Corporate Gunslinger by Doug Engstrom

Author:Doug Engstrom [Engstrom, Doug]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780062897701
Google: QOyvDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2020-06-15T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

“Proceed on my count.” The lead ward calls cadence.

“1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . .”

Kira chooses the exact point where she will enter her kill box.

“. . . 4 . . . 5 . . . 6 . . .”

Steady breaths, relaxed hands, even pace.

“. . . 7 . . . 8 . . . 9 . . .”

She aligns her foot so the final step will land on the very edge of the box boundary.

“. . . 10 . . . 11 . . .”

Left boot planted, she pivots and reaches for her weapon. Her right foot stops just inside the boundary, the Wall comes down, and she pulls her left toe into the kill box while drawing her pistol. Her hands come together at midbody, prepared to rise and aim.

The muzzle of Niles’s weapon flashes.

Shit. Shit! SHIT!

A hard punch to her gut announces the hit; burning pain confirms it. Kira bends and braces her left elbow against her knee for support. Her breath comes in gasps.

A distant part of her mind screams: What happened? What happened? What happened? Did Niles break the pattern? Had she been slow? What?

She moderates her breath and calms the mental screaming. What happened no longer matters. The only important question is how she’ll respond.

She lifts her tunic to examine the wound. It’s a crappy hit. The entry point is about belly button height and well to the right of center. All told, it’s at least a foot from her heart, maybe more. Another inch or so and it would be a clean miss.

He probably didn’t bother to stabilize his sights when he swung back toward her, and then jerked the trigger and shot low to boot. How the hell is it that Niles can half ass everything and still make it work?

The fluids leaking from the wound are purplish rather than red, with no sign of spurting. It isn’t an arterial hit, although it’s possible he’s nicked a kidney or the lower lobe of her liver and she’s losing a lot internally. Probably nothing worse than a perforated colon, though. Even untreated, it would take her days to die from that, and she’ll be on her way to the hospital as soon as the match is over. Kira puts her hand on the wound and the fluid wells between her fingers, though she can’t tell if it’s venous blood or the remains of yesterday’s lunch. Maybe a little of both.

The pain worsens. She looks for Diana. Her second is out from behind the transparent barrier and leaning on the judge’s table, as close as she can get until both pistols have been discharged or somebody falls. Diana says nothing, but nods toward Niles, as if reminding Kira of unfinished business.

Kira is alive, she’s upright, and she holds a pistol.

The match is still winnable.

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