Taken

pools of blood are forming around both. Again, small holes in their shirts indicate where rounds entered. McCafferty’s second round hit the guard in the throat and a large pool forms joining the smaller one. My second one took the guard in the soft spot under the chin. The open eyes are filled with blood indicating massive trauma inside the head. A large sound emanates from one of the guards and an atrocious smell fills the air. Yeah, that’s the part I absolutely hate!

My nose is assaulted and nausea quickly rises. I know, it sounds strange with all of the other sights but this affects me to the greatest degree. I back away glancing at McCafferty who gives me another thumbs up that all is well inside. She heard the sound as well, watches my reaction with a smile, and turns back to the window. I give a report to Lynn, pick up the guard who hasn’t shit himself yet and drag him into the hallway. Looking down at the other guard, I take a deep breath and drag him across the floor. The trail he leaves behind is a significantly different color than the first one. If anything, the stench gets worse. I drop him on his buddy, grab my M-4 and exit the hall with speed.

Doing my best to not silhouette myself in the door windows leading outside, I do a hasty cleanup with the towels using my boots to scoot the towels along. I am not cleaning that up with my hands.

“You okay?” McCafferty asks as I join her.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I answer. “The only way to the upper gym is by a flight of stairs on either side of the main gym. You keep a watch and signal when they’re not watching. I’m going to the far door and I’ll enter when you tell me.”

“Why don’t we just take them out from here? It’s an easy shot, sir,” She asks.

“There’s a chance, slim as it is, that we could miss or only injure them and they could call it in. Our M-4’s are significantly louder and our shots may cause some of those inside to yell, scream, or otherwise make a fuss. One screams and it’s like a fast-moving virus. It’s contagious. Anything heard outside of the building and their cavalry will come running. We can’t afford that. The teams outside are vulnerable,” I whisper.

She nods and I head down to the main gym entry door closest to the stairs. It pulls outward and I grab the handles waiting for McCafferty’s signal. My impatience grows as the others are still outside and, although hidden, at risk of discovery. McCafferty finally raises her arm and brings it down sharply, pointing at me. I pull the door open quietly, slip inside staying against the wall, and quickly move in a crouch to the door leading to the upper gym stairs. The main gym is still dimly lit but my vision is clear. Reaching the door, I know I am hidden from the guards by the folded bleachers.

“You’re clear,” McCafferty’s voice comes quietly through my earpiece.

I look over at Robert and see him, across the gym floor, staring up at the ceiling. He moves his head looking around. Soon, Son, soon, I think slowly opening the stair door. I creep silently up the stairs. Reaching the top landing, the doors are the same as most of the other gym doors, a small window inset to the door that limits the view. I suppose this configuration cuts down on the glass repair purchases by the school district but it certainly isn’t helping me.

I can’t see the guards no matter how much I twist and turn my head in the small window even with the goggles up. I ease the door open a crack and am rewarded by a view of the guard’s backs.

“If they turn quickly, enter and take a shot,” I whisper to McCafferty.

“Will do, sir,” she replies.

I leave my M-4 against the wall and ease the door open more. It’s an awkward angle as just the slightest head turn will allow either one of them to see me in their peripheral. It’s dim here as well but I’m anything but invisible. I edge quietly and directly to the middle of the floor to prevent that slight head turn from seeing me. They are standing close together but I can’t hear any of their conversation if they are having one. I have my Beretta aimed directly at them in case of a creaky board or they suddenly decide they’d like to see what the far wall behind looks like. One small, silent step after another. My sights are visible in the greenish glow and centered on the guard to the left. I edge closer.

* * *

Robert lies on his cot feeling anxious. It was no surprise his dad was able to get in and see him two nights prior. He said he would be back with the teams tonight. Waiting for something to happen is making time pass ever so slowly. He glances up at the guards overlooking his area and looks around hoping to see some sign of a team member. One of his worries is not knowing what to do when they do come. Should he just stay put or attempt to help? Not that there is much he can do without a weapon. Maybe they’ll bring him one and pull him into whatever their plan is.

He stares at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. His thoughts race. Two prominent ones stand out. The first is hoping that Michelle, well, along with Bri and his mom, is okay and they all make it through. He thinks about his mom and finding her again. His heart lifts at the thought and knowing she is okay. The other prominent thought is trying to visualize what plan the teams will come up with. Will they be bursting in at any moment and take the guards down or will it be more of stealth approach? His plan would be of the stealth variety such as his dad used with the night runners in the CDC. Night runners! How are they going to handle that? He’d swear his dad said they were coming two nights hence. The fact that his dad was just a foot away from him in an armed camp brings a smile to his face. He sure would like to hear stories of his dad’s past but he stays pretty tight-lipped about those.

He hashes and rehashes the conversation but still comes up with that his dad said tonight was the night. He was able to tell Michelle, Bri, Gonzalez, and his mom. Gonzalez reminded them not to try anything even if an opportunity arose. He carefully looks around the gym again. He doesn’t want to look too much or try to make it obvious he’s looking for something. It looks just as it did before with no sign of anyone. There’s no sound of gunfire from outside either. He thinks about the night runners and how they’re going to get past them or, for that matter, exist outside the fence at night. There doesn’t seem to be any way the teams could get in during the day without being seen. No, his dad said they were coming in at night.

I guess they could set up a distraction of some kind, he thinks as time passes. Robert occupies his time by coming up with his own plans about how he would assault or infiltrate the school. He discards idea after idea as he comes to an impasse or an obstacle that prevents a successful conclusion. He’s been with his dad for many years so knows how to think unconventionally. That’s one aspect his dad set firmly in him; the ability to think outside of the box. If there was a conventional way of doing things, you could bet his dad would be doing something completely different. Robert’s thoughts go back to how he would plan it. He would take out a section of guard posts first. Of course that would depend on how they operated at night and their radio procedures if they had any. This place wouldn’t be too hard but the classrooms would be a different story. There are a lot of guards around so it depends on their response. The plan in Robert’s head centers on locating and taking out the barracks first. Keeping the hostages out of the line of fire would be important as well. He starts calculating the number of teams he would need in order to do all he’s come up with.

The young kid closest to the door stirs. Robert turns his head slowly to look thinking perhaps his dad is slithering on the floor coming to let him know he’s here. If his dad offers to take him and help free Michelle, he’s definitely jumping on that. He doesn’t see anything other than the boy settling back down and pulling the thin cover up having apparently rolled over. A bit of wind escapes from the boy and Robert shakes his head. He focuses back on the ceiling to continue his thoughts; waiting. He looks over the far side of the gym momentarily. A glimmer of movement catches his eye. Was that the door to the upper gym closing? He thinks so but he’s not really sure he even saw anything move. His thoughts idle back to the number of team members he’d need as he ponders where he’d put them and what they’d have to do to get everyone out. Two muted claps in rapid succession echo from the upper gym followed by two equally muted thumps. He looks to the upper gym railing to see the guards have vanished. He smiles. The teams are here.

* * *

The two guards drop heavily to the floor with most of their faces obliterated. The two rounds entered close at the base of their skulls and traveled upward by the angle of my shots. The exit wounds removed most of their sinus cavities on one side. They will definitely need closed-casket funerals. A little of the fine red mist still hangs in the air before gravity takes effect and brings the tiny droplets downward joining the meaty chunks that have already fallen. I’m not concerned about hiding the bodies as the gym is now clear. If anyone who matters makes it this far, we’ll have already been done for.

“Lynn, the gym is clear. You’re up,” I say. “Bring everyone in via the gym door so we aren’t spotlighted by the outside light.”