Silencer Read Free Page B

brushed her shoulders, and the hem of her plain blue dress rode up her thigh. I began to see what Dino was so excited about.
    Arms still full, the Wolf turned back towards the door. I took a gentle breath and kept first pressure – but knew that if I put a round into the target there was a good chance it would also drop her. That wouldn’t be good: someone would have to look after those fatherless kids.
    The couple disappeared back into the shack with the two girls in tow, but the door stayed open. At least the kids were out of the killing area. To hear a gunshot and then discover that your dad is dead is bad enough; to be standing next to him as he goes down would not be the best day out.
    I knew Dino was pissed off. Maybe he thought taking a shot at this range was as easy as Arnie made it look. ‘Fuck, hombre , maybe a change of angle …?’
    ‘No.’ I gripped his arm. ‘The rain’s easing. He could be out again any minute. We stay where we are.’
    He slumped back into the mud, muttering to himself like a down-and-out.
    We were well concealed, with a great arc of fire. No one was going anywhere. I breathed slowly and deeply, keeping a nice, easy rhythm so I could control the weapon at any moment.
    Dino shook his head to clear his ears and wiped them with the back of a muddy hand.
    ‘Dino, we got movement.’
    The Wolf and his wife appeared on the veranda again. He was now carrying a furled red-and-white golfing umbrella.
    Dino resumed his commentary. ‘Still no wind …’
    I had him at the same point of aim as he called back into the shack, probably yelling goodbye to the kids. Only one problem: Mrs Orjuela’s very attractive head was at the centre of my target. All I could see of the Wolf was his gut ballooning either side of her small frame, like the human version of a solar eclipse. I waited for her to move. I wasn’t sure if Dino was waffling or not. My brain had shrunk and pushed itself into the optic.
    I breathed out; held it; took first pressure. All she had todo was move one step left or right and I’d take second pressure.
    ‘Stop, stop!’ Dino’s hand fell onto my right shoulder.
    I couldn’t see what was wrong. The couple were still on the veranda. She was still obstructing the shot.
    ‘Fuck … They—’
    I didn’t need to know the reason. ‘Shut up. Just tell me when.’
    I waited on the target, top of the aiming post still where it needed to be, rising up gently as I breathed in. I’d also have him if he moved towards the pick-up, as long as she got the fuck out of the way.
    Still nothing existed in my head but the sight picture, the water pounding on my back, and the wait for Dino’s OK.
    I held the weapon firmly but gently, not wanting to grip it so tightly that my muscles started to shake. I just wanted to keep the weapon as it should be: a natural extension to my body. I took slow, deep breaths to keep myself oxygenated, ready for when I stopped breathing and squeezed the trigger.

9
    It didn’t take long to see what the closedown was about. Just beyond the target, inside the shack, the kids were criss-crossing the doorway in some sort of game. There were three of them now. The boy was a lot bigger than his sisters.
    ‘Here we go.’
    ‘What?’
    I realized I’d spoken aloud.
    I wiped as much rain as I could off the optic without shifting my elbows from their anchor points and returned to the firing position. The Wolf took his wife’s arm.
    ‘Nick, she’s going with him. She’s in the fucking way … The shot, she’s in the way …’
    The target held the umbrella at an angle to protect them as they emerged from cover. They moved down the steps together. The pick-up was only three or four paces. It was parked nose-out from the shack, which meant if I couldn’t take the shot before he reached the cab, she’d still be in the way.
    I crawled out of my position.
    ‘Nick … What you doing, man?’
    There was no time to explain. I started legging it to the right, but the mud