World of Ashes II Read Free Page A

knife, still it was good to have it back. One man was a private security officer for a celebrity who’d taken an earlier flight home. He had two Beretta M9s with enough ammunition to start a small war. Naturally he didn’t share, but he welcomed Daniel to tag along until he found a weapon for himself. Lea came too, they still had daylight but no one was letting strangers into their homes as far as the eye could see. Daniel saw some blankets hung out to dry in a lawn, he and the man with the guns scoped the place out. Whoever owned the property wasn’t there, but their house was locked down tight with a blinking security system visible through the windows. Lea fell asleep on Daniel’s arms after they’d barricaded the door to the expensive miniature barn out back. Mark, their armed guard, finally relinquished a gun to Daniel when he showed the man his Army ID. Eventually Mark needed to sleep too, and Daniel would have to stand watch, so he might as well trust someone.
                  Daniel checked the chamber and racked a round. “I’ll take first watch.” He said.
                  “Been traveling the world on a music tour. You go ahead and get some shuteye.” Mark said. He waited for Daniel to be out of sight and opened the sliding lid to his ring. It was in fact a movie prop his employer had given him from his last spy thriller, but it was also water proof and if you removed the blue diode inside it was a glorious place to hide a line of coke. Four countries and not one had ever checked to see if his ring was a hidden compartment. Mark considered it good luck, as well as a place to keep his favorite vice close.
                  Daniel closed his eyes and tried to sleep, though it was a wasted effort. Fitful and full of nightmares of what they’d seen that day he didn’t stay out for long. He woke to find Mark wasn’t there, or at least not inside the shed anymore. At first, Daniel thought he’d stepped outside to piss, but after almost an hour Mark hadn’t come back. His shoes were still there too, so it didn’t make sense that he’d have run off. Daniel flipped the safety onto the fire selection and let Lea down gently to sleep on his blanket for a pillow. “Mark?” He whispered loudly. There was no response. The tool shed was at least a few hundred square feet, some grease monkey’s MOPAR wet dream. It was “decorated” with naked women and muscle cars on outdated calendars adorning every space not allotted to antique oil cans and spare parts for who knew what kind of car. Mark wasn’t in in the shadows or behind any cabinets, but there was a small bathroom hidden behind a stack of used tires and Daniel took the time to piss and wash his face in an oil stained sink. Obviously Mark hadn’t had to leave to relieve himself, so where was he? Daniel had been sweating profusely since landing and probably smelled like he’d been on the lamb for weeks, it occurred to him to change his clothes and his mind began to wander. What if he’d taken the later flight home? Would he have ever left England? Or maybe the earlier flight, but then who would be here for Lea? Mark? The hell with that.
                  Looking to his left Daniel saw through the small vent window that Mark was standing in the yard like a creepy statue. Sneaking out the door, he walked up behind their companion. “Mark? Are you okay?” He wasn’t scared, he knew how to perform riot duties and wasn’t beyond shooting someone to keep himself safe right now.
                  “It’s burning…” Mark said. “It’s all… burning…”
                  Daniel looked over the tree line, the night sky was aglow in bright orange and blood red hues from a thousand fires that raced across Georgetown and Arlington. The sun had set, but there wouldn’t have been any light even if it were high noon. Pillars of black smoke faded the fires in the distance, it would have made