A few residents noticed him. “Sheriff. Do you know what’s happening?”
“I’ll find out.” He went back inside the hospital and told the front desk he would be back later to check on her. Dan exited the building and returned to his ATV. He fired it up and zipped out of the lot, heading west toward the flames. All the while, his stomach sank. The closer he got, the clearer it became what was ablaze.
By the time he reached the mall, Johnson and thirty or more officers were already on scene. As soon as Johnson saw him, he came jogging over. His face blackened by smoke. Several officers had rifles in hand and were making their way around the inferno while others cordoned off the area and kept onlookers back.
“Should I even ask?” Dan said.
“It’s gone, sheriff. Everything. All the supplies. Burned up.”
TWENTY-THREE Colby
Merced County
It was a war zone. The staccato of gunfire was deafening. Colby had unleashed a furious flurry of rounds across the street to take out the guy who had shot Paul. His body dropped over the edge of a building. Colby dipped behind the lip of a short wall to check on Paul. He’d set his gun down and was gripping his shoulder as blood blossomed. Colby pulled back the shirt to get a better look. He had him lean forward to check the rear. “It went right through. You’re lucky.”
“I wouldn’t say I was lucky,” Paul said, grimacing in pain.
“Man, I wish you had gone home.”
“You and me both,” he replied.
He didn’t want to put him in harm’s way, knowing that he had a wife and child waiting for him. Colby tore off some of his shirt and told him to hold it over the wound. “You’ll need medical treatment ASAP.”
“Ah, well, hold my gun while I phone for an ambulance,” he said sarcastically.
Colby saw movement off to his right. A face appeared over the ledge in the same area of the building where they’d climbed up. He fired a shot and the bullet struck the guy in the head, sending him down. “We can’t stay here.”
Scrambling across the top of the roof on all fours to avoid getting shot in the head, Colby made his way to the far side and fired three rounds at several guys who were making their way toward the hardware store. A round erupted behind him, and he turned in time to see a guy slumped over on the other side of the building. Paul had shot him. Had he not, Colby would have been dead by now.
It was too hot to stay on the roof. They were now drawing more attention than they could handle. Making his way back to Paul, he looked out and saw Jackson and three young guys on the roof of the Outpost, picking off individuals as they darted across the street. They were helping. He would have given them the thumbs-up if he didn’t think he would get it shot off. “You good?”
“I’ve felt better.”
“We’ll move in a minute. I want to make sure the road is clear.”
“To where?”
“Anywhere but here.”
“But what about your friend?”
“Right now all that matters is getting you out of here,” Colby said. “Hold up.” He raced across to the far side of the building and engaged with a group that had come around back.
He heard someone yelling, giving orders.
“You two, go that way. You, get up there.”
“I’m not dying for Spider.”
That was the wrong thing to say. Colby watched as one of them killed his own, dropping him as he tried to walk away. That’s how they were doing this. Anyone who got cold feet was executed. Colby took advantage of the moment and killed the guy who’d shot the other one. The bullet struck him in the neck and he collapsed to bleed out. He then turned the rifle on those that were trying to find a way up. There was only one way, and that was using the dumpster at the side of the building.
Paul already had his gun aimed at the lip of the roof.
As soon as one of them tried their luck, it was lights out.
Colby handled the other two that were making their way around and were planning on rolling a vehicle up to the back of the building and then climbing.
“Wrong choice, assholes.”
He squeezed off a rapid three-round burst, striking one of them in the stomach. The other one took cover behind the vehicle. Colby fired at the tire, then ejected his mag and palmed in another, preparing to engage again.
“Colby!” Paul pointed to two more that had climbed on top of the auto shop next to the hardware store. He didn’t manage to get a round off before he had to lay flat on the roof, crawling forward on his belly. The hostiles laid down some serious gunfire, making both of them squirm across the roof surface.
There were no large air vents to hide behind, the only protection came from a small three-foot brick lip.
Suddenly the gunfire stopped.
Colby rolled four times across the roof then lifted his head. He figured if someone had a bead on him, he’d have to be damn good at shooting a moving object. It was a risk. It paid off. As he came up, he found both of them gone. An air horn was blasted off to his right, and Corey turned to see Jackson motioning for him to get down and head toward the main entrance. “Move it now!”
Colby slung his arm around Paul and helped him over to the ledge.
“I need to go down first. Can you get down by yourself?” Colby asked.
“I guess I’ll have to.”
Colby launched himself over and landed hard on the plastic cover of the dumpster. He rolled off and brought up the rifle, scanning from left to right before giving the all-clear.
Paul tried to
