Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Shaun paused at the top of the stairs, the emergency exit exactly where Charlie and Jack had said it would be. He glanced over his shoulder at Zenko.
“Be safe out there.”
“You too, babe.” Zenko pressed a swift kiss to his lips. “Go.”
He pressed the lock bar with his right hand and eased the door open far enough for them to slip through. Once outside, he lifted his face, searching for the heat of the sun.
Okay, sun’s coming from the left.
The opposite corner gave him the better position, keeping the glare out of his eyes and reducing the chance of a scope reflection giving them away.
He and Zenko crossed the roof in a crouched run, using what little cover they had until they reached the position they’d picked from below.
They dropped behind the low concrete parapet surrounding the rooftop.
“Find that fucker, baby.”
Zenko was already searching the pharmacy roof through his optic. “I’m looking.”
He settled himself into place and set up the AK. He would have preferred to have been making this shot with an M24 or a Win Mag, but he would take what he could get. It wasn’t as if his target was a mile away.
“Just another day at the office.”
His target was well under a thousand meters away.
He checked the direction of the sun again, making sure there was no glare across his scope that could distort the image or fuck with his shot.
At this distance, he didn’t need to worry about the rotation of the Earth affecting where the round landed.
He settled the AK against the concrete surround, keeping the muzzle clear, and peered through the scope as he scanned the pharmacy roof for movement.
“Got him.” Zenko kept his voice low enough that the wind blowing against their backs almost carried it away.
Shaun appreciated the caution. Pearson had enough training to make him dangerous, and neither of them was stupid enough to give away their position over something as simple as a voice carrying across the rooftops.
He might not be on their level, but even an idiot got lucky sometimes.
“He’s behind that post, tucked into the corner.”
“Got him.”
“TOC, Ambra One. You copy?”
“Go ahead, Ambra One,” Max answered.
“Can you have Lynx draw him to the opposite corner? All we see is a boot.”
“Copy.”
Seconds later, a round struck the rooftop beside Pearson’s position, followed by another that splintered the wooden shutters above him.
Pearson bolted from cover, and Shaun took the shot.
Keeping his eye to the scope, he saw the round strike the back of Pearson’s neck.
He hadn’t risked a chest or back shot with no way of knowing what Pearson was wearing under his clothes.
The tango stumbled, his hands flying to his throat before he faceplanted onto the roof.
“Target is down,” Zenko said into the radio. “I repeat, target is down.”
“Copy that, Ambra One,” Noble acknowledged. “Good work. Now get your asses out of there, STAT.”
“You’ll make sure Charlie gets paid for the gear?” He retrieved the spent casing while Zenko wiped down the areas they’d touched. They weren’t leaving fingerprints or anything else behind that could give law enforcement a trail back to them.
“Of course,” Noble confirmed. “Paramedics are working on the injured.”
At the door to the school, Shaun took one last look toward the pharmacy roof. Two deputies had reached Pearson and were checking the body. He followed Zenko back inside, letting the door close behind them as his guy asked the question that mattered now.
“The police chief?” Charlie had gone with them despite knowing his son was pinned down in the middle of a kill zone, trusting the people coming behind them to get Ben out.
Damn, I hope like hell the man didn’t survive Vietnam only to lose his son to some asshole taking potshots from a pharmacy roof.
“Critical, but alive,” Noble confirmed. “Turn left.”
Zenko immediately took the left-hand corridor, with Shaun on his heels. Noble feeding them directions meant Max had hacked into the school cameras and was guiding them toward an exit. Within minutes, they were at a door that led to the basketball courts.
“There’s an emergency exit under the bleachers,” Noble directed.
“Roger.” Zenko smiled at him. Once they were through the door, they only had a short walk around the block before they could disappear into town. The truck could stay where it was for now. They could come back for it later. Maybe.
Shaun hated the thought of leaving the truck he and Zenko had bought behind, but what today probably meant for the house he had chosen bothered him a hell of a lot more.
He liked this little town and the normal life they had been building here.
After what they had done today, people were going to start asking questions about the two strangers who had somehow known exactly what to do when the shooting started.
They were on people’s radar now, which meant there was a damn good chance they would have to move.
“We can come home to Stromboli?” Zenko asked Noble. “I’m done with this recovery shit.”
“I’ll be there in forty-eight hours,” Noble answered. “Then we’ll talk.”
