What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 32

The Weapon's Expert hesitated momentarily, but then squeezed through the narrow vent.

Olsen was next to go, and was quickly followed by Delta who had to place his unconscious mother on her belly and pull her by her arms.

I waited for Predator to go in next, but instead I saw him further along the wall setting up something.

"You better be quick Pred; I don't want you dying on my watch.

Predator glanced back at me before he quickly turned back to his work. "I won't take long," he said soberly.

"You're doing the right thing." The Phantom commented quietly.

I turned to face her in surprise. Since when did Phantoms know anything about right and wrong?

Predator merely nodded in her direction, and then he guided both of them through the shaft.

Only the Assassin and I remained.

I was about to go in when a horrible screeching noise erupted, followed by footsteps that got louder.

My heart began to beat fast as I tried to figure out what to do. Fear immediately stood in front of me. "Get out of here, Agent Moore." He said.

I stared at him in shock. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The Assassin did not answer. Instead he took out his dual blades and hoisted them in a defensive position as the footsteps got even closer.

I didn't think it was physically possible for eyes to be able to widen so much. "Fear, don't try to be a hero and let's go!"

The Assassin just glanced at me, his expression was unreadable due to the shadows that hid his face. "The Phantoms are too quick. They'll slaughter us both at the pace we're going. I'll buy you some time."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Don't be stupid Fear, they'll kill you. We can still make it!" I cried out.

The Assassin's mask wrinkled into a smile as his blue eyes shined with dreadful acceptance. "Tell John that he still owes me a fighting match."

I wanted to laugh, to find some humor in his joke, but I couldn't. I wouldn't allow him to throw his life away just like that. Delta would never forgive me if I allowed his one friend to die here.

I holstered my gun.

With newfound determination, I narrowed my eyes as I roughly pulled Fear by the back of his armor, and pushed him head first into the vent. I winced as he hit it rather hard, but at least that was better than having him in Phantom hands.

The Assassin let out a curse, and attempted to move back.

I kicked his legs, and urged him to go on. "Don't argue with me, Fear. Now move your ass or I will kick it until you move!"

The Assassin grunted in displeasure, yet followed my orders nonetheless.

As soon as he was through, I got on my belly, and took Fear's dual blades.

I began to crawl through when something grabbed a hold of my right leg.

I attempted to kick at my attacker, but the hold just got tighter, and began to pull me towards the source.

I yelped as the tight grip pinched my leg rather painfully. I desperately tried to grab a hold onto something to keep me still.

Something grabbed a hold of my hands.

I looked in front of me and saw Fear trying to pull me back with all of his might. Terror gripped my soul as I imagined myself getting dragged towards the Phantoms…

Luckily, Fear was a hell of a lot stronger than he looked, and managed to pull me all the way through the vent.

We both crashed to the ground, with me lying on top of him.

I was stunned for a moment, and when I looked down Fear was as well.

Abruptly, banging sounds interrupted the tense silence.

I looked over to my right and saw the misshaped shadow of a Phantom trying to kick the door in.

Another one was trying to crawl through the shaft.

Immediately, I quickly got off of Fear, and took out my gun.

I shot the Phantom's head.

He let out a brief cry, before his body relaxed.

At least he would block that one way.

My eyes then widened as I realized that the door was giving way.

Fear and I ran blindly into the darkness, holding onto each other's hands to not venture away from each other.

A crashing sound formed behind us, followed by fast approaching footsteps.

I barely managed to duck my head before a round of bullets scraped the walls around us.

I was beginning to panic when suddenly I was pressed inside a wide indent on the wall.

I didn't even have time to groan as Fear pressed his back against my body, and covered us with some thick cloak.

I consciously made an effort to mute my breathing as our pursuers caught up.

Most of them ran on by, yet one tall figure lingered behind.

By the distinct muscle definition of the arms, I assumed the figure was a male.

He was incredibly close to us that I was able to clearly see his horrific eyes. They scanned the area with cold calculation.

My boot accidently squeaked against the ground.

The blood in my veins turned to ice as the Phantom's gaze rested on our general direction.

He took out a pistol, and shot in the general direction behind me.

I bit my tongue hard to hold back the shout that formed in my throat.

The Phantom agent stepped until he was directly in front of us.

From our crouched position, the Phantom's form looked very intimidating.

Fear quietly grabbed one of his swords, and positioned it upwards.

Understanding his intentions, I aimed my gun upwards, my hands slightly shaking as I was ready to shoot the Phantom's crouch.

I tensed even more when his companions came back. "They're gone," one of them said lowly. "Did any