The men that alighted the black Mercedes got back in and followed them. Hunter drove more recklessly than the dead driver did. They were lucky no patrol stopped them because of their private plate number.
Xander bit his inner cheek to stop himself from screaming, he felt dizzy and nauseous but he had to keep it together. Hunter didn't care about anything at the moment so ignored Xander discomfort. What he knew was that he had to do his real duty, protect Alexander Cage.
At a point the men started firing on the car, Hunter opened the center console and took out a pistol. He drove the car into a office building.
"Follow my lead" he said and they left the car as he hid the pistol behind his suit.
They entered the building it's looked like a small shopping mall in another town. Hunter saw the five men dressed in black suit and undershirt enter the mall. It wasn't a hard math to put two and two together to know that they were the men after them.
He and Xander tried to mingle with the crowd until they were seen.
"We have to leave here" Hunter said and Xander nodded in acknowledgement.
They took the elevator to third floor. The men were so close before the close and left them no choice but to take the next one.
Once the elevator dinged, Hunter dragged] his boss to the emergency exit, which was the stairway. Unluckily for them, the men didn't take the elevator, they took the stairway instead and they were getting to the fourth floor before Hunter and Xander came out of the third.
"Down here" One of the men said in Russia, causing Hunter's mood to darken and wake up his thug instinct that have been dormant for years. He took Xander wrist and jump down a few stairs.
Luckily, Xander had some experience with gangster in his youth so he was able to land on his foot. Seeing, that they were loosing the men release fire and a bullet scraped Xander's arm by the time they were out the building.
"Don't they give up" Xander said agitated
"They aren't normal thugs" Hunter quickly replied. He stepped into the highway and almost got hit by a car.
"Hunter! Have you lost your mind!" Xander screamed from the pedestrian road but his assistant ignored him. Instead he pulled out the gut and pointed it to the driver.
"Get down, if you don't want to be dead" the frightedowener immediately unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. He was replaced by Hunter who started the engine but didn't drive.
Xander saw the door they came through open and he ran into the car Hunter had stolen.
"Come to my office for compensation" the chairman said to the frightened driver and threw his business card out the window.
Hunter zoomed off, driving recklessly and changing lane randomly as the men stole a car to follow after them.
"How is your arm?" Hunter asked, eyes still on the road.
"It was just a graze, nothing I can't handle" Xander said and chuckled to hid the fact he was scared to death.
If it were three years ago, he won't hesitate to jump into something like this that could kill him. Now, things are different, he have something to live for. His daughter, maybe something could start with Randy, his brother and father he found not too long ago and the man he though he knew but felt like a stranger as drove the car like he was on drugs. Breaking many laws in the process but he was still his friend.
"Do you think Hermia hired them?" Xander asked
"No she did not, she can't do something like this with the little power she have" Hunter replied
"What are you saying, you don't know that woman, she is has no heart. She steps on it anything her feet hit the ground and that was the person I enrage yesterday" Xander not convinced that it want Hermia as she was the only with a motive.
"You saw those men kill your driver with a gun that a normal gangster shouldn't possess and she won't hire gangsters to kill you when she is about getting bankrupt" Hunter snapped. Xander did not make any other comment, causing his assistant to feel guilty.
In a lower tone he added, "Anyway, they are Russians so my guess is that they from a Russia Mafia group but I don't know which"
This threw Xander into confusion, when in earth did he have anything to do with a mafia, talk more of a Russian own. Another round of gunshots started, pulling Xander out of his thoughts.
"Can you handle a gun" Hunter asked
"No"
"You are pretty much useless" Hunter said under his breath but Xander still heard it.
"Hey! I cam throw few punches" he defended
"Just stay behind the cushion" Hunter warned as the bullets broke through the glass.
They had driven out of town and the buildings were replaced with trees. They free to unlease fire since there was no other civilian at sight.
A bullet caught the tire of the car and Hunter cussed underneath his breath for the hundredth time in two hours.
"Get ready to jump" Hunter said, catching Xander by surprise.
"I can't... "
"1, 2, 3, now!" they both jumped, better rephrased this way. Hunter jumped and Xander fell out the car, injuring a few places. Hunter didn't wait for him to recover and pulled him into the woods.
The me followed and they got into a shooting spree, five to one. Xander hide beside Hunter as he tried to recover from the dizziness. Soon they were out of bullets.
Hunter was unable to get anyone, only a graze on one of the men face. They entered into hand to hand combat and ditched their useless guns.
Xander aided Hunter throwing a few punch but taking more than he threw, He wasn't much help as one of the men strike him by the head with a branch. Xander fell on the ground, his eyes dizzy. He heard an explosion from somewhere before he gave in to the pull of darkness.
The explosion distracted the men, giving Hunter enough time to knock down strongest man. He used things around him to fight off the remaining three men. He was able to get a knife from one of the men and ended the fight with few injuries and knife cut.
The men laid dead at his feet and again another explosion sounded.