“Okay.” The grumble in Zenko’s voice came through loud and clear, and the stubborn set of his jaw said his guy didn’t give a shit who heard it. “Tell Lynx One I’m pissed about him dropping a building on my ass in Syria and I owe him a damn punch.”
“You got it.” Noble sounded far too amused by the prospect. “Let me know when you are at the house.”
“Yep, later, boss.”
They watched from the shadows as emergency services evacuated the school.
The crunch of a footstep in the woods behind them had both men spinning around, handguns at ready position.
Shaun didn’t expect a second tango to be waiting in the wings, but there was no fucking way he was taking that chance.
“Don’t shoot,” a voice called. “It’s Lynx.”
Zenko kept his weapon trained on the trees, making no move to lower it simply because some unknown asshole claimed to be Lynx.
Shaun stayed locked on the same patch of woods. After the day they’d had, he sure as fuck wasn’t taking someone’s word for who they were either. “Prove it.”
“My team detonated the bomb that sent a building to rubble around Mark’s ears in the Middle East a couple of months ago.”
“Where in the M.E.?”
“Syria.”
Zenko gave him a quick nod. “Step out where we can see you.”
“Sure,” the voice called back softly, “but if you put a bullet in my ass, your boss is going to be pissed.”
A huge dark-haired man dressed in jeans and an oil-smeared T-shirt stepped out from behind a tree.
“Noble sent me to get your asses clear of law enforcement.”
“Thanks.” Shaun lowered his SIG now that he could put a face to the voice coming out of the woods.
They had enough shit to deal with today without adding a second unknown threat to the mix.
Movement flashed at the edge of his vision, and he turned fast enough to see Zenko’s fist connect with Castello’s jaw.
“Fuck.”
“Goddamn it.” Castello stumbled back a step under the force of the left hook Zenko landed on his chin. “Asshole.”
“You could have fucking killed me, you dick.” Zenko shook out his fist before flexing his fingers and glaring at Castello.
He looked from Zenko’s fist to Castello’s jaw and bit back a laugh. The asshole was built like a fucking tank, and from the way Zenko kept opening and closing his hand, punching him apparently felt a lot like hitting one too.
“But I didn’t, and you got him out of it.” Castello nodded in Shaun’s direction before turning to lead the way through the small, wooded area into the park.
They followed Castello through the small, wooded area into the park, their weapons stowed in the gear bags Charlie had provided at the store. Castello led them to his truck and hit the remote, the lights blinking once before he opened the driver’s door and climbed in.
“Thank you for what you did back there.” Castello started the engine and pulled out of the parking spot. “This town is my home. I hate that that asshole tried to take away the safety we feel here.”
“I didn’t know there were any operators in the area when I picked it.” Shaun sat back against the rear seat.
Castello shrugged. “It’s Southern California. You can’t move to any town down here without falling over at least a couple of former operators.”
“So I see.” Zenko pointed to the right, and Castello took the turn. “We won’t be here long.”
“I guessed it.” Castello carefully overtook a truck before glancing briefly toward Zenko. “I know who Noble Bauer is. Hell, everyone in the special operations community knows who he is. The man’s a fucking legend.” His attention returned to the road. “Same goes for his swim buddy.”
Zenko snorted. “You trying to sweet-talk me so I don’t punch you again?”
“Fuck no. My jaw already hurts enough.” Castello rubbed one hand over his chin before returning it to the wheel.
“I’m saying I get why you guys will disappear after today.
I’ve heard the rumors about some Counter Terrorism Task Force, same as everyone else, but I’m not asking you to confirm shit.
I spent enough years in Delta to understand there are things you keep your mouth shut about. ”
Castello caught his eye in the rearview mirror. “Don’t know who your guy is, though. He moves like an Operator.”
“He is.”
“Figured.” Castello gave a short nod. “That’s all I need to know.”
Zenko settled back against the seat, apparently satisfied with that answer. A couple of miles outside town, he leaned forward. “You can drop us here.”
Castello hit his turn signal and pulled onto the shoulder. “You sure?”
“Yep.” He reached for the door handle. “Thanks for your help, man, it’s much appreciated.”
“You’re welcome.”
They climbed over the barrier beside the shoulder and waved Castello clear. He lifted a hand, pulled back onto the highway, and took off.
“You know where we are?” Zenko headed farther away from the road.