submachine gun in his grasp. 'Do exactly as I say, and I won't have to do that again…'
His attention was drawn to the road, where a speeding gray SUV was heading right for them. He grabbed Maggie's arm and yanked her to her feet. 'Into the house, now!'
38
'There she is!' David could only watch as the brown-haired man pulled Maggie toward the building. His arm extended, pistol aimed at them, rounds spitting from it to strike the SUV's bulletproof windshield.
'Hang on.' Jay cranked the wheel over, sending the SUV skidding into the parking lot. 'Julio, Fritz, there's a shooter on the second story.'
'I see him.' The two men in the backseat had produced two compact HK MP-7 A-l submachine guns, inserting magazines and pulling back the cocking levers with practiced efficiency.
'I'll pull up to block the front. Once we're inside, take the upstairs man out or force him to cover, then head round back to cut them off. Mr. Vert and I will take the front.' He nodded at David. 'Open the glove compartment.'
David did so, finding an HK USP 4.6 mm pistol resting in a special compartment, its butt protruding toward him. Next to it were two full magazines. He drew it and checked the load, keeping the gun near his waist to not aggravate his injured arm, and slipped the spare magazines into his back pocket. 'I'm ready,' he said.
'Okay, here we go.' Jay hit the brakes, stopping the vehicle right in front of the door, cutting off most of the avenue of fire the second-story man had enjoyed until now. It did not stop the hail of bullets that were still thudding into the roof, however.
'David, give me covering fire,' Julio said.
David and Julio both rolled down their windows and pointed their guns toward the upper window, triggering several rounds from each weapon. Glass shattered and wood splinters rained down on them as the bullets chewed up the front facade.
'Fire in the hole!' Julio held the live flash-bang grenade for a second after he had pulled the pin, then launched it toward the window. His timing was perfect.
The flash-bang went off in the window frame with a bright burst of light and a loud bang, even outside. As soon as it did, David ran around the front of the SUV, following Jay, who was at the top of the steps. He looked back to see Julio and Fritz checking around the front corners of the house before progressing down the sides.
'Go!' he told Jay, who pulled the door open and covered the right side, while David held his pistol steady and watched the left. No gunfire answered their preliminary recon, so Jay motioned David inside, holding the door open and covering him.
Pistol out in front, David crept inside, walking heel-toe and making sure of each step before placing his foot down. The entryway was a prime ambush site, with a built-in counter to his right, and what appeared to be a living room to his left. Ahead, a dark hallway stretched a few yards to open into another room, but he couldn't see any details.
He took another cautious step into the house, and what did leap out at him immediately was the smoking object that skittered along the floor toward him, his mind recognizing what it was even as he dived into the living room.
'Grenade!' he shouted.
David landed on the thin carpet with an impact that sent pain shooting through his body. He tried to protect his injured shoulder as much as possible, but the injury still hurt with new agony. Mouth open, ears covered, he drew his legs up and had just enough time to hope the wall between him and the grenade would be solid enough to protect him.
The detonation burst through the room in a clap of thunder, the pressure wave pushing over him as plaster and smoke billowed out of the hallway. David grabbed his pistol from the floor and covered the hallway, expecting an attacker to come charging in at any second. He heard the door creak open again, and Jay's low voice calling out.
'Vert?'
David spit plaster dust out and called back. 'On your left.' He rose to his feet, aware of warm stickiness that had penetrated the bandage on his side. Creeping to the edge of the now pockmarked wall, he saw Jay near the counter, uninjured. He pointed at the hallway. 'It came from back there.'
'You okay?' Jay's eyes dropped to David's left side.
He glanced down to see a dark blotch staining his sweatshirt. 'Yeah, just a flesh wound. I'm fine.' His words were interrupted by a sound like a long strip of cloth being torn coming from somewhere outside. David peered into the gloom, trying to make out anything. 'Did they get out?'
An answering burst came from above them, shells rattling on the floor over their heads. 'There's your answer. Let's take him out and secure the high ground. The boys will keep anyone at the back door pinned down until we can reinforce them.'
They leapfrogged down the hallway, each one taking a step forward, then covering the other as he advanced. At the entrance to what looked like a kitchen, Jay indicated for David to head left, and he would go right, both of them sweeping and clearing the room in approved procedure. David nodded, and they burst into the space, weapons up and tracking any movement that might be hostile.
Silence and emptiness greeted them. Light green cabinets and avocado countertops ringed the kitchen, with a dusty Formica table on its side against the far right wall. A stairway headed up, next to a door that might have been a pantry, or it might have led to a basement. Evidence of movement was everywhere on the dirty linoleum floor, but before David could make sense of it, Jay was at the stairs, submachine gun leading, listening for any movement above them. He pointed at David and himself, then up the stairs.
David nodded, walking to the right side and covering the stairway, then motioning for Jay to go up. The older man was noiseless as he ascended the staircase, ghosting up what should have normally been a creaky set of wooden steps. They didn't make a sound under his feet. Another burst of silenced submachine gun fire came from above them, the noise allowing Jay to reach the top of the stairs. He checked the landing, then waved David up.
Sticking to the edge of the stairs so he wouldn't alert their quarry to their presence — David sneaked up to stand behind Jay, who had readied another flash-bang grenade. The room beyond had fallen completely silent. Jay pointed at himself, then straight out along the nearest wall of the room, then at David, motioning for him to go around the corner and clear the right. David nodded, feeling the familiar adrenaline surge he always felt before entering a hostile, unknown room.
Holstering his pistol, Jay made sure David was ready, counting down from three before pulling the pin, tossing the flash-bang into the next room, then clapping his hands over his ears. David did the same, opening his mouth again to equalize the pressure as the grenade detonated.
The moment it went off, Jay drew and rushed along the far wall, covering the left side. David rounded the corner and swept his area of the small room, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the sloped ceiling. This room had been cleared out, leaving no furniture behind. Except for the smoldering remains of the grenade in the middle of the room, and a few dozen shell casings on the floor, it was empty.
'Clear!' David whispered, not wanting to alert the gunman in the event he was hiding somewhere nearby. The window that opened out to the back had been smashed out completely, a weak breeze stirring the light blue curtains framing it. David pointed at the opening, then up on the roof. Jay nodded and crept over to the left side of the window. Just as he hit the wall, a burst of fire stitched through the ceiling, bullets thudding into the middle of the floor in small clouds of dust, sending wood splinters flying. David turned away, not wanting to catch a fragment in the eye. It was followed by another burst, this one only a yard or so away from David, then a third one that tore the roof open near Jay's head. No sooner had the submachine gun fire died away than the roar of an SUV engine sounded from the backyard.
David stepped beside the window, pressing his back against the frame to steady himself as he peeked out over the yard and saw a black van accelerating toward the left side of the house. Gunfire flashed from the corner, then David heard a surprised shout, three shots, then a loud thud.
