(Paden sipped coffee as he sat amongst the trees on the rise overlooking the airfield. He watched the dogfight between the jets with interest, reminded of how much he had enjoyed
Top Gun when he had first seen it years ago…oh, wait. Sorry.
)
As Paden followed Deadlock, his legs churning through the thick snow on the remnants of the trail, his mind wandered.
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Paden did not wait for any further reaction from Singleton. He fired a crisp jab straight into the arms dealer’s face, feeling Singleton’s nose collapse under the punch with a satisfying crack. Singleton reeled from the blow with a muffled curse, his hands going to his face as he staggered backwards in shock. Paden turned, glimpsing Carlisle moving on one of Singleton’s men, even as he grabbed the thug nearest to him, bringing his left arm around the man’s neck and pulling him roughly to his side in an improvised headlock. Squeezing with all of the strength he could find, Paden grabbed for the thug’s firearm, nestled in a shoulder holster, with his free hand, driving his knee up into the man’s abdomen. As the two struggled, gunfire erupted inside the gin. Trying not to entertain the notion that a bullet was about to find him, Paden got a firm grip on his opponent’s firearm and pulled it free, bringing the butt down onto the henchman’s head in a swift, heavy arc.
Releasing the unconscious man, Paden turned, his eyes finding two fallen men and the crumpled form of Carlisle, who was gripping a heavily bleeding shoulder. A third man, his weapon drawn, stood a short distance away his eyes shifting to Paden. Even as he moved, Paden fired twice, both shots entering the man’s chest and sending him to the floor. The last perpetrator, the same one that had alerted Singleton to the approaching tactical team, was bolting for the back door of the gin, his loyalty to his employer having apparently dampened. He ran headlong into a group of black clad ATF agents and immediately assented to their shouted demands that he drop to the ground. As more agents poured through the front entrance, Paden called, “Man down!” pointing to Carlisle’s prone form as he glanced around for Singleton. Paden caught sight of a few drops of blood on the dusty floor, leading between some of the idle machinery. He followed it, the footprints and blood ending at a small office with a shattered window. No time to double back, Paden went through it.
Orienting himself, Paden realized he was standing to the right of the gin’s front doors. He ran to the left, cutting around the corner of the building in time to find Singleton climbing into the first of the two parked Suburbans. Paden fired his pistol once into the air, and then leveled it at the gun dealer. Singleton, aware that the ATF agent had the drop on him, raised his hands and stepped slowly away from the vehicle. As Paden ordered Singleton to drop to his knees and lace his fingers behind his head, some of Espinoza’s tactical agents came up behind him. Two of the agents moved past Paden, one covering Singleton as the other moved in to disarm him and put him in cuffs. Relaxing, Paden turned back to one of the other agents. “Carlisle?” “His shoulder’s torn up, but he’ll be alright,” the agent answered.
The other agents brought Singleton to his feet and began to escort him away. Singleton locked eyes with Paden as he passed. “You have no idea what I’m capable of, agent,” Singleton said, his voice eerily calm, “You’ll come to regret this.”
Paden simply smiled and watched Singleton be led away. Relieved that three months of work was ended, and having been the recipient of many similar threats in the past, Paden gave little weight to Singleton’s words.
He walked back into the gin to check on his partner.
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As Paden and Deadlock reached the edge of the airfield, Paden was suddenly thankful for the strong mountain winds, as the pilot of the copter was still contending with them as he tried to bring the craft down to the landing strip. Suddenly aware of how the mercenary’s concern for the girl had changed his perception of him, Paden turned to Deadlock. “Speaking of areas of expertise, I’d say this situation falls in yours. I’ve done my time in the army and gotten into a fair number of scraps since, but I doubt I have anything close to your experience.” Paden unzipped his coat and gestured to his pistols. “I tend to do better up close and personal, but I think we’d best play this however you see fit.”