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flares. They burned orangey-pink and let off a lot of smoke. I
fired off the final three shots from my clip before the smoke got
too bad. They d tried retreating back into the cabin, but were
being ordered to spread out across the compound.
Which was just what we d expected. That s why Spike was
way over on one side of the compound and Bel, armed with two
handguns, was over on the other. The guards were firing now,
spraying automatic rounds. From somewhere, I heard the un-
mistakable sound of Spike s Ingram firing back. I took off the
night sight, put down the Varmint, picked up my Colt
Commando, and waded in.
The compound was all smoke and circus lights now, but the
breeze was dispersing the smoke as rapidly as it formed. I decided
to frighten whoever was left in the cabin, so let off a few rounds
at it. The walls were thin wood planks over wood studding. In
films, walls like that could stop bullets, but not in real life. I
drilled into the walls until I could see light coming out through
them. Then someone turned the lamp off. I d been firing high,
guessing anyone scared would be ducking or lying flat. I hoped I
hadn t hit anyone I didn t want to hit. Then I realized something.
I realized I was the only target the guards had. A bullet
from a handgun flew past my head. I squatted down and let off
a burst with the Colt. I hit the gunman three times across his
chest, sending him flying backward into the dirt. I could hear
Bel now, firing in quick bursts the way she d been taught. One-
two-three, one-two-three, like dance steps. And Spike, Spike
was back on the range in Texas, wasting bullets but making
plenty of noise. They must ve thought there was an army com-
ing at them. And it was working; the guards were firing but re-
treating at the same time. If you fire a gun while you re moving,
340
Bleeding Hearts
forget about accuracy. I held my ground and fired another burst
from the Colt. It was fitted with a thirty-round clip. I had a few
more clips in my pocket.
Then the cabin window shattered and someone started firing
through it. I heard a dull thwump and realized they were firing
grenades. I dived sideways, thudded into the ground, and started
moving. The explosion was way behind me and over to one side,
but it still lifted me off the ground. I felt the earth swell beneath
my chest, like the planet was taking a deep breath, and the blast
kicked my legs up into the air.
I lay flat facing the cabin and started firing, only to have the
magazine die on me. It took a few seconds to reload, by which
time another thwump had signaled a fresh grenade. I crawled
again. The blast was a lot closer this time. It closed off my
eardrums and rattled my head. I rolled and kept rolling, bits of
earth and tree bark raining down on me. There was nothing but
a mute hissing in my ears, and somewhere behind it the distant
firing of guns.
I tried to shake my head clear, and realized something had hit
me. A rock or something. My left arm felt numb from the impact.
I bit my fingers, trying to force some sensation back into them.
Then I got to my feet and started firing again. There were bod-
ies in front of me, three of them. They were lifeless. Two I had
hit on the porch, and another had been hit since then, I couldn t
say by whom.
Then I saw another figure darting through shadow. I put the
night sight to my eye and made out Spike. He knew I could see
him, and gave an okay sign with thumb and forefinger. Not that
he could see me, but he gave it anyway. I fired another spray to-
ward the cabin. There were no more thwumps, which meant that
Kline only had the two grenades. Now I could hear a woman
shrieking, and hear two men shouting. I checked over to my right
with the night sight, but there was no sign of Bel.
Then the cabin door flew open, and Alisha came stumbling out.
 Don t shoot! she yelled.  I m not armed or anything! She
was wailing, and holding her arm. It looked like she d been
winged.
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Ian Rankin
 Everybody else out of the cabin! I called. My voice
sounded firm enough, from what I could hear of it.  Out of the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]