The Man With the Gun
1074 Words
Rain hammered the cemetery in relentless sheets.
For a long second, nobody moved.
Adrian's eyes locked on the stranger's hand as it disappeared inside his jacket.
Daniel reacted first.
"Adrian!"
He shoved Adrian sideways just as the man pulled out a black pistol fitted with a suppressor.
Thwip!
A muffled shot sliced through the rain.
The bullet shattered the marble headstone where Adrian had been standing moments earlier.
Stone fragments exploded into the air.
The elderly groundskeeper screamed and dropped his umbrella.
"Run!" Daniel shouted.
Adrian didn't hesitate.
The two men sprinted between rows of graves as another suppressed shot struck a nearby monument.
The cemetery erupted into chaos.
Birds burst from the trees.
The groundskeeper stumbled behind a stone angel, trembling so violently he could barely breathe.
Daniel grabbed Adrian's arm.
"This way!"
They ducked behind a large family mausoleum.
Rainwater streamed down the stone walls.
Both men struggled to catch their breath.
"What do they want?" Daniel whispered.
Adrian clutched the diary against his chest.
"I think..."
"They don't want me reading this."
Another bullet struck the corner of the mausoleum, sending chips of granite flying.
The gunmen were closing in.
One spoke calmly into an earpiece.
"Target is moving east."
"Don't let him leave the cemetery."
Adrian frowned.
"They're organized."
Daniel peeked around the corner.
"There are two."
"No..."
Adrian said quietly.
"There are three."
Daniel looked again.
A second black SUV had silently entered through another gate.
A tall man stepped out.
Unlike the others, he wore an expensive charcoal suit without a single drop of rain touching it.
He carried no weapon.
Just a black umbrella.
Even from a distance, his presence commanded attention.
The gunmen immediately lowered their heads in respect.
"Boss."
The man nodded once.
"Alive."
His voice was calm.
"Mr. Wolfe is worth far more alive than dead."
Adrian couldn't hear every word, but he heard enough.
Alive.
They wanted him alive.
Which meant someone wanted answers before he died.
Daniel looked around desperately.
"We're trapped."
Adrian glanced behind them.
Beyond the old cemetery wall lay a narrow forest trail.
"If we can reach those trees..."
"We'll lose them."
Daniel nodded.
"On three."
"One..."
Another bullet slammed into the mausoleum.
"Two..."
The gunmen moved closer.
"Three!"
Both men burst from cover.
They sprinted through the rain as bullets struck the muddy ground behind them.
Adrian's polished shoes slipped on wet grass.
He nearly fell but kept running.
The forest was only twenty meters away.
Fifteen.
Ten.
Then—
A black sedan roared through the cemetery gates.
Its tires sprayed mud in every direction.
Instead of stopping, it accelerated directly toward the armed men.
"What the—"
One gunman turned too late.
The sedan clipped him, throwing him across a flowerbed.
The second man dived aside.
The vehicle screeched to a halt beside Adrian.
The passenger window rolled down.
A woman wearing a black baseball cap and dark sunglasses leaned across the seat.
"Get in!"
Adrian stared.
"I don't know you."
"You don't have time to."
Another gunshot rang out.
The woman shouted,
"If you want to know whether Elena is dead..."
"Get in the car!"
Adrian froze.
Daniel didn't.
He pulled open the rear door and shoved Adrian inside.
The woman slammed her foot on the accelerator.
The sedan spun around, narrowly avoiding another volley of bullets before crashing through the cemetery gates onto the main road.
For several minutes, no one spoke.
The windshield wipers struggled against the heavy rain.
The mysterious driver kept checking the rearview mirror.
"They're following us."
Daniel looked back.
Both SUVs had joined the chase.
"They're gaining."
The woman turned sharply onto a narrow side street.
The tires screamed against the wet asphalt.
Adrian studied her carefully.
She looked no older than thirty.
Her face was partially hidden beneath the cap.
Her movements behind the wheel were calm.
Experienced.
As though she had done this many times before.
Finally, Adrian spoke.
"Who are you?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she asked,
"Did you read the diary?"
"Yes."
"How far?"
"Only the beginning."
She nodded.
"Good."
"Then you still have a chance."
Adrian's patience snapped.
"Enough riddles."
"Who are you?"
She was silent for several moments.
Then she reached into her jacket with one hand.
Daniel immediately tensed.
The woman slowly placed a small photograph on the center console.
It was old.
Faded around the edges.
Adrian picked it up.
His heart nearly stopped.
The picture showed Elena.
She was smiling beneath a large oak tree.
Standing beside her...
Was the woman driving the car.
Both of them looked younger.
They had their arms around each other.
On the back of the photograph, written in Elena's handwriting, were six words.
Me and my little sister. Forever.
Adrian stared at the driver.
"Elena never had a sister."
The woman finally looked at him.
Her eyes were filled with sadness.
"That's what they wanted everyone to believe."
A deafening crash interrupted them.
One of the SUVs rammed the back of the sedan.
The entire car lurched forward.
Daniel slammed against the seat.
"They're trying to force us off the road!"
The driver regained control with remarkable skill.
She turned onto an abandoned industrial road lined with empty warehouses.
"There."
She pointed ahead.
"We can lose them."
The lead SUV accelerated again.
This time it pulled alongside them.
The passenger lowered his window.
The man with the pistol aimed directly at Adrian.
The woman driving whispered,
"Hold on."
She jerked the steering wheel hard.
The sedan spun between two abandoned warehouses just as the SUV overshot the turn.
Metal scraped against concrete.
Glass shattered.
The pursuing vehicle crashed through a locked gate with a thunderous impact.
The second SUV slammed on its brakes, unable to avoid the wreckage.
Within seconds, both vehicles disappeared behind clouds of dust and smoke.
The sedan finally rolled to a stop inside an abandoned warehouse.
Silence.
Only the sound of rain striking the rusted roof remained.
The woman switched off the engine.
She removed her sunglasses.
Then her cap.
Adrian looked at her face.
For one impossible moment...
His heart stopped beating.
She wasn't Elena.
But she looked enough like her to make his blood run cold.
The same dark eyes.
The same smile.
The same tiny birthmark beneath her left ear.
Tears filled the woman's eyes as she looked at Adrian.
"My name is Claire Hart."
She swallowed hard.
"And Elena wasn't the only daughter my parents lost."
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