When Ash felt her silver-plated pistol knocked from her hand in the smoke-filled gallery, she knew the job had failed. Time seemed to slow as her opponent's elbow drove into her face, splitting her lips. The pain that exploded in her head was amplified by the shrill wail of emergency alarms.
Outside, thunder rumbled across the night sky. Ash crawled on her fours, trying to escape the heavy boot kicking into her ribs. The smoke bomb left her half blind otherwise she would have exited the gallery once she got her hands on the Wu Zetian diamond necklace.
“The extraction helicopter is here!” Someone yelled into her ear through the comms. She doubled over in a violent cough, her chest hurting like she’d been stabbed. Heavy breathing reached her ears signifying her three-men team were on the move.
“Ashley! Where are you?” Pryce, her boyfriend, screamed through the comms.
“More guards on the way guys,” Kairo reported, his breathing harsh. “We move now or we are toast.”
“Not without Ash,” Pryce yelled back.
Ash tried to speak, to let them know she was down. Before she could force out a word, a heavy body crashed onto her, the impact driving air from her lungs. She felt crushed, dizzy, hallucinations kicking in as Pryce's voice rang in her ears.
This was supposed to be their last job for a high-profile patron. She and Pryce had plans to disappear for a summer holiday in the Seychelles, on a quiet island for as long as they pleased. The plan had seemed too good to be true and now, the botched heist was proving it so.
She tried to push off the weight but the person grunted, rolled over, grabbed her neck and began to squeeze. Another pair of hands rifled through her bag, reaching for the necklace. She caught the thief's wrist and twisted hard. There was a scream and gunshots.
Pryce's head emerged through the cloud of thick smoke, his eyes wide with fear seeing she was being suffocated. He seized the man choking her and snapped his neck with a brutal twist.
“I've got you, babe,” he whispered into her ears, carrying her. “Let's get out of here.”
Ash rested her head on his shoulders, barely conscious. Maybe their plan for a summer holiday wasn't lost after all.
I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "summer".
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