Yoko raised her gun. At that exact same moment, Kerry dropped the cuddly toy and pulled out a large carving knife from under the pillow.
Chapter 16
‘Put the knife down, Kerry.’
Yoko sighted along the gun barrel, her hands steady, the left supporting the right. Kerry looked up, her eyes deader than ever, then very deliberately put the knife up to her own throat. She got to her feet and started walking towards the middle of the room.
‘Stay where you are and put the knife down.’ Yoko was working hard to keep her voice level, to squash the panic down. Kerry ignored her and kept on walking. Yoko glanced over her shoulder. ‘Jefferson, I want you to go into the hall.’
Winter didn’t move. He was staring at Kerry like she was a newly discovered life form.
‘Now!’
Her warning came a fraction of a second too late. Kerry suddenly darted forward, heading straight towards him. The knife was high in the air and starting to arc downwards. Yoko’s training took over and she squeezed the trigger. The sound of the gun was deafening, the room too small to hold the explosion. Kerry’s momentum carried her forward until she collided with Winter. They both crashed to the floor and ended up in a heap at the foot of the bed. The knife kept going too, tumbling uselessly onto the carpet.
‘Get her off of me! Get her off now!’
Winter sounded shocked and scared, but mostly he sounded disgusted. All the cool had gone, all the arrogance. He was wriggling beneath Kerry, trying to work himself free. Yoko ran over and pressed her fingers against Kerry’s neck, checking for a pulse, not feeling one. She glanced at her chest, searching for movement, and saw nothing.
‘What the hell are you doing? Just get her off of me.’
She grabbed hold of Kerry’s shoulder and pulled hard. The body moved more easily than it should have done. When you were moving a dead weight you always got resistance, and that just wasn’t there. Yoko started backing away, but wasn’t quick enough. Kerry suddenly rolled onto her back and her eyes sprang open. She was moving fast for someone who’d just been shot, adrenalin fuelling her. She grabbed hold of Yoko’s foot and pulled, knocking her off balance and sending her tumbling to the floor.
Yoko’s head hit the floor so hard she saw dark spots. The Glock slipped from her hand and landed a couple of feet away. She flipped over onto her front and scrambled desperately towards it, but before she could get there Kerry landed on top of her, Yoko thrashed to the right, thrashed to the left. She thrashed to the right again, putting everything she had into the move, and somehow managed to roll onto her back. Kerry was on top of her, eyes manic, blood seeping out of a shoulder wound. She’d managed to get hold of the knife again. She thrust with it and Yoko brought her arms into the shape of an X, blocking it. The blade came close enough to graze her cheek, close enough for her to feel cold steel.
Too close.
Kerry shifted slightly, repositioning herself. Her arm went up. Yoko wriggled around trying to break free, trying to knock Kerry off balance, trying to buy a few more precious seconds. She’d blocked that first thrust but she didn’t think she’d be so lucky a second time. Kerry’s arm came down towards her and she forced herself to keep her eyes open as she brought her arms into an X shape. She instinctively knew that she wasn’t moving fast enough to block the knife, that her reactions were too slow. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do.
Because her ears were still ringing, the second gunshot seemed much quieter than the first. Even so, it was one of the best sounds she’d ever heard. One second she was staring at the polished blade of the carving knife, convinced she was about to die, the next she was watching as a fine mist of blood and brains spattered against her face, and even that was okay since it was a damn sight better than the alternative. The knife stopped in
Chapter 16
‘Put the knife down, Kerry.’
Yoko sighted along the gun barrel, her hands steady, the left supporting the right. Kerry looked up, her eyes deader than ever, then very deliberately put the knife up to her own throat. She got to her feet and started walking towards the middle of the room.
‘Stay where you are and put the knife down.’ Yoko was working hard to keep her voice level, to squash the panic down. Kerry ignored her and kept on walking. Yoko glanced over her shoulder. ‘Jefferson, I want you to go into the hall.’
Winter didn’t move. He was staring at Kerry like she was a newly discovered life form.
‘Now!’
Her warning came a fraction of a second too late. Kerry suddenly darted forward, heading straight towards him. The knife was high in the air and starting to arc downwards. Yoko’s training took over and she squeezed the trigger. The sound of the gun was deafening, the room too small to hold the explosion. Kerry’s momentum carried her forward until she collided with Winter. They both crashed to the floor and ended up in a heap at the foot of the bed. The knife kept going too, tumbling uselessly onto the carpet.
‘Get her off of me! Get her off now!’
Winter sounded shocked and scared, but mostly he sounded disgusted. All the cool had gone, all the arrogance. He was wriggling beneath Kerry, trying to work himself free. Yoko ran over and pressed her fingers against Kerry’s neck, checking for a pulse, not feeling one. She glanced at her chest, searching for movement, and saw nothing.
‘What the hell are you doing? Just get her off of me.’
She grabbed hold of Kerry’s shoulder and pulled hard. The body moved more easily than it should have done. When you were moving a dead weight you always got resistance, and that just wasn’t there. Yoko started backing away, but wasn’t quick enough. Kerry suddenly rolled onto her back and her eyes sprang open. She was moving fast for someone who’d just been shot, adrenalin fuelling her. She grabbed hold of Yoko’s foot and pulled, knocking her off balance and sending her tumbling to the floor.
Yoko’s head hit the floor so hard she saw dark spots. The Glock slipped from her hand and landed a couple of feet away. She flipped over onto her front and scrambled desperately towards it, but before she could get there Kerry landed on top of her, Yoko thrashed to the right, thrashed to the left. She thrashed to the right again, putting everything she had into the move, and somehow managed to roll onto her back. Kerry was on top of her, eyes manic, blood seeping out of a shoulder wound. She’d managed to get hold of the knife again. She thrust with it and Yoko brought her arms into the shape of an X, blocking it. The blade came close enough to graze her cheek, close enough for her to feel cold steel.
Too close.
Kerry shifted slightly, repositioning herself. Her arm went up. Yoko wriggled around trying to break free, trying to knock Kerry off balance, trying to buy a few more precious seconds. She’d blocked that first thrust but she didn’t think she’d be so lucky a second time. Kerry’s arm came down towards her and she forced herself to keep her eyes open as she brought her arms into an X shape. She instinctively knew that she wasn’t moving fast enough to block the knife, that her reactions were too slow. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do.
Because her ears were still ringing, the second gunshot seemed much quieter than the first. Even so, it was one of the best sounds she’d ever heard. One second she was staring at the polished blade of the carving knife, convinced she was about to die, the next she was watching as a fine mist of blood and brains spattered against her face, and even that was okay since it was a damn sight better than the alternative. The knife stopped in
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