Forums → Art, Music, and Writing → Just a warm up before I get into Serious Writing.

Michael pulled out the 9mm tucked under his belt as he dove behind the bar of the Riviera Hotel. He'd been sent into the Hotel on a simple reconnaissance mission for the CIA. They had gotten supposed information from one of their civilian snitches. The man the CIA had spoken to on the phone with had said that an internationaly infamous drug dealer and major supporter of the Taliban, Casio Romero was staying at the Riviera. It turns out the snitch wasn't lieing.

Michael risked a glance over the top of the bar only to be blanekted in a hail of gunfire. Casio's men had opened fire on him the second they saw him. Some how they had been expecting him and they had the firepower to prove it. Michael recognized the sounds of ak-47's as they shattered bottles of wine sitting atop the counter.

Casio's men weren't trying to kill him though. They were just trying to hold him off long enough for their boss to escape. He knew he had to take them down, there wasn't enough time to get around. He had to take down Casio now before he had a chance to get away.

He had been on this case for to long, and searched to hard. Checking every lead into Casios whereabouts, no matter how insignificant they were. The hunt had taken up five years of his life and he wouldn't let it last any longer. He looked around the bar room, trying to find a way to get an advantage. His pistol would be no match for their machine guns in a fair fight, and his lack of ammo didn't help the situation. He had two clips the one in his gun and another in his belt. He could call for backup, but Romero would have been gone before his fellow agents could get here. He had to move now, but what could he do?

He scanned the room the best he could. The far side of the room was out of view. And he couldn't risk getting shot so close to capturing his prize. On the wall straight across from him he found a fire alarm. But how could he get over to it to pull it, he looked up at the lights, they were the long tube ones that you find in high ceilinged rooms. But he didn't have enough rounds to shoot out each individual tube. So he aimed higher, toward the base of the light where the cord dissapeared into the ceiling.

He held his breath as he aimed down the sight. Just like he'd been taught in special ops training and then pulled the trigger. Sparks flew as the cord ripped apart sending the light cascading towards the ground. It hit with a harsh metalic thud. He aimed at the next and hit his mark again. And then again with the one closest to the wall. He peaked over the top of the bar. The two men were at the far end a good fifty feet away. They had their guns held tight against their shoulders ready to fire at any sign of movement as they squinted into the darkness. Michael knew this was his chance. He sprinted through the black and slowed when he felt he was nearing the wall. Thankful for the lights across the room, he could just make out the fire alarm against the cream colored wall. He pulled the alarm without hesitation and looked at the men blocking his path. One of the men had a cell phone to his ear, he was heading for the stairs leading up to the rooms of the Riviera. He turned around and yelled something to the other still standing near the bar. And together they ran up the stairs. Neither of them bothering to watch their backs as they ascended.

Michael had to figure out where they were going. Surely they wouldn't be headed for the roof he thought a chopper flying away from the hotel would be to obvious. If anything they would be going toward the back exit of the hotel. Michael turned and ran back the way he had come in earlier before the fighting. If he was going to catch Casio he would have to cut them off behind the building.

He turned left once he'd made it back to the main lobby, heading down a long hallway. The doors to the back of the hotel were a long ways away. All of the guests were out of the hotel by now. And the few remaining employees were gone. Michael shoved over a cleaning cart sitting in the middle of the hall, spilling cleaning supplies all over the expensive looking carpeted flooring. Gasping for breath he made it to the double wide glass doors just in time to see two black SUVs drive by toward a side road next to the hotel. Their tires squeeling as they turned out infront of a taxi. The aggrevated driver leaned out through his open window flipping the bird and cursing in spanish. Michael pushed open the doors ignoring the sharp pains in his lungs as he took off after the two get away vehicles.

But then the sound of another set of screeching tires tearing up the asphalt behind him caught his attention. He turned around in time to see a man standing up through the opening of the sun roof of a black SUV, an ak-47 in hand. His head was balding and he wore a black and orange hawaian print shirt. Michael couldn't help but think as the SUV came up to him that the man looked like Casio Romero. They pulled up along side him not slowing down for a second and the man pulled the trigger.

Bullets tore through his chest the pain forcing him to the ground. He layed on the warm cement and watched helplessly as Romero ducked back down into the third SUV. The one he hadn't been expecting to pull up behind him. The one who concealed the man he'd been hunting for five years. His vision began to fail as the taxi driver Casio's men had cut off ran over to him. Though he couldn't see who the man was yelling at he figured he was telling someone to call for an ambulance. And as he slipped out of conciousness he prayed to God that he wouldn't die.


May 13, 2011 by Ray C. Please let me know if there are any spelling/grammar errors, and let me know what you think.