, rolling away from the car as the first shot was fired. It was aimed at the car, not her. “Five.”
The car exploded the moment before it hit the gate, but it was enough to destroy the metal bars, twisting them in a gout of flame as the engine exploded, showering debris in every direction.
Dominique scrambled away to shelter closer to the other vehicles. It wasn’t the safest place to be as pieces of hot metal rained down, clattering down against the bodywork of the other cars, but it offered some protection. She dropped low, sliding under a jeep a heartbeat before the worst of it came crashing down, and rolled out the far side, ready to move again when the danger had passed.
She could see at last one body of the ground.
That meant there were three armed men out there looking for her.
In a few seconds they’d be joined by countless others, come to see what the fuck was going on. Men like this, their first impression would be that they were under attack. They wouldn’t think the enemy was inside the walls. That was what she was banking on. She slipped the gun from the waistband of her jeans, ready to get a shot of her own.
Getting these three out of the way before others joined them would make it easier for Danjuma to get inside. She had no doubt they’d have brought plenty of firepower with them and be more than capable of dealing with any resistance Boss and his defenders could muster.
It took her a moment to see the two men on the raised platform.
One of them was spraying bullets wildly, barely in her general direction. He had no idea where she was. The other was trying to get down the ladder, but the blazing remains of the car were making it difficult.
The explosion had brought down the huge double gates, but the remains of the car were still burning in the gap, making it as effective a barrier as the iron gates had been. Danjuma would have to deal with it; there was nothing she could do about it without getting herself killed.
Her priority had to be staying alive.
Until they got there, at least.
The fourth man had been standing near the brazier. He’d moved to the side of a building, taking cover, but because he had no idea where she was, he’d left himself exposed.
He crept out into the open, gun held out in front of him like something out of a crappy movie, aiming in the same direction as the guard on the platform without a clue what he was supposed to be aiming at.
She could have taken him, but any shot from that position would give her away to the others, even if she took him out. But she wasn’t about to lie there doing nothing until they found her. That wasn’t how she worked.
She rolled out from under the Jeep. Keeping to the shadows between vehicles, she took a shot and ran, heading back into the alley between the bunk block and the wall without so much as pausing to see if she’d hit.
She reached the building where she’d left Travis snoring, and scrambled up onto the windowsill, then hauled herself up until she was on the sloping roof. The metal creaked impossibly loudly beneath her weight as she moved to the brace beam that supported the roof and spread herself flat upon it. Despite the noise she’d made, no one had noticed her climb. There was no one in her eye-line on the walkway.
As she watched, a handful of men stumbled out of the accommodation block. They were confused, pulling on clothes, with adrenalin pulsing through their veins. What she didn’t see were weapons, which surprised her. Instinctively, she’d have gone for hers, that they didn’t, said more about them and their sense of false security.
A glance in the direction of the gate, and she saw the car still blazing.
She also saw the man she’d taken a shot at, slumped on the ground.
He might not be dead, but he wasn’t ok either.
Three down, maybe. That was something. But it wouldn’t be long before the drunks realized the threat and responded in kind, collecting their weapons, and shooting at anything that moved.
By that time, there would be too many of them for her to make a difference.
Danjuma needed to get there quickly if she was going to get out of there alive, and even then she wasn’t counting on it. Better she made sure the girl got away. She could do that for the man she loved.
She hadn’t even thought about that word before, when it came to them.
And now was not the time to let emotion get in the way.
She had a job to do.
One of the men started to walk determinedly towards her, but the fool didn’t look up once.
No doubt he was coming to check on the strangers. Their car was burning inside the gateway, after all.
There was no sign of Travis.
It was hard to imagine him sleeping through the chaos she’d unleashed, but the plan was for him to stay in place until she came looking for him.
She took a breath and took aim. The shout would betray her position but might be the difference for the American.
She gritted her teeth, steeling herself.
Her aim was true.
She wouldn’t miss. Not from here.
She was about to pull the trigger when the air was filled with noise.
She pulled the trigger anyway.