Chapter 34 #2
The asshole on the roof was still taking potshots at the patrol cars and emergency vehicles, which left them precious fucking little room to maneuver without pulling his fire toward the school.
“Ambra One, Eagle. You know who else lives in your town?”
“No, Boss.”
Seriously? What the hell, brother? This is not the freaking time for twenty questions about the natives.
“We haven’t exactly been social butterflies...”
“Lynx.” Noble cut straight through Zenko’s bitching. “He lives in your town, and according to the 911 dispatcher, he and his sniper are going to give you a window to get into position and take that fucker out.”
Zenko went still.
Lynx?
Who the fuck is Lynx?
Special Forces?
Operators?
Who the hell does Noble mean?
“The dispatcher called the shooter a fucker?”
“Nope. She said his cornbread wasn’t baked in the middle and his momma didn’t whoop his ass enough when he was a kid.” Noble gave him barely a second to appreciate that one. “Be ready, Ambra.”
“Lynx are similar to Panthers.” Shaun glanced toward Zenko. “Delta.”
“Makes sense.” Charlie looked toward Jack. “Delta used to have animal names. SEALs had colors back in ’Nam.”
“Roger that, Boss.” The connection finally snapped into place.
Fuck me. Team Lynx. Fritz Blackwell’s old Delta team.
Before Team Lynx retired, Blackwell’s second-in-command, Castello Moran, had taken over the team.
Does the asshole who put me in shit in Syria fucking live here too?
Zenko glanced at Shaun. Damn it, if that bastard lived here too, they were going to have a serious conversation about his guy’s choice of location for their home base when this shit was over.
Shaun’s phone started ringing. Zenko frowned at it.
Who the fuck is calling him right now?
“Answer it.” Max came through Zenko’s earpiece. “It’s Lynx.”
Shaun answered and lifted the phone to his ear. “Ambra.”
A deep male voice came through Shaun’s phone. “You Ambra Two?”
“Yep. That’s me.” Shaun shifted the phone slightly away from his ear so Zenko could hear the conversation too.
Zenko gave Shaun a nod. If Noble and Max were willing to put Moran into play, they trusted him enough for today, and that was good enough while they had an active shooter across the street.
Zenko could figure out how much truth there was in everything he’d heard about the man later.
Then, if necessary, he could kick Moran’s ass.
“I’m Lynx One.”
Yup. Castello fucking Moran.
Zenko held out his hand, and Shaun immediately put the call on speaker.
“Lay out your plan for me.”
The sharp inhale from the other end told him Moran hadn’t particularly appreciated the demand, but Zenko didn’t give a shit. If Castello Moran was joining their operation, they could sort out hurt feelings when nobody was shooting at a fucking school.
“Ambra One, y’all are playing in the same sandbox today.” Noble’s warning cut through before Zenko could give Moran some shit.
“Copy that, Sir.”
“I know who you are, Ambra One, and I understand your beef with me.” Castello sounded considerably less bothered by Zenko’s attitude than he had a few seconds ago. “How about you punch the shit outta me when we get done?”
“Deal.” Zenko shrugged at Shaun’s raised eyebrow. He’d explain it later. For now, he could put aside what he’d heard after that job in Syria turned into a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
That clusterfuck brought you to Shaun.
Zenko shoved the thought aside before it could drag him any further from the operation. Whatever Syria had ultimately given him, he could deal with that after Pearson was no longer sitting on a roof with a .50-caliber rifle.
“Tell me your plan,” he ordered Castello.
“My sniper is going to draw his attention from the top of the supermarket.”
Zenko winced. He and Shaun had briefly considered using the supermarket roof themselves, but it sat lower than the pharmacy and would leave Lynx’s sniper exposed to Pearson’s fire.
“There are noncombatants in the supermarket too. They’re all in the back rooms.” Zenko glanced at Shaun before shifting toward the door. “Count us down.”
“Roger that. Eagle, have the dispatcher send in the rescue team to grab those injured cops.”
“There’s more than one?” Noble asked.
“Another across the street,” Castello confirmed. “I can see him from here.”
“Ambra?”
“He took a round to his vehicle about ten minutes before the police chief arrived.” Zenko grimaced.
He probably should have passed that information along earlier, but at the time the shooter had been the priority.
“His vehicle is buried in the lamppost at the entrance to the supermarket. He was out of the car taking cover next to it when we headed to the gun store.”
“On my mark.” Castello brought the conversation straight back to the job. “Three.”
Zenko moved into position beside the door nearest the school, Shaun coming in beside him while Charlie and Jack stacked behind them.
“Two.”
Zenko gave his weapon one final check before wrapping his hand around the door handle. Shaun was ready beside him, with Charlie and Jack stacked behind them. He caught Shaun’s eye, gave him a quick wink, then glanced back at the other two men. “Watch your sixes.”
“Go, go, go.”
He shoved the door open and sprinted into the twenty feet of exposed ground. The Barrett M82A1 boomed from the pharmacy roof, the shot cracking across the street toward the supermarket as Lynx’s sniper pulled Pearson’s attention away from them.
He put on another burst of speed and drove into the school door, damn near taking it off its hinges when it gave beneath his weight.
He cleared the entrance, turned back long enough to make sure Shaun, Charlie, and Jack were through, then slammed the door shut behind them.
They moved immediately, taking the first corner and getting out of Pearson’s line of sight.
Shaun raced on Zenko’s heels, his weapon at ready position.
Ten feet. Halfway. Keep fucking going.
“Move.” Shaun drove him forward from directly behind.
“Yup.” Zenko put on another burst of speed and drove into the school door, damn near taking it off its hinges when it gave beneath his weight.
He cleared the entrance, turned back long enough to make sure Shaun, Charlie, and Jack were through, then slammed the door shut behind them.
They moved immediately, taking the first corner and getting out of Pearson’s line of sight.
Jack moved ahead and took them straight to the stairwell leading to the roof. “Up there. Emergency exit at the top. Push the bar and you’re out.”
“Thanks.” He turned to Charlie and Jack. “You two know what you’re doing?”
Jack nodded toward the corridor. “Checking on the kids and moving them to the opposite side of the school.”
“We can put them in the assembly hall.” Charlie started toward the corridor before Shaun stopped him.
“Better in classrooms at the opposite end of the hallway.” Shaun caught Charlie before he could move away. “If there’s a bomb, and I’m not saying there is, the assembly hall is where you’d take out the most people.”
“Damn.” The color drained from Charlie’s face before he turned toward Jack. “C’mon, slow coach. We got grandkids to protect.”
“Stay frosty.” He watched them start down the corridor. “Password is ‘Suoi Da.’ Anybody comes through those doors without it, challenge them first. If they present a threat, put them down.”
“Copy that.” Charlie raised a hand in acknowledgment before he and Jack disappeared around the corner and headed toward the classrooms.
Noble gave a grunt of acknowledgment. “I’ll pass that intel on to law enforcement.”
“Aye.” He waved Shaun ahead, then followed him up the stairs toward the roof.