Aspen, Colorado, Right Now...
“Cover me!” Billie Chambers yelled over a shower of bullets to her temporary partner, Van Ray. The pair was hidden behind a steel pillar in a dimly lit, condemned warehouse. Miles away from the winter getaways of Aspen, Colorado, they sat together, avoiding their would-be murderers until the absolute last moment. This was definitely a bust gone badly if they ever saw one. Nothing could have prepared them for this. It seemed as if the whole case had been doomed from the start, and this was a culmination of everything that had happened in the pervious week.
“Alright!” Van hollered back as he reloaded his gun, peeked out from the side of the pillar, and opened fire. Another storm of bullets exploded from the other side of the warehouse where three men took cover behind a steel door. He could only hope that the distraction would work. The last thing he wanted was for Billie to get hurt on his watch. He didn’t need another dead partner.
Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, Billie hopped out of her hiding place and made a bee-line for the rusty back door behind them. It was their only way out of this mess, and if she could reach it, hopefully things would get better for her and Van. More bullets whizzed past her body, miraculously managing to avoid her. She reached the old door and used all the force she could muster to pull it open. It gave way with a strong tug, cold air blasting into her face from outside.
Positioning herself against the side of the building, Billie yelled, “Come on, Van!” as she pulled out the extra gun in her boot. Without bothering to look where she was pointing, she began to fire.
Van, hearing her call his name, breathed a short live sigh of relief. It was his turn to sprint out from behind the pillar as more gunfire echoed through the warehouse. Every step he took without getting hit was encouraging. Just a few more meters stood between him and a clear getaway, except that wouldn’t be the case today.
Moments before Van stepped out the door, a bullet ripped through his right shoulder, sending him tumbling into the snow at Billie’s feet. She stood there, the scene playing out in slow motion as she watched in horror; her bright blue eyes wide open in shock.