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“Everyone geared up and ready?”
Ed and Xavier were both carrying AR-15s. Jazz and Serena each held a SIG Sauer MCX Rattler and had a SIG P365 holstered at their waists. They were ready for battle, but again, Jazz couldn’t help but feel the heavy weight of responsibility. By being here, she had brought trouble to these wonderful people.
“Hey, McAlister,” Xavier said.
She met Xavier’s gaze and knew he understood exactly what she was thinking. “It’s going to be all right,” he said softly. “I promise.”
“You can’t know that. If I hadn’t?—”
“Wherever you go, it’s going to be like this. At least here, we’re prepared to deal with it. Out in the open, there’s no telling what might happen.”
“How can you say that? There are women and children here that aren’t prepared.”
“We don’t have a lot of time, young lady,” Ed said, “so let me say this. The majority of our family is military. We do drills once a month. If there ever was a group of civilians prepared for this, it’s this community.”
Swallowing a lump of emotion, she nodded her thanks to Ed. Her eyes met Xavier’s, and a surge of energy and confidence swept through her. They could do this.
A cellphone buzzed and Ed answered with, “What’s going on?”
They watched as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the call, and then he said, “Let it fly.”
Pocketing the phone, he said, “They sent a drone this way to scope things out. It’ll be here in about a minute. Let’s get in place and turn the lights out.”
That was a good plan. The drone would show nothing but a dark household that looked unprepared for an attack.
The four of them marched out the door together. The instant they were on the porch, the confidence inside her tripled. At least twenty-five men and about a half-dozen women were standing in the front yard, and they, too, were heavily armed.
“Hell, Serena,” Xavier said, “you’ve got some kind of family.”
Her smile brilliant, she nodded and said, “I know.”
“Okay, everybody,” Ed said in a commanding voice. “We know there’re only about ten of them, so we got ’em outnumbered. They’re about to fly a drone over us, so take your places and stay quiet. When they arrive, we’ll give ’em a chance and then see what we see. Take ’em down if you have to. If possible, we’d like a couple left alive so we can have a chat with them.”
“We’re ready, Ed!” one of the men shouted from the back. “Let’s get rid of these suckers so we can get back to our supper.”
There was a group laugh, and then Ed shouted, “Places, everyone!”
Men and women dispersed, hunkering down behind cars, bushes, and giant flowerpots. Xavier grabbed Jazz’s arm and pulled her with him down the steps toward a large flower box. It would keep them hidden, as well as give them an excellent line of sight.
The entire area went dark, and everyone froze in place as they waited. A minute later, the unmistakable buzz of a drone sounded. Jazz held her breath. Even though she knew drones couldn’t detect breathing, she couldn’t help herself. She wanted no movement to be detected. The drone flew over the perimeter only once and took barely two minutes, but it seemed like forever before the sound faded away.
About a minute later, the unmistakable rumble of heavy vehicles heading their way broke the silence.
“Sounds like Hummers,” Xavier said.
Jazz nodded. “Yeah.”
“You okay?”
“I should have stayed in Montana,” she mumbled. “Everyone would have been safer.”
“No matter where you go, until these bastards are dealt with, you’re going to be a target. And Ed’s right. If ever there was a group prepared, it’s this family.” He touched her arm in a light caress. “It’ll be okay.”
She nodded, but the closer the sound of the vehicles came, the less sure Jazz was that it would work out okay. She wasn’t allowed to worry long, because the first vehicle arrived. Stopping several yards from the house, the Hummer’s doors flew open, and four men in tactical gear and helmets jumped to the ground and started running toward the house.
Another Hummer pulled in behind it, and six more soldiers jumped out. Like stealthy robots, they spread out. From their demeanor, it was obvious they had no idea what they might face. They had likely been given an order to collect a young female and take out anyone who got in their way. With everyone hidden and the drone revealing only a darkened household, the soldiers likely believed they were approaching unaware victims.
Nothing could have been further from the truth, which they learned when Ed Allen fired the first shot. Landing about a foot in front of a soldier, it was their only warning.