Gears jogged down the hall. Eric was right beside him. Both men clutched weapons in their hands. As happy as he was to see the two of them, he was also furious. Gears and Eric didn't need to be in the middle of this. They needed to be safe.
"I told you two to stay where you were. What're you doing here?"
They came to a halt in front of Rea and Keith. Eric held up Keith's radio. Rea didn't even know they had it.
"Keith left his radio on. You said you needed Gears. We heard you."
Rea's eyes spotted a shooter who turned the corner behind Gears and Eric. Rea snatched up his gun. The handle was sticky with blood. He came to his feet over Keith.
"Down." Rea shoved Gears to the floor. The doctor dropped next to Keith. Eric did the same thing. Rea was thankful his friend was wearing a vest. Still, he should've never left the safety of the electrical room.
The stranger behind Gears shot. A bullet hit Rea in the left arm. He ignored the pain. He returned fire. His bullet struck the gunman in the chest. He fired two more shots. They hit the stranger in the head. Rea's eyes shifted to the doctor. His friend was bent over Keith. Eric helped him. They looked unhurt to Rea. He exhaled. He needed to get them all to safety. He also needed to help Karma.
Gears glanced up. "You were hit."
"I'm fine. Look after Keith." Rea gripped his gun. He disregarded the burning in his upper arm.
"I'll take care of Keith." Gears didn't look at him again. "Go help your trigger-happy girlfriend."
He didn't know if he should leave Gears. His eyes jumped to Eric and then to Keith.
The old man smiled. "I'll babysit. I was shot in the leg, not the hand." Keith held up his pistol. Rea nodded.
He was desperate to see that Karma wasn't hurt. He started to jog after her. He quickly recalled where she'd gone.
When he came to the first hall, he tipped slightly around the wall. He saw Karma advancing down the corridor. Her back was to him. When she came to the end of the walkway, she began shooting around the next corner. Rea rushed over to her position as soon as he spotted her. She flipped her eyes to him and then knelt. Dust from the cement floated in the air. Bullets were striking the stone directly above her. She ducked and then fired back.
Rea got to her position and looked down his sights. "Is it just Fletcher?" He fired a round toward where she aimed.
"Yes." She put a new magazine in her rifle. "Is my dad okay?"
"Gears is an experienced doctor." He couldn't say yes. He didn't know.
Rea leaned around the cement a little more. He wanted to get a good look at the man they'd all been waiting for.
Fletcher wasn't what he expected. He was tall, well-built, and polished. He could be a salesman. He wore a tailored black suit. Even ducking behind the doorway, not a single hair was out of place.
"Fletcher," Karma called out to him. "It's over." She shot again. "I've killed everyone around here. No one's left to help you."
Fletcher's voice was smooth and unruffled. "The Originals will destroy all of you. I've told them every detail of the family. You can kill me, but it won't matter."
Rea pressed himself against the wall. The Originals sounded like a cult.
"I'm going to go out into the open." Karma looked at him. "I'm wearing my full bodysuit. As soon as he leans out to shoot, you hit him."
"No." Rea shook his head. "The men will show up. We'll keep him busy until they get here."
"This is my fight." Karma stood. "Trust me. I've done this before. Please, Rea?"
The 'please' pierced his heart. He held his rifle at the ready.
"Fletcher won't shoot you in the head?"
"Probably not."
Before he could tell her that probably wasn't an acceptable answer, she stepped out past the wall.
Rea aimed. Karma was right. Fletcher leaned too far out past the doorframe. His arm and head came into view. As soon as Rea got a clear shot, he took it.
His bullet tore through Fletcher's hand. But Fletcher's weapon had already flashed. A bullet screamed toward Karma. She rolled to the other side of the hall. The bullet missed her. Rea could see where the round hit the wall. Fletcher's gun dropped with a clatter. Karma lifted her rifle. She didn't pause. She unloaded her entire magazine.
Most of her bullets were direct hits. Round after round struck Fletcher's chest and head. She didn't stop shooting until the magazine was empty. "Click" went the trigger.
It was almost strange when Rea could only hear the sound of his breathing.
He came out past the wall. Karma walked over to Fletcher's body. She swung the M4 onto her back. She pulled a small pistol from one of her many pockets. Her hand shook slightly as she clutched the gun out in front of her. A single bullet left her sidearm. It struck Fletcher in the head—right between the eyes.
