Street Justice Read Online Free PDF Page A

other side of the room, was Brian. Steve guessed once locked out using the door to the kitchen he’d decided to come through the back door only to have it closed by gunfire. Brian’s gun was out, his back was against the crates and his eyes searched wildly. Steve saw his eyes flick toward him, his brain realized who it was and his arm started to move. But Steve’s bullets were already on their way. The double tap volley entered Brian’s body and it went limp. For a heartbeat, the light still flashed in Brian’s eyes, but only for one heartbeat.
    Steve never saw Brian pass, he was already moving. Mack was still around and now he didn’t know where he was. Still the best option was to move. As he was thinking he needed a direction, he noticed a door at the back of the room. Either Mack was already heading that direction and Steve could cut him off or it gave him a good place to start his sweep. Steve ran in a crouch with a speed most men couldn’t run while fully standing. Left, right, right, left, right, left, left. Steve zipped around the crates in as random a pattern as he could, always keeping the Smith & Wesson in front of him.
    Two obstacles from the door, Steve noticed a cabinet, much like the one he’d hid behind after entering the room, against the right hand wall. The doors were slightly ajar and it was dark inside. But it was the open door that bothered him. Shipmen were particular about closing and battening doors. Especially in an engine or engineering room. His mind mentally highlighted a line between the door and the opening, and knew it would be an easy shot.
    Steve doubled back upon himself and threw his body back the way it came, just as a bullet stitched a box behind him. Tiny splinters exploded and peppered Steve’s left side. Before he hit the ground, Steve fired two rounds toward the opening in the doors. Whether by accident or planning, Mack moved the doors at just the moment and the two .387 rounds rang against the metal surface, creating pretty silver craters but not doing any damage.
    Steve hit the ground with a thud on his right side. Through a stroke of luck he could see the doors to the cabinet and let the Colt loose. Not knowing exactly where Mack was, he didn’t worry about being efficient with his bullets and fired off a half dozen. The first bullet blasted through the door doing little, but the second bullet hit home and Mack started to pitch forward. The muzzle flash created a strobe effect as if taking a picture of the scene. The momentary pictures showed the cabinet, the room, but as Mack’s body fell it almost appeared as if it was trying to escape as it moved out of the frame. Steve popped up and moved immediately toward where Mack had landed. Mack lay there, with his head cocked back at an impossible angle. He’d fallen into a space between the cabinet and the closest crate which was big enough to fit his body, but not his head into. If he hadn’t been killed by the Colt’s bullet, he was certainly dead now.
    Steve stood up and headed back up into the ship’s kitchen. He headed back through the tiny hallway and out to the deck. As he cracked the door, he saw Adrian sitting on a mountain of fishing gear. Making a pistol with his thumb and forefinger, he threw open the door and said, “Pwew, pwew. You’re dead.”
    Adrian swiveled, laughed and feigned falling backward, grasping his hands toward his chest. “Ahh, you got me.” Adrian sat back up, hopped off his seat and walked toward Steve.
    “You know if I had been a bad guy, I could have shot you,” Steve stated.
    “Any bad guys left?” Adrian asked.
    “Nope,” Steve replied.
    “I knew, so I knew I wasn’t in any danger,” Adrian reached out his hand. Steve shook it, both men smiled. “Good to see you again Steve, it’s been a while.”
    “Yeah, too long, watcha you been up to?” Steve asked.
    “You know, sitting at a desk, tracking cyber crime, the same ‘ol.”
    “And getting in over your head,” Steve