Page 76 of Into the Gray Zone (Pike Logan #19)

Jennifer heard Pike’s call and scooted closer to the door. She could see the elevator at the back of the sunken den, at the

rear of its own anteroom. She waited for it to open, knowing the blood that was coming when it did. She heard the distinct

whopping of helicopter blades splitting the air, then felt a boom that shook the building. Raging gunfire split the air above

her on the roof of the building, sounding like a fireworks display that had gone awry.

The Black Cats.

She saw the men in the room stiffen, their weapons raised for an enemy that hadn’t appeared, the men swinging their barrels

left and right. The man with the detonator started shouting orders, and the elevator door opened. She saw another red-uniformed

guard step out, then the terrorist from the slum.

Detonator Man screamed something, and his men opened up. Both of the men exiting the elevator were cut down by the jittery

black-clad guards, their weapons firing on full automatic even after the bodies had fallen. Pike and Knuckles came out right

behind them, weapons up and firing, ripping rounds into the men shooting at the elevator. She ran to the open sliding-glass

door and raised her pistol, seeing the man with the detonator throw a hand grenade toward the elevator and take off running.

She took a knee and started shooting. She got off one shot before one of the other guards turned to her, forcing her to defend herself instead of killing the man with the detonator. She put two rounds into him and the grenade went off, shattering the elevator.

She looked for another target and saw Nadia leap up, giving chase to Detonator Man. He reached the stairwell leading to the

mezzanine with Nadia right behind him. Jennifer gave chase, passing Annaka and shouting, “Get on the balcony, get on the balcony!”

Annaka started to run and Jennifer raced to the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time to the mezzanine level. She reached

the top and saw Nadia fighting the man for the detonator, both of them rolling on the ground, the man’s rifle flopping around

between them.

She sprinted to the fight, putting her pistol an inch from the man’s head. He screamed and she pulled the trigger, blowing

out the back of his skull, the bullet spraying the wall with brain matter and blood.

Nadia rolled off him, the detonator in her hands. She leaned against the wall and said, “That was close.”

Jennifer said, “No time for relaxing. We have about two minutes to live. We need to find Annaka and get somewhere safe.”