13 Days to Die by Matt Miksa

Author:Matt Miksa [Miksa, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

* * *

A sudden concussive blast shook the walls. Another gunshot. The bullet slammed into the female assassin, hurling her body backward.

Jo wasn’t sure where she’d hit the woman, but seeing the attacker’s lifeless form crumpled on the floor gave her a sense of relief. The medical doctor was no stranger to death, but the act of intentionally taking a life required a certain numbness. She hadn’t had time to wrestle with the morality of her decision. She’d acted on pure instinct to save herself—and Kipton.

Jo hadn’t fired a weapon in years, but she was pleased her aim hadn’t suffered. Once Kip had disarmed the shooter, Jo had rushed to recover the woman’s Sig Sauer. Somehow she’d remembered how to check the safety, slide back the barrel to chamber a round, and cock the hammer. The motions came naturally, as if her muscles knew exactly what to do. Planting her feet in a wide stance, Jo had firmly raised the handgun and carefully squeezed the trigger with the very tip of her index finger—just as she’d practiced hundreds of times, in training, so many years ago.

Jo registered the shock on the American reporter’s face. No doubt her proficiency with the semiautomatic pistol, not to mention her willingness to fire directly into the heart of another human being, surprised the man. She hadn’t been completely forthright with Kipton. And judging by the man’s tiger reflexes and expert grappling skills, it seemed he’d guarded a few secrets of his own. Maybe she should tell him the truth.

Jo tore into a plastic bag from the stack on the table and unwrapped a fresh pair of scrubs. She ripped the thin fabric along the shoulder seam to remove one of the sleeves.

“This will stop the bleeding,” Jo said, winding the strip of cloth around Kipton’s skull. “Head wounds bleed a lot, so it looks worse than it is. You have a minor contusion beside your left ear, but there’s no trauma to the sphenoid or temporal bones.”

“I’ve never seen a virologist shoot like that,” Kipton said. “You’re incredible.”

Jo smiled weakly. “Pathogens aren’t the only hazards of fieldwork.”

The reporter took a deep breath and tried to stand. Jo grabbed his elbow to help the man to his feet. Already he seemed to be bouncing back from the attack.

“We’ve got to go, Doc,” he said. “Dzongsar is a smoke screen.”

“I know,” Jo said with disappointment. She’d reached the same conclusion. The Politburo Standing Committee had never expected her to find anything in the Q-Zone. “But first I need to have a talk with the man pretending to be my ex-husband.”

“That man you operated on wasn’t your ex?” Kipton asked.

Jo shook her head.

“I don’t know what’s going on here, Jo, but that ninja lady almost shattered my face, so I think I deserve some answers.”

“You’re right, Kip. I haven’t been honest with you.”

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