The soldiers at the fence were temporarily suppressed. The driver of the SOV had attempted to turn his vehicle on the driveway, but only succeeded in blocking the second Humvee. The vehicles provided cover for the enemy soldiers who quickly dove behind them.
For the next minute, it was a standoff. The soldiers at the SOV were pinned down by Bill and Nat from the roof, while Mel and Emily kept shooting at them from the school entrance. The driver of the Humvee also joined the fight with sporadic return fire.
Keith had crawled around the planter and started taking pot shots at the soldiers as well. For a few moments, they had their opponents pinned down. John stayed focused on Shaw’s Humvee, ready for somebody to pop out of the vehicle and begin shooting. He suspected that he got the driver, which left Shaw in there.
Then the situation changed. John heard something over the noise of the shooting. Was that another vehicle? The next sound made him forget about everything else. It was Mel screaming.
A few yards to his left, the fourth soldier had gotten himself untangled from the comrade he had shot and gone unnoticed in the firefight. The soldier could only see the two women at the school entrance, so he lifted his rifle and took out the first one with a three-shot burst. He had the second in his sights when he took a burst in the shoulder and back. Keith had moved further around the planter and shot him.
John jumped up and ran to his wife, oblivious to the firefight around him. By the time he got up the steps, she was already being dragged into the school by Joe and Emily.
Behind him, the soldiers were no longer suppressed and took shots at Bill and Nat. One of them jumped onto the back of the SOV and started the machine gun. Chunks of plaster rained down onto the ground as the gun roared to life.
This was all forgotten as John helped drag the injured Mel further into the school.
“To the clinic, quick!” Joe instructed. John shook off Emily’s and Joe’s hands and scooped Mel up into his arms. He looked down at her. Blood was seeping through her clothes. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought it came from her gut.
Oh no.
John had seen this before. It did not end well.
Shaking his head to get the negative thought out of his mind, he looked into Mel’s pale face. She was in shock, but somehow managed a small smile. John was distantly aware of the machine gun continuing to pound the school as he walked towards the clinic.
He walked in and placed Mel on the table. Joe had yelled for Shelley and Christine, and the two women had come running. They immediately started stripping Mel’s shirt and pants. Joe yelled out instructions as they worked.
John had backed off and stood at the door, stunned. He felt a tug at his elbow and looked over to see Emily. She was yelling at him, but he could barely hear her. It felt like she was a mile away.
“We’ve got to get back in the fight, mate!” he finally heard.
His training took over again. He popped the mag, not noticing as it bounced across the floor, and inserted the spare one he had in his pocket. He followed Emily back towards the front entrance.
They were met with a powerful blast when they got to the doorway. John ducked to the side of and shielded his eyes as the air rushed past him. He was surprised by what he saw when he looked outside.
The SOV lay on its side, and the Humvee sat at a different position and angle as well. Both vehicles were smoking. Somebody was screaming.
John ran in a low crouch down the steps and over to the planter and took a position beside Keith.
“What the hell happened?” He stole a glance at Keith.
Keith motioned with his chin. “Those guys happened.”
John looked beyond the destroyed vehicles. Through the shifting clouds of smoke, he could make out another vehicle on the far side of the fence. A soldier popped up out of the hatch. He watched as another soldier got out and covered the wrecked vehicles from his side of the fence. A small gust of wind shifted the smoke for a few seconds and John could see their saviors more clearly. It was Mike and his team.
“The guy sticking out of the top tossed a grenade,” Keith said.
John nodded. That made sense, considering the way things looked now.
“Eyes left, guys,” Emily called from her elevated position at the school door.
John looked at the crashed Humvee.
Shaw!
There was movement. John ran in a low crouch, until he was behind the Humvee.
He heard somebody moan. John motioned for Keith, who came running. He motioned for Emily to cover him and positioned Keith to cover from another angle.
He stepped to the passenger door and pulled it open with one hand, raising his weapon with the other.
Shaw was rocking in his seat. He was still alive, but barely. Shaking badly, he turned to face John. The right side of his face was gone. He overbalanced and pitched towards John, who stepped back quickly.
Shaw hit the pavement with a smack. He was still not dead; he twitched on the ground. Keith had walked up and raised his rifle to put the man out of his misery.
“Don’t.” John instructed. “This bastard executed Craig. He deserves to suffer.”
Shaw must have heard that, as he made a small noise. It sounded halfway between a cough and a chuckle.
John dropped down on his haunches next to the dying man.
“Laugh it up, you sick fuck. I don’t know who you are, but your mission ends now. And I will find those people you mentioned. The people that we all apparently ‘answer to.’ And I will fuck them up too.”
Shaw’s body grew slightly more animated for a few seconds, then one last breath rattled out of his mouth
