Extensis Vitae - By Gregory Mattix Page 0,67

exposed as he held the chain taut.

She sprang forward and brought the blade down in a savage overhead strike. It cleaved into Angus’s left shoulder where the trapezius and rear deltoid muscles connected, cutting through tissue and bone.

***

Reznik waited for the slug to blow his head off, but suddenly Mason whirled as something caught his eye. At the same time, all the tension left the chain, and Reznik dropped to the ground.

The AA-12 roared as Mason fired. Reznik saw the fleeting shape of Rin diving out of the way. Angus was staring in shock at the blood gushing out of his shoulder. His severed arm was on the ground, the chain still wrapped around his massive fist. After a delayed reaction, the big man began to scream.

Seizing the opportunity, Reznik sprang up and drove his shoulder into Mason’s back, knocking the outlaw over. The .45 was just a few feet away, and Reznik made a dive for it.

His left hand closed around the comforting weight of the revolver. He rolled over on his back, his right arm still entangled by the whip, and fired.

Mason was turning back toward him, and the first bullet slammed into his chest, striking the body armor, but driving the man back. The second round hit him in the side of the neck, and the third punched into his left shoulder. The outlaw fell with a groan.

Reznik’s HUD scanned for the next target. For a millisecond, it locked on Angus, but the outlaw clearly was done for already. He had fallen to his knees as his lifeblood poured out onto the floor.

He snapped the weapon around and acquired the next target. The woman with the whip was staring in shock from the shift in the battle’s momentum. Reznik shot her in the thigh to incapacitate her. She dropped on her backside with a cry.

A dry click came from the revolver as the hammer fell on an empty shell. Reznik popped the cylinder open and let the empty shells drop out as he dug in his pocket for more rounds. He swiftly reloaded and tried to get to his feet until he remembered that he was still entangled. He fumbled to loosen the whip around his wrist.

Rin walked up out of the gloom, bloody sword in hand. She was splattered with blood—whether it was hers or someone else’s, Reznik couldn’t tell. She lifted the katana, and, with a swift stroke, severed the whip.

“Thanks,” he said as he freed his arm. He tossed the remainder of the whip aside. “That all of them?”

“All dead, dying, or wounded except…” Her eyes scanned the shadows and debris. “I don’t see Mason, though.” She raised the katana again, alert and deadly.

Reznik fumbled to free himself from the chain. The claw had left nasty tears in the meat of his torso. He gingerly plucked it free.

Regaining his feet, he circled around to Rin’s left, being careful not to get in the way of her sword. She moved forward in a slight crouch, perched on the balls of her feet. He scanned the room, searching for the outlaw leader, pistol raised. Rin pointed at the floor where a trail of blood led away across the floor.

“Might as well give yourself up, Mason,” he called. “Your men are dead or dying, and you are next.”

There was silence. Reznik boosted his hearing and could hear the fading gasps of Angus and the ragged breathing of the injured woman. He could also make out harsh breathing from the shadows across the room, near the entrance passage behind some of the few remaining crates. Another step to the side and he would have a clear shot.

“Then we’ll all meet up again in Hell. I look forward to it,” Mason’s voice growled. With his hearing boosted, Reznik was just able to detect the metallic clink that was concealed by Mason’s voice. Reznik tracked an orb that was lobbed into the air in their general direction.

“Grenade!” he shouted and ran for cover. Rin leapt away in the opposite direction.

The canister separated in mid-air, and a fine vapor of fuel sprayed out milliseconds before it ignited. The thermobaric grenade ignited with a whoosh as it sucked the oxygen out of the room and erupted into a huge fireball.

Chapter 20

Reznik felt like he was being crushed in a massive fist of pressure from the blast. The vacuum effect from the thermobaric grenade made it feel as if his lungs were being squeezed shut. He was dimly aware of his clothes catching