Collateral Damage - Marc Cerasini [18]
The Albino released the woman. Sobbing, she stumbled to the desk and dropped to her knees beside the corpse.
"This bastard killed your boss," the Albino rasped.
Jack didn't say a word. Instead, he focused his attention on the Glock, and the laptop beside it.
"Son of a bitch," Gold Teeth snarled, cuffing Jack across the face with the butt of the police special. Jack stumbled, but didn't go down. The urge to strike back was strong, but Jack resisted it, biding his time.
"Petey, go downstairs and lock the front door," Gold Teeth said, eyeing Bauer. "Me and Dom will take care of this bastard."
The man with the meat cleaver left, and Jack eyeballed Gold Teeth. "I saw you in the cab. You tried to kill me today. Why? Who paid you?" Jack demanded.
"Time for me to go," said the Albino, scooping up Jack's Glock. "I have an appointment elsewhere."
"Hey, wait a minute, Whitey," Gold Teeth said. "You've got some explaining to do."
"My business was with your boss," the Albino said. "I don't deal with underlings."
The waiter with the Uzi frowned, eyes on the Albino as he headed for the door. Gold Teeth grabbed the man's arm...
And Jack lashed out. With his left, Jack backhanded the Uzi out of the waiter's grip. Then he stepped in with a right hook, crushing the man's throat. The waiter bounced off the wall and went down, gagging and gasping for breath.
Jack snatched the laptop off the desk and bolted for the door.
"Stop him," the Albino cried.
Gold Teeth blocked his path, but Jack didn't stop. Crouched low, he slammed into the man. Together, they went through the door and over the restaurant's balcony railing.
Jack was on top when they hit a table, smashing it. Crystal shattered, china broke, silverware flew. Jack flipped over, and lost his grip on the laptop. It slid across the hardwood floor.
Gold Teeth did a somersault, too, and landed beside him. Jack knew the man was hurting, but Gold Teeth didn't give up. He lunged as Jack scrambled across the debris-strewn floor, fumbling for the computer.
The kitchen doors parted and Petey returned, armed with his meat cleaver.
Jack gripped the laptop with both hands and brought it down on the back of Gold Teeth's head. The man grunted and went limp. Jack looked up to see Petey charging.
Then the Albino started shooting and the dining room exploded in a shower of shattering glass as the massive front windows came down in a deadly hail. Jack rolled under a table as razor shards rained down around him. Petey was struck, a two-foot icicle of glass piercing the top of his skull.
The Albino shifted fire, peppering the ceiling. The racing plane lurched on the wires, then one wing dipped. Jack knew he was doomed unless he moved.
Tucking the laptop under his arm, he dived through the broken window. The suspended antique airplane came down a split-second later, smashing the tables and sending broken chairs and shattered china rolling onto the sidewalk.
Ears ringing from the noise, Jack stumbled to his feet, tightened his grip on the laptop, and took off. He wanted to go back for the Albino, but he was unarmed now, and he suspected the computer and its contents were more important.
As sirens wailed in the distance, Jack hailed a cab. On the ride back to CTU, his cell phone went off. Jack checked the number, took the call.
"Hi, honey," Teri Bauer chirped.
"Hi, sweetheart." Jack closed his eyes. The adrenaline was still pumping; he struggled to control his tone, make everything sound all right. "It's nice to hear your voice."
Teri laughed. "It's only been a day, but it's nice to know you're missing me already."
"I am."
"Listen, Jack, I know it's early, but I wanted to call anyway. I didn't wake you, did I?"
"I'm up," Jack replied. "It's actually not that early here."
"Oh, of course, that's right. The time difference. Well, Kim wanted me