Page 116 of Edge of Honor

“Four aisles down,” she replied. “Third cage on the left.”

“Is he alone?”

The woman shrugged. “I didn’t want to get too close.”

Thanking her, Harvath asked that she not let anyone else pass until he got back. She gave him a nod, crossed her arms, and stepped into the middle of the hall to physically block the way of anyone who might come along.

Judging by the size of most of the union workers he’d already seen, she wasn’t going to scare any of them. But by the same token, she had a pretty good don’t-fuck-with-me-fellas attitude that might actually prevail.

Leaving her to “guard” his six, Harvath took out his Glock and headed toward the cages.

The unending rows of metal storage units reminded him of the Indiana Jones movie where the Ark of the Covenant is hidden away in a massive government facility.

When he neared the fourth aisle, he came to a stop and listened for several moments. He didn’t hear anything.

Even though the cages were made from heavy-gauge wire mesh and therefore technically see-through, the one he was standing next to was so crammed with rolls of carpets and construction materials, he couldn’t use it to steal a glimpse down the aisle. To do that, he was going to have to expose himself and pop his head out around the corner of the cage.

As soon as he did, he saw not just one but two of the men he was looking for. He figured the third one was inside the open cage.

“Hands up!” he yelled, drawing down on them. “Don’t even fucking twitch.”

Both of the heavily tattooed men spun to face him, with the result that the man in the cage was completely hidden from view.

“Hands!” Harvath shouted again.

Man number one complied but man number two didn’t, which was the only green light Harvath needed.

He shot man number one in his left thigh, dropping him to the ground. It revealed that man number two, standing slightly behind him, had just pulled a pistol.

Harvath shot man number two—twice in the chest and once in the head, dropping him to the floor next to his neo-Nazi buddy.

The only question was, had the third man gone for coffee, or was he actually in the cage? Harvath figured he was close.

“Step out of the cage!” Harvath ordered. “Do it now!”

His instructions were answered with a series of shotgun blasts.

In response, he crouched down, carefully peeked around the corner, and unloaded his pistol in the shooter’s direction. He then ejected his spent mag, inserted a fresh one, and repeated the process.

There was a loud thud from inside the cage he was targeting. It could have easily been something inanimate, but it also could have been human. He decided to take a beat and wait it out. There were no other sounds.

“You, inside the cage, come out now!” he ordered.

Nothing happened.

“Inside the cage! Hands above your head. Come out now!”

Still nothing.

Addressing the man he had shot in the thigh, Harvath stated, “You, on the ground. Face down, hands behind your head. Do it now!”

As the man complied, Harvath added, “Interlace your fingers. Do it now!”

The man did what he had been told to do and, with one eye on him and another on the cage that had contained the man with the shotgun,Harvath stepped out of his position of concealment and moved cautiously down the aisle.

At the open cage, he saw the body of the man with the shotgun, perforated with multiple rounds from Harvath’s Glock. Taking his shotgun away, he also put an additional round through the side of his head, just to be sure. Jackass number two was lying, clearly dead, in the aisle from the shots to the chest and head.

Sliding the shotgun out of reach, he removed a pair of plastic restraints and secured the hands of number one behind his back.