Rea raised an eyebrow. He thought Fletcher was already dead, but it appeared Karma didn't take any chances. Her eyes glistened with tears. She turned away from the lifeless body. With a shake of her head, she slid her weapon back into a mystery pocket.
"Are you okay?" He wanted to hug her, but she didn't give him a chance.
"Bullets are cheap. Lives are expensive."
Rea nodded.
"We have to see if my dad's alive." She brushed away tears from her cheeks and started to sprint back down the hall. He chased her.
They reached her dad at the same time. He was still on the floor with Gears fighting to stop the bleeding.
"Dad?" Karma dropped to her knees. A few more tears slipped down her cheeks. "I'm rusty. I'm sorry."
"I'll be fine, Kar. Why the tears?"
"I can't do this anymore."
Rea wrapped an arm around her. She tipped her head to his chest. He wanted to say comforting words, but he didn't know what. Keith thought he would be fine, so it wasn't a lie, but it didn't mean it was true.
"Gears?" He looked at the doctor.
Gears spared Rea only a brief glance. "I have to stop the blood loss, and he won't be dancing anytime soon. Eric is going to help me get him to the medical wing. Brice is there already. I'm told that he's stable."
"Are there a lot of men hurt?" Rea needed to get a status report.
"A few." Gears' eyes went to Rea's arm. "You need to get looked at too. Your arm is covered in blood."
"I have to check the base."
"Are you okay?" Karma noticed his gunshot wound.
"I'm fine." Rea expected Gears to argue, but Keith had all of his attention.
Karma nodded. An acceptance, he guessed. She held her father's hand. Rea took Keith's radio. There was a lot of work to be done. The only thing he wanted to do right now was wrap his good arm around Karma.
"Kar." Keith looked at Karma and then at Rea. "I know you want to quit, but I need you. You have to go. You have to warn The Seemyah. Only you know where they are. You must tell The Seemyah about The Originals."
Eric started to help Keith off the floor. "Tell them what?"
"We have a protocol for when one of us has switched sides." The words struggled to find their way out of Keith's mouth. He grunted.
"I know the deal, Dad. I'll go." Karma sighed.
A crackle came over the radio in Rea's hand. "We got one of Gears' medical gurneys. We're passing the electrical room now."
Rea and Karma turned their heads toward the rumble of a small flat cart they could hear close by. After a minute, one of the water base guards appeared. Immediately, they helped Keith onto the cart.
Karma squeezed her father's hand as they started to hurry down the hall toward Gears' medical room.
"I'll check on you right after I check on the men," he called out after Keith. Keith barely acknowledged him.
Karma didn't follow her dad. She stayed in the hall with Rea. When everyone left, and it was just the two of them, she looked him in the eye.
"I'm leaving." She brushed her fingers lightly over the blood that dripped along his bicep.
Rea swallowed. For once, he wanted to feel the pain in his arm. It was preferable to the torment of her leaving. Was he supposed to beg her not to go? He wanted to do that, but he couldn't. He understood responsibility. He'd heard Fletcher say The Originals had all their information. He couldn't blame her for helping her family. He couldn't ask her to abandon them. It was just like he couldn't abandon Gears and the water bases.
"I'll come back," she declared quietly.
Rea wanted to have faith in her. Faith she would return to him.
"I'm not strong enough to see you leave again."
"Don't be silly. The first time you didn't see me leave." Karma gave him a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"I woke up without you. That was plenty hard."
"And the second time, I shot out the light, so you didn't have to see it." She was trying to sound light. She was teasing, but it didn't work. He felt her absence already.
"I almost wish I was in the dark again." This hurt. He couldn't push the misery away.
Karma gave him a sad smile. She linked his fingers with hers and pulled him down the hall. Maybe he should give her a kiss goodbye? Why did words leave him when he needed them the most?
When they got to the electrical room, she walked in, and he followed her. She let go of his hand and closed the tattered door.
She gave him one more of those dazzling smiles and then turned off the light. The room was almost entirely dark.
"I'll come back. I love you," he heard her whisper. He couldn't see Karma move in the dark, but he felt her lips.
She kissed him. It was everything that he loved. Her warm breath, her soft lips, and her tongue, timid and wet. He brushed his fingertips through her hair. Then, like the flutter of the wind, her lips were gone.
He opened his eyes. In the dim light, he didn't even see her shadow. The door opened and then closed. A brief flash of light, then he was alone.