Haunt [Aidan Hunter series book 2] [RE-WRITING]

Chapter 13

A/N: I know I'm updating slowly. Life outside wattpad is stressful. Speaking of, the first book in this series — Trickster, is out on Amazon, so if you haven't already, get a copy. It's only 1$. :)

Here is the link - https://amzn.to/37qJHp3

Hope you like this chapter.

--------

POV: Henry
~~~~~~~~~
“You’ve got some balls,” I said. “Leaving without telling me.”
“It seemed like a good idea then,” Aidan said, breathy, as he got to his feet. “I thought you—you could keep Charlie at the HQ.”
“While you run off and do something stupid?”
“Yeah, I hit a realization. Not gonna happen again, don’t worry. I’ve had enough ass-kicking for one day.”
The assassin I shot down did a kip-up and got back on his feet. He lunged at Aidan, who was recovering from being strangled a minute ago, and tackled him to the ground. I fired at the assassin once more, who winced and got off of Aidan. He scrambled to his feet and bolted. I fired a few more times but missed. He disappeared behind the end of the hallway.
Aidan groaned and clasped his ribs in pain.
Worried, I rushed to help him. “Hey, Hey. You alright? Can you stand?”
He nodded in response. He grabbed hold of my arm as I helped him up. It pissed me off, knowing he nearly got himself killed.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I exclaimed. “More importantly, what the hell is wrong with that guy? I shot him thrice!”
He wrapped an arm around himself. “He’s wearing a vest.”
“One of Vincent’s buddies, I assume?”
“Obviously.”
“And you thought coming here without informing me was a great idea.”
“I told you, it was a mistake.”
“Obviously.”
“I knew you would come, though. I mean, we share that weird psychic link. Might as well wear matching shirts.”
“Right. Why don’t you add matching rings too?”
I didn’t think that one through. The weight of what I just said dawned on me, and I stiffened, my ears suddenly feeling hot. He tilted his head at me, a slight grin creeping into his face. I averted my gaze, hoping he wouldn’t say anything further to add to my embarrassment.
Thankfully, Louis showed up, gun clutched in hand. He sighed in relief when he saw me. “I’m glad you showed up…” He frowned. “Without Charlie.”
I requested Martin to look after him before I left the HQ. That was easier since Charlie highly respected him. When the chief gave him orders to stay, he obeyed.
“Yeah, I’m better at convincing people,” I said. “What happened here? Where’s Robert?”
The two of them glanced at each other, faces falling.
“Haley—” Louis answered.
“What about her?” I asked.
He led me to a classroom where Haley’s stiff, charred body lay on the ground. My stomach churned. I’d seen gruesome sights before, but this hit differently, since we knew her well. I couldn’t hold my gaze for more than a few seconds. The horrifying sight of her was imprinted on my mind. I placed a hand over my eyes, wishing I never saw it. I couldn’t imagine what Robert was going through.  
“Jesus Christ,” I said. “Where’s Rob?”
“He was here a minute ago.” Louis frowned, looking around.
Aidan sighed. “I think he’s gone after Vincent.”
“Oh, God, please don’t tell me,” I said.
Gunfire resounded further down the hallway. We broke into a run, following the sound.
“What’s with the lights?” I asked.
“Vincent likes to make it extra creepy,” Aidan replied.
The source of the gunfire turned out to be the school canteen. We peeped through the small, round vision panels on the double doors. The sunlight from the windows illuminated the dark place. I spotted Robert ducking behind the counter. At the other end of the hall, six men fired at him. One of them darted across the room, trying to get closer to him—the assassin from before.
Robert fired at them aggressively, relentlessly, hell bent on killing them. At this rate, he would only get killed. Aidan and I stood at either side of the doors, with Louis standing by him.
“We’ll be dead the second we go in,” I said. “Especially since your buddy who kicked your ass back there is among them.”
“You don’t have to remind me of that,” he said. “That chap doesn’t give up, does he? We need a distraction then. I’ll go first and grab their attention—”
Again with this man charging headlong into danger. I couldn’t keep him safe for a goddamn moment.
“No!” I muttered harshly. “Stop coming up with suicidal ideas. The only thing you’ll accomplish is becoming target practice for them. We’re going to cover Robert, give him a chance to escape.”
“Great. I like that plan,” said Louis. “I’m ready.”
We had somewhat of a clear shot from our positions. Pushing the doors open, we opened fire on the six gunmen. Their retaliation shots peppered holes on the doors, which didn’t prove to be great barriers. A crossfire ensued, and the men turned their focus to the three of us. That was Robert’s cue to get the hell out of there.
“Rob!” I yelled. “Come on!”
He came out from his hiding place, firing defensive shots at the enemy as he ran to us. We couldn’t keep this up for long. We darted aside as the doors were riddled with gunfire. Robert slipped out through the doors.
We made a run for it, heading back to where we came from. That assassin proved to be a challenge. We had to distract him somehow while we took his accomplices down. Or else, the lot of them together would be a pain in the ass. We returned to the main hallway leading to the exit. Louis followed me as I rushed into a chemistry lab. A spontaneous idea struck my mind.
“Watch the door,” I said.
He stood guard while I rushed to the shelves where the chemicals sat. The glass bottles clinked as I quickly checked their labels. I barely had time. Something simple would do. I found a bottle of finely ground magnesium, which I grabbed, along with a bottle of silver nitrate. Science, no matter how small or basic, always fascinated me. It was the reason I first came into forensics.
Probably not a good time to reminisce.
