Page 49 of Into the Gray Zone (Pike Logan #19)
Knuckles half dragged, half walked Riva Thakkar to the brick wall next to the French doors of the southern room, then took
a knee, listening. The firing had stopped and almost anyone who was ambulatory had fled the dining area, running across the
grounds to the main hotel building.
He glanced into the room and saw two of the hotel’s red-uniformed security and the rock star’s bodyguard aiding the wounded.
He knew they’d be on edge and he didn’t want to attempt to enter without announcing himself first, but couldn’t remember the
man’s name. Tony? No, Troy.
“Troy, Troy, I’m outside here with Riva Thakkar. We’re coming in.”
Troy whipped his pistol up, but lowered it when Knuckles waved. Knuckles entered, dragging Riva behind him. He sat Riva in
a chair and turned to the uniformed men, both looking a little sick at the carnage around them. He said, “Were either one
of you hired by Jaiden?”
They both shook their heads, one saying, “We work for the hotel. Not Mr.Thakkar.”
Knuckles said, “Are either of you armed?”
They shook their heads no. Shit. So much for protecting Riva. He said, “Go out that door and down the path toward the back of the property. You’ll find one of Thakkar’s security men down there, unconscious. Bring him back here. If he tries to fight you, knock him out.”
They left the room and Thakkar said, “If they bring that traitor in here, I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”
“No, you won’t, if you want to find out what’s going on. He’s the only key we have. You kill him and Jaiden gets away.”
He turned from Thakkar without another word, saying, “What do we have, Troy?”
Troy said, “A group of nuts attacked the party. We’ve moved everyone who’s ambulatory into the northern room. There’s another
protective detail in there providing security, and it’s the most secure space right now. The hotel’s been alerted and police
are on the way.”
He paused, then said, “Look, you need to get in there with the rest of the civilians. I can’t protect you out here and deal
with the wounded.”
Knuckles bent down, checking the pulse of a woman and finding her dead. Troy said, “You have medical experience?”
Knuckles said, “A little. Just basic first aid stuff I had to learn for a previous job. You?”
“Yeah, I was an eighteen delta in the Army.”
Knuckles feigned ignorance, and Troy said, “Special Forces medic.”
Troy continued working on a wounded man, then said, “Take Mr.Thakkar to the other room, then come back here. Being able to
triage is better than nothing. It’ll save me time.”
The two hotel security men returned with the bodyguard Knuckles had knocked out, carrying him by his arms and legs. They dropped
him on the floor and Knuckles said, “Troy, this asshole is involved in the attack. I’d recommend flex-cuffing him to a radiator
or something.”
Troy finished applying a compress to a wounded man and said, “Flex-cuffs? You ever work with them in your ‘previous job’?
And how did you know where that asshole was outside?”
Knuckles said, “Look, I used to do something a little like your job, but I’m just here on a date. I’ll get Mr. Thakkar to the safe room and come back. Don’t let that man get away.”
Knuckles turned back to Riva and said, “Mr.Thakkar, he has a point. Let’s get you to the safe room and wait on the authorities
to sort this out.”
Thakkar stood up and kicked the unconscious guard in the leg. Knuckles said, “Sir, that’s not necessary now. The fight’s over.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when gunfire exploded on the other side of the building. Troy said, “What the fuck?”
Troy drew his pistol and started running to the northern room. Knuckles shouted, “Thakkar, stay here!” He pointed at the hotel
security and said, “You two protect him!” and followed right behind Troy.
They ran past the bar area, Troy shouting, “Can you shoot that pistol?”
“Yeah, I can shoot.”
“Aim for their heads. They have body armor.”
***
Kamal reached the French doors of the northern room, staying just outside the light. He crouched down and saw that the men
and women they’d killed earlier had been moved to the patio, stacked next to the grenade casualties. Neat lines of corpses
all in a row.
Two private bodyguards were inside trying to get the guests who hadn’t fled to remain calm, both armed with pistols.
He looked at Randeep and said, “Single shot. I’ll take the man on the left. You take the one on the right.”
Randeep nodded and Kamal turned to Jaiden, saying, “There are two women in the room. Which one is Thakkar’s daughter?”
