Assassin's Apprentice: Chapters 38 & 39

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38.

The two bullets pierced the side of the chest, one beside the other. But they were angled upward so that after they shattered rib bone and punctured a lung, they drilled up through the heart, severing the aorta and causing instant death.

Terry Elfman’s dead body flopped heavily on top of Thomas, pinning Thomas’s right hand to the table. In his right hand was a small gun the size of a computer mouse.

Harper still lay curled into a ball on the floor, soaking in the thin layer of dirty water. Surprised to discover she was not the one shot, she lifted her head to see Laine cry out in a shrill scream: “Terry! Terry!” Then, as if that were the only expression of emotion she would allow herself, Laine’s face hardened with purpose and she turned away from Harper to aim her gun at Thomas’s trapped body.

Thomas twisted and bucked, trying to work his hand free to aim his miniature gun. But it was no use. The tangle of duct tape ensnaring his chest and arm, combined with Terry’s dead weight blanketing him, prevented much movement. He’d never get free in time.

Now, Harper! She told herself. Now is your time to save the day.

Harper dove for Laine’s legs, tackling her behind the knees. The examination room was so small that, as she fell, Laine struck her shoulder against the drawers she’d just finished searching. Her gun flew from her hand, bouncing off the doctor’s metal stool and skittering across the floor. Harper lunged, body-surfing across the wet floor toward it. But she was stopped short when a strong hand clamped onto her ankle and began dragging her backward, the gun still a couple of feet out of reach. Harper flipped herself onto her back and kicked wildly at Laine’s hand, but the skinny waif was stronger than she looked. And more agile. She blocked or dodged most of Harper’s flailing kicks, managing to deliver a couple of painful hammer blows to Harper’s shin. Then, so quickly that Harper had no time to defend herself, Laine spun around on her back and piston-kicked Harper straight into the crotch with her heel. Harper grunted as a burning pain shot up the center of her body and sizzled in her brain. While Harper fought to remain conscious, Laine lifted her leg straight up into the air and brought it swiftly down, heel first onto Harper’s rib cage. Harper felt a bone crack.