Read Online The Last Flight of the Argus by E. R. Torre - Free Book Online Page B

something large hitting the floor.
    “ Your suitcase is empty,” said an angry female voice.
    B’taav recognized the voice as Gail Griffen’s, but her tone was far deeper, more guttural than ever before. Regardless, she was alive and seemingly uninjured while at least one of the men who came to see her was in pain.
    B’taav was surprised by this. Was it possible someone as petite and frail as Gail Griffen could disarm and incapacitate two men, at least one of whom was carrying a weapon? If so, she was far more dangerous than she outwardly appeared.
    “ For the last time, where are those documents?” Gail said. Incredibly, her voice was even deeper than the moment before. There came the sounds of movement and someone walking away.
    B’taav held his gun tight. He took a step back and kicked the door open. What he saw inside Gail Griffen’s room made his blood run cold.
     
    Shepherd checked his gun for what felt like the hundredth time while in the tight confines of the elevator. He muttered meaningless words to himself.
    The elevator approached the fiftieth floor.
    Shepherd was ready for what was coming.
     
    Blood splatters covered the walls of Gail Griffen’s room.
    Lying just a few feet from the apartment door was the shattered body of Orlando Echo. His face was a bloody pulp. His crushed left eyeball dangled from the mass of flesh that was once his face. He still held the fusion gun in his right hand.
    A few feet away from him and also lying on the floor was Carlo Giny. The face of this man was also mangled, though not quite as badly. He breathed, but barely. He wouldn't last without immediate medical attention. On the floor next to his ravaged body was an open and empty black briefcase. It was the briefcase the two men brought to Gail Griffen’s apartment.
    B’taav aimed his gun at the center of the apartment as he entered. He knew the dwelling’s layout well. To his right was a small bathroom. To his left was the bedroom. The doors leading to both rooms were closed.
    Gail Griffen was hiding in either of the two closed rooms or had escaped out the window. B’taav stepped over the first of the two men and knelt down. He felt for a pulse on Orlando Echo. It was no surprise when he found none. He picked up and put away the man's gun.
    B’taav stole a quick look at the body and considered what had caused the man his brutal injuries. Orlando was hit with a blunt object, B’taav guessed. Perhaps a wood plank or stone or...
    B’taav shook his head. Could Gail Griffen do this kind of damage to an armed man with her bare fists ?
    No , B’taav thought. Some person –persons– were hidden in the room. They jumped the men and held them down and beat them…
    No.
    If there were more people hidden in the apartment, B’taav and Shepherd would have seen or heard them through the various Vid Bugs. Apart from the two men lying in the living room, Gail Griffen was always alone. Always.
    Maybe, he thought, she had partners who kept another apartment somewhere else on this floor.
    B’taav approached Carlo Giny. The wounds on him were also the result of a severe beating. Fresh blood seeped from a jagged cut on his forehead.
    “ Can you hear me?” B’taav whispered. He didn’t look directly at the man, but keep his eyes on the closed doors on either side of the room.
    “ Yes,” came a barely audible reply. The man spit up a mouthful of blood.
    “ How many people does she have here?”
    “ She’s alone,” Carlo muttered. From his throat came a rattling sound that might have been moan. “All alone.”
    Carlo Giny took one final breath and was gone.

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    After what seemed too long a delay, the elevator doors opened. Shepherd stepped into the hallway and pointed his gun in the direction of Gail Griffen’s room. The corridor before him was empty.
    “ Ok,” Shepherd said.
    He walked to apartment 6345.
     
    B’taav moved away from the second corpse and edged closer to the apartment window. Outside,