I poured the contents of the bottles into a bowl, mixing them together.
“Hurry up!” Louis said. “I hear them coming.”
“Give me a second, will you?” I dumped the grey mixture into a large glass container. “Take this.”
Louis grabbed it and went out. I filled a small beaker with water and followed him. He placed the container in the hallway, near the door as I instructed him to. I betted on the assassin to show up before the rest of the gunmen so I could get him.
If that didn’t happen, then I would look like a fool.
We hid near the doorway and heard hurried footsteps approaching. I saw the shadows of the gunmen on the opposite wall, their steps getting louder as they got closer.
Once they showed up, I leaned out and emptied the water into the container before retreating into the lab. The water reacted rapidly with the mixture, igniting it. A sudden burst of bright light and smoke greeted the unsuspecting men like a firecracker. I used quite a lot of the chemicals, so the resulting flash was much bigger.
Startled, the men stepped back. The assassin was taken by surprise, too. We seized the chance and opened fire at them. He pulled one of the other gunmen and used him as a human shield as he hurried backwards. When that shield was shot and useless, he threw him aside and escaped.
He knew better than to fight one against four.
Robert stood near the bodies of the gunmen, his gun trembling in his hand. There wasn’t much I could do other than place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Even though I wished.
The wailing of ambulances sounded outside.
“About time,” said Louis.
An ambulance pulled over near the entrance, and two paramedics stepped out. Louis led them to Haley. Robert clenched his fists, longing to touch her but unable to.
Aidan approached me. “Vince might still be here.”
“Yeah, I think so too,” I said. “I don’t get it. Why Haley? I thought he was after Charlie. To take care of loose ends, as you said.”
“Charlie is still a target, that’s for sure. I don’t know why he came for her.”
“Maybe it was a trap. He knew Robert would come, and so would the rest of us. Including the kid.”
“It’s possible. In that case, I was right about leaving the kid behind.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The paramedics carefully carried Haley on a stretcher. A third medic showed up to assist them. She was unconscious. More than her charred body, it was hard to see Robert’s devastation.
As the medics rushed past, the third one bumped into me, dropping his ID.
“Excuse me,” I said, picking it up.
I caught a glimpse of it as I was about to return it, and the name on the ID grabbed my attention. Hit me like a bolt of lightning.
“Robert, look out!” I exclaimed.
The medic—who turned out to be Vincent—pulled out a gun on Robert. Louis grabbed his partner, shoving him out of harm’s way. Aidan shot Vincent in the back. The man winced but recovered. The bullet didn’t wound him.
I alerted the others. “He’s wearing a vest too!”
The two other paramedics, startled by the guns, pulled the stretcher along and hurried to the exit.
Vincent aimed for Aidan, but I shot his leg. He growled as the bullet struck his calf and bared his teeth at us like some kind of mad animal. Pain didn’t affect the psycho, nor the fact we outnumbered him. Despite his slim chances, he still took us on himself.
What made him worse than Frost was that he had no soul. At least Frost was driven by sentiments. Vincent had none. He did mentioned it to us when Aidan and I first saw him near that apartment.
“You think I wouldn’t have a backup plan?” he snarled. “If I don’t walk out of here alive, that ambulance won’t make it to the hospital. Those paramedics will be killed, along with Robbie’s extra crispy girlfriend. Assuming she isn’t already dead. And don’t get me started on the innocent children.”
Robert seethed, his eyes glistening with angry tears. Louis, who also shared his friend’s emotion, held him back. I knew it took all of his willpower to do so.
Me? I craved to rip Vincent’s heart out with my bare hands, or at least beat him up enough to weaken him and let Robert rip it out instead.
Vincent limped to the exit, and we could do nothing. Outside, the assassin showed up and the two of them scrambled into a car. I raced after them, unable to hold myself back any longer. Vincent’s threats didn’t stop me from shooting him. I fired at his vehicle, shattering the windows and smashing the side-view mirror.
But he got away. Again.
“Damn it!” I shouted.
Aidan came running out of the building.
“This is the third fucking time!” I snapped. “How the hell did I not see him in there?”
“It’s not your fault,” said Aidan.
I shot a burning glare at him. “Stop. Every time he appears and then disappears, somebody gets killed. Every. Time. He’s targeting all of us. He almost got Robert. And you had to take off without telling me. You ever do any second thinking in that psychotic brain of yours? He could’ve killed you too!”
“I should’ve told you, alright? I just wanted you safe for a goddamn moment.”
“That’s not up to you to decide! I can take care of myself. It’s you I want safe!”
He fell silent. Vincent was messing with our heads. He manipulated people and drove them into suicide. He enjoyed taking advantage of people’s pain. Their anger. He already did that to Charlie. Now the kid knows nothing but vengeance. He already had quite a temper. Add to that the grief of losing his brother, and it made things worse.
I couldn’t let Vincent get to me, no matter how bad things got.
“He hurt Haley,” Aidan said. “He’s gonna come back for the loose end.”
“Charlie,” I replied.
“No. He was the target. Judging by Haley’s burns, she won’t make it to the hospital. She’ll die. And that makes the loose end—”
Realization hit. “Robert.”
“Yes.”
It made no sense for Vincent to be changing his patterns. He wasn’t the kind to spare anyone. He could still go after Charlie if he wanted to. Lure us into another trap or something.
So why didn’t he?