“John,” Caitlin transmitted and her pistol barked loudly.
“Back in your room.”
John fired another burst up the corridor, turned, stepped over the unconscious guard, and fired a burst at the men coming through the stairwell door.
Gunshots came from behind him and he felt two impacts against his back. They drove the breath from his lungs. He dove into the open doorway and Caitlin slammed it behind him.
“Are you hurt?” She asked as she threw the latch.
“No, the vest stopped them. Let’s slide the dresser in front of the door.”
The dresser was light and moved easily.
“It won’t hold them,” she said silently.
“Just something to slow them down.”
John unlatched and opened the only window in the room. There was no screen, but a thick steel grating covered the opening.
He unwound a length of rope-like material from around his waist and started running it around the edge of the grating.
“What’s that?”
“Primacord. Get the mattress off the bed and drag it into the corner.”
Footsteps pounded to a stop outside the door.
John finished the hurried wrapping and took a fuse from a pocket. He cut off three inches worth, stowed the rest, and took out his Zippo.
“Get ready, it’s going to be loud,” he transmitted as he struck the Zippo and held the flame to the fuse. The fuse flared. John dove for the corner and Caitlin pulled the mattress atop them.
The Primacord exploded. It filled the confined space with a roar and a shower of flying glass. From the hallway came shouts of surprise.
John kicked off the mattress and ran to the window with Caitlin right behind him. The grating had vanished. He looked down. It was about a twelve-foot drop to a snow covered boxwood hedge.
“You first. Take my hands, I’ll lower you.”
Caitlin jammed the gun in her belt and climbed onto the windowsill. Turning, she clasped John’s wrists and then stepped back as he lowered her. Their coordination was as smooth as if they done it a thousand times.
At the end of John’s reach, Caitlin put her feet against the wall and pushed off as they simultaneous released. She dropped the last distance to the ground, slipped in the snow, but came up an instant later with the gun in her hand.
John climbed onto the windowsill as the door burst open. He turned, firing as he stepped off the sill into space.
Someone else was firing. John saw the man with the M-16 flung backwards as John’s burst caught him in the chest.
A burning pain shot through John’s gut.
He hit the ground, rolled to his feet, stumbled, and fell.
Caitlin was at his side in an instant. She gripped his arm and helped to his feet, gasping as she felt his pain.
“John!”
“No time. I left my bags at the corner,” he transmitted their location and contents in a wordless image.
“Can you walk?”
“Hell, I can run. You get the bags. I’ll distract them.”
She released his arm and ran toward the front of the building, not seeing him stumble and fall as she did.
John rolled onto his back and raised the Uzi. Snow blocked the end of its barrel, it would melt in a few seconds, but he couldn’t wait. He slapped the barrel against his boot, aimed upwards, and fired a long burst at the faces already appearing in the open window.
John forced himself to stand. He fired another burst, shorter this time to conserve his ammunition, and limped toward the nearest trees.
A troubling warmth was spreading outwards from his abdomen.
He reached the first tree, braced himself against it, and fired toward the windows. This time his fire was answered by at least two guns. He rolled around the tree until it was between him and the window. “Caitlin, hurry it up dear. They’re getting persistent.”
“On my way.”
John could see movement at both ends of the building. Caitlin ran toward him from the front and three black suited men did a rapid advance and cover toward him from the rear. They saw Caitlin at the same time she saw them.
Before they could bring their weapons to bear, John opened up, dropping one in his tracks and causing the other two to dive for cover.
Caitlin ran on without pause.
“Go! Keep moving, I’ll be right behind you.”
John slipped his night goggles back over his eyes while waiting for Caitlin to get a lead on him. He waited until she was nearly to the street. He fired a couple of bursts towards the two men at the rear of the building, another one toward the new group that had appeared at the front corner, and then ran after her.
Automatic fire shattered the branches behind him, sending splinters flying in every direction.
Gunfire sounded in front of him.
“Guards, in a vehicle, coming from the gate area,” Caitlin transmitted.
“Stay low, I’ll be there in a minute.”
Caitlin’s handgun quieted and John realized she must be switching weapons. If she just had enough sense to keep her head down.
He transmitted a wordless command for her to stay under cover until he reached her.
There was more gunfire as he approached her position, but a quick check told him it was her firing and only her.
“They’re not shooting back because they want you alive,” John transmitted.
“And not you?”
“Apparently they feel they can get whatever they need from just you.”
“Fat chance.” Her weapon sounded again.
“Take out their tires so they can’t follow us. It’s going to be hard enough to get out of here without having them chase us down these mountain roads.”
“What do you think I’m trying to do? They won’t stick their heads up long enough for me to hit them.”
John reached her and stopped to lean against a tree trunk