Jaiden pointed to the one on the left, saying, “The one with the blue flowers in her hair.”
Kamal nodded and said, “We’re going to kill those two security men. When we do, Randeep and I will go inside and snatch her
and that old white guy in the rear. You and Manjit cover us. Shoot anyone who tries to resist.”
Jaiden nodded, saying, “Just be quick. I’m sure the police are on the way, and if we get stopped on the road, we might as
well have gotten killed here.”
Kamal raised his weapon, taking aim. Out of the side of his mouth, he said, “Randeep, do you have your man?”
“Yes.”
Kamal squeezed the trigger, felt the recoil, and saw his man drop. Randeep fired right after him, killing his target, and
they both leapt up, kicking in the doors. Randeep ran to the older man in the rear, now cowering on his knees, his hands over
his head. He reached down to grab him, and Kamal saw Randeep’s body jerk, then his head snap back, his arms flying wide as
he fell straight back, his AK-47 clattering to the floor.
Kamal turned to the arched entry door and saw two men shooting, one in a Western suit, the other wearing Indian garb. He returned
fire, hitting the suit and causing the one dressed like a local to duck behind the entrance wall. He screamed, “Manjit, Jaiden,
get the hostages!”
Jaiden ran into the room and grabbed the older Caucasian, jerking him to his feet by his hair, then dragging him back out
the door. Manjit ran to Thakkar’s daughter but another woman jumped on her, covering the daughter with her own body.
The bodyguard Kamal had hit was rolling on the ground. Kamal whipped his weapon to him, but before he could fire, the other man had snatched him back behind the wall, snapping rounds as he did so. Kamal fired, missing him, then turned, wondering what was taking so long.
Manjit was standing over the two women, his weapon raised, but not shooting. Kamal screamed, “Kill her and take the daughter!”
Manjit aimed, but he didn’t squeeze the trigger. He lowered his weapon and grabbed the woman on top, shouting, “No, we take
them both.”
Kamal cursed, emptied his remaining rounds at the door, then turned and snatched Thakkar’s daughter by the arm, snarling,
“You’d better run, or I’ll kill you.”
She began screaming but let him lead her out the door.
They reached the path, Kamal seeing Manjit in front of him with the other woman. Manjit turned to make sure he was there,
and Kamal screamed, “Don’t look! Run! Run!”
Kamal dropped his weapon on its sling, keeping one hand on the daughter’s arm while his other hand reached for a grenade.
***
Knuckles pulled Troy out of the line of fire and said, “Where are you hit?”
“It creased my chest. I’m okay, I’m okay.”
Knuckles rotated back to the entranceway and Troy rolled upright, aiming low underneath Knuckles’ firing arm, both of their
barrels sticking into the room.
They were met by a fusillade of automatic fire driving them back, the bullets chipping the stone around the door. The firing
ceased, Knuckles waited for a second, then whipped his weapon back into the room, Troy following his lead. Outside of dead
bodies, it was empty.
Troy said, “Shit. They took my principal.”
He stood up, running to the open French doors. Knuckles shouted, “Wait! Not straight behind them!” but it was too late. He muttered, “Shit,” then launched himself through the room and dove out the door, expecting to feel a bullet as soon as he exited.
He rolled upright, his pistol at the ready, and saw Troy running down the path ten feet away. He leapt up, trying to catch
Troy and get him to pause a moment instead of running willy-nilly after a group of terrorists wearing body armor with AK-47s
and a propensity to kill.
Knuckles shouted, “Troy! Stop!”
Troy said, “I see them! I see them!” and Knuckles heard a faint springlike twang, then a small thud in front of him, like
a rock had been thrown. Remembering the patio, he hit the earth, screaming, “Grenade!”
It went off, launching Troy in the air and hammering Knuckles with overpressure. His ears ringing, he crawled forward, finding
Troy’s body split almost in half, his innards splayed on the ground, his eyes open, lifeless. Knuckles stood up, took two
faltering steps forward, then took a knee, shaking his head to clear the fog.
He heard a vehicle start, then the squealing of tires, with a final flash of brake lights disappearing in the night.