Waters Course

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style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Rachel reached the basement and found
Gabriel awake. 

lang=EN-US>“Hey, you.” He said in a sleepy
voice.

“Hey. You slept
a lot today.” She mentioned casually.

“Yeah, I feel
tired. Not sure why.”

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She fell silent for a moment merely looking at
him. While doing that she noticed a tray on the floor next to Gabriel.

“You got food
today?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

lang=EN-US>“Yeah. Snake brought it earlier. And
I think he took the big gun up with him. Wasn’t he supposed to do that?” he
asked surprised.

“Not really. I
didn’t tell him to do anything.”

“Strange. Anyway
do you want anything because I’m really sleepy?”

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Rachel didn’t answer. Everything was out of
place. The gun, the food, the journal left behind and in plain sight. Rachel
had a very bad feeling about all that. She made her way to where Gabriel was
sitting and kneeled in front of him. He was practically falling asleep again
but she slapped him. Hard.

“Hey, what was
that for?” he asked.

“To make sure
you stay awake. I think you were drugged.” She announced.

“Drugged? Why?”
he asked puzzled.

“I don’t know.
And something tells me I don’t want to find out.” She said.

“Ok, what’s
going on here?”

“No idea. All I
know is that it’s all over. You paid for your freedom and that’s what I’m going
to give you.” She said and released him from the cuffs.

“It’s over? So
that means we’re done?” he asked sadly.

“Gabriel I don’t
think this is the time or place to talk. I’m going to leave you by the road and
after I get rid of Bear and Lion I’ll come back for you.”

“And Snake?”

“He’s not here
anymore. Now, will you wait for me?”

“Of course I
will. Rachel I…”

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Whatever Gabriel was about to say was cut
short by the sound of shots.

“What was that?”
Rachel asked turning around towards the door.

lang=EN-US>“The boys playing with their guns again?”lang=EN-US> Gabriel wondered.

“Those were
shots from a machine gun. We don’t have those.”

“That isn’t a
good thing is it?”

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Still on her knees she made a move to grab the
gun on her back but she didn’t have time as Bear came bursting in carrying her
Barrett and another pistol.

“Bear, what’s
happening?” Rachel asked as she got up and grabbed her gun.

“We’re under
attack. These guys dressed in black and carrying machine guns just come out of
nowhere and started shooting. I barely made it back inside.”

“Where’s Lion?”

“He’s upstairs
holding the fort.”

“We should get
out of here. Let’s take the escape van. Come on Gabriel.” She said making her
way towards the double doors that would lead them outside, to the back of the
house.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She opened it slowly and checked if no one was
around. Seeing the coast was clear she signaled for the boys to follow her.
They ran to the van and ducked.

“Do you have the
keys?” Rachel asked Bear.

“The keys are
usually in the van.” He said.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Rachel got up and tried to open the door only
to find it locked.

“Shit. It’s
locked. Why is this door locked?” she asked furious.

“Maybe someone
locked it. How should I know?”

“Ok, let’s calm
down. I’m going back in to find a key. Stay low and don’t talk.” She said and
ran back to the double doors.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Gabriel and Bear stayed low next to the van in
silence for a moment. The sound of bullets was still audible but they seemed
concentrated to the front of the house.

“We’re in
serious trouble aren’t we?” Gabriel asked in a low voice.

lang=EN-US>“Major trouble.”

“Do you think
it’s the cops?”

“No. Cops search
places. No one seems to be interested in coming to look for us. It’s probably
the ‘voice’s men.”

lang=EN-US>“Who?”

lang=EN-US>“The ‘voice’. The
guy that hires Wolf. I think he’s really pissed because of what she
did.”

“This is class=GramE>all my fault.” Gabriel said sadly.

“No shit,
Sherlock.” Bear whispered annoyed.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Another moment of silence between them
occurred, broken only by the constant shots.

“These guys
don’t lose ammo, do they?” Bear commented.

“Looks like it.
Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“I didn’t hear
her opening any lock when she opened the double door. Were they always opened?”

lang=EN-US>“Yeah. We don’t have keys for any of
the doors in this place.”

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The conversation ended there as Rachel showed
up, running as fast as she could, the Barrett hanging on her back. She was
carrying a set of keys that she used to open the van. After they all entered
she started the engine and the escape began.

lang=EN-US>“And Lion?” Bear asked almost
fearfully.

“He’s holding
his own.” She said simply.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Bear looked behind at the house until it
disappeared from sight. Lion was fighting alone against dozens of enemies and
Bear had the feeling he wouldn’t make it alive.

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