Chapter 40
The sound of the rifle caught Stone and the others in the living room by surprise.
Felicity grabbed the radio and pressed the Talk button. “Carly, was that you?”
“Yes,” Carly said. “Neutralized an armed subject who just exited the garage.”
“Are you sure they weren’t one of ours?”
“One hundred percent.”
“Okay, good. Was he alone?”
“Appears to be.”
“There must be others nearby.”
“He’s the only unfriendly I’ve seen so far.”
“All right. Let us know if that changes.”
“I did see one other person, though.”
Stone and Felicity exchanged confused looks, then Felicity said into the radio, “Who?”
“Ed Rawls. He went into the garage about a minute before the other guy came out.”
“May I?” Stone said to Felicity, motioning to the radio.
She gave it to him.
“Carly, where’s Ed now?” he asked.
“Still inside.”
“Do you think the other guy killed him?”
“How would I know? I’m not in the garage.” She paused for a second, then said, “Oh, I guess I do know. He’s at the garage door now.”
“Who is? Ed or the other guy?”
“Ed.”
“Is he hurt?”
“Doesn’t appear to be.”
The rifle boomed again, twice this time, in quick succession.
“Don’t shoot him!” Stone said.
“Why would I shoot him?” Carly asked. “I shot into the ground next to the guy I did shoot, so Ed would notice him, and also know I’m on his side.”
“And you think he’ll get all of that from a pair of gunshots?”
“Given that he just waved at me and is now disarming the guy on the ground, I’d say yes.”
“Oh, then good work.”
Felicity grimaced and took back the radio. “Carly, we really need to know if there are others, and where they are.”
“There are a couple other vents up here, but they aren’t as easy to get to. Let me see what I—” She paused. “FYI, Ed’s headed to the front door.”
Stone and Dino shared a look, then moved to the entrance.
Several seconds later, there was a light tap on the door. Dino aimed his shotgun at the entrance, then Stone quietly undid the lock and pulled the door open.
Dino lowered his weapon as Ed stepped inside, holding a couple pistols, an automatic rifle, and a shotgun.
Ed handed Stone the automatic and one of the pistols.
“Gee, Ed,” Stone said. “You shouldn’t have.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t get my message,” Ed said.
“Message?” Stone asked.
“On your cell, warning that a strike team was heading your way.”
“I, um, left it upstairs. You could have called the landline.”
“I did call the landline. No one answered.”
“That was you? You could have waited longer.”
“I decided following the people who want to kill you was a better use of my time.”
“Can’t fault that logic,” Dino said.
“To be clear,” Stone said, “it’s Felicity they probably want to kill.”
“True,” Ed said. “You’d just be collateral damage.”
“Well, when you put it that way…”
Felicity joined them. “We hear that one of the opposition is down out front.”
“Shot in the hip, thanks to your sniper,” Ed said.
“That was Carly,” Stone said.
“I should have guessed.”
“Is he going to be a problem?” Felicity asked.
“No.” He nodded at the weapons he’d given Stone. “Those were his, and I made sure he was unconscious before I came over.”
“Do you know how many there are?”
“I counted seven when they went by my place. I incapacitated another one in the apartment above the garage, so they’re down two.”
“What about the CIA team?” Stone asked.
“One dead by the gate, and there’s another in the apartment they were about to kill, but he’s okay. After he secures the intruder there, I told him to wait by the garage entrance.”
“No sign of the rest of our people?” Felicity asked.
Ed shook his head. “And I didn’t see the other intruders, either. I’ll go back out and see if I can find them.”
“I’ll go with you,” Dino said.
After a beat, Stone said, “I’ll go, too.” He glanced at Felicity. “Don’t open the door unless you know it’s us.”
“Thank you for pointing out the obvious,” she said.
“You’re welcome.”
He joined Dino and Ed at the door.
“They’ve got to be either at the back side of the house or the guesthouse,” Dino said.
“Agreed,” Ed said. “You two go left, then if it’s clear, head to the guesthouse. I’ll go right, then circle around and check the back.”
Dino and Stone nodded, and Ed opened the door.