Disoriented, I looked to the other hand. It too was missing its gun. Hell of a time to lose both weapons. Without thinking, something I do so often it’s frightening, I grabbed a chunk of twisted shelving and hurled it at my pursuers. While far from a perfect throw, it was close enough for government work. McConnell and Mario sidestepped the awkward projectile easily though. I just stared at them as Mario raised his gun. I found myself wishing I had one of those. Fortunately, my instincts took over where my brain left off. I heard the crack of the pistol and saw the flash, but before my mind could figure out what all that meant, my body dove for cover. I barreled through the mass of broken shelves and tumbled out the other side as Mario’s bullet pinged somewhere behind me. The sound clicked something on inside my head and the fog started to clear. Through it all, something felt weird about the whole situation. It felt surreal. Not right somehow.

I moved off further through the maze of shelves, deeper into the darkness, doing my best to circle toward the front entrance. Mario and McConnell cleared the debris and followed, veering off to keep me from reaching the exit. The goon popped a shot off here and there as they followed. They rang out through the gloom, ricocheting nearby.

Once the gears in my head found their rhythm Page 64 again, I felt sure the darkness was natural and not some reflection of my damaged skull. I presumed that’s why Mario had such a hard time hitting me in the minimal cover of the warehouse. But again, something seemed off. His shots seemed hurried, desperate almost. As I thought that, he fired off a few more rounds in my general direction. It was like he hoped to get lucky. Not on the first date, buddy.

I worked my way around another shelf and nearly shit myself when I tripped over Mike’s body. Focused on McConnell and Mario, I hadn’t been paying attention to where I was.