Home Invasion - J. A. Johnstone [114]
That day had arrived much sooner than even the President had expected, but the drivers behind the wheels of the trucks didn’t know that. Neither did the guards. And so the trucks rolled on, under the arching vault of the blue Texas sky.
Alex knew about the unlocked window in the gym. She had heard Jack, Rowdy, and Steve talking about it, although they had no idea that she knew. She led Ford, Parker, Garaldo, and Eloise right to it.
Parker went in first to reconnoiter, and when he gave the all-clear, Alex told Garaldo, “Up you go.”
“I cannot. Not with my hands fastened behind my back and a wounded arm.”
“He’s got a point,” Ford said. “I’ll cut you loose, Garaldo, but if you try anything else, you’ll be a dead hostage instead of a live one.”
Alex started to bristle. Garaldo was her prisoner, and she ought to be the one to decide what to do.
But Ford was right and she knew it. Garaldo had to be cut loose. Ford did so with a clasp knife he took from one of the pockets in his jeans.
While they covered him, the general climbed through the window. Eloise followed, then Alex, and finally Ford. Once they were all inside, they listened intently but didn’t hear any sounds of movement from elsewhere in the school.
“If some of your people are here, where would they be?” Parker asked Alex in a half-whisper.
She thought about it for a moment before saying, “I don’t know, unless they’re in the library. It has some big windows and gives a good view of the front parking lot. If they’re in there, they could see anybody coming.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Ford drawled. “Can you take us there?”
“Sure. Come on.”
As they made their way through the halls, Alex felt someone watching her, and when she glanced back, Ford looked away quickly. She looked forward again and smiled faintly. Earlier, he had let slip some comment about her being hot. He was kind of a big, good-looking guy himself. Not classically handsome, by any means, but he had a rugged appeal to him.
And this was so not the time to be thinking about such things, she reminded herself. Not with the lives of everybody in town still in danger, not to mention the terrible threat that nerve gas would be if it fell into Garaldo’s hands.
They reached the hall that led past the library doors. Alex whispered, “I’ll go first.”
“Maybe I should—” Ford began.
“This is my town, Agent Ford,” Alex cut him off. “If some of my people are in there, they need to see me first.”
Ford made a go-ahead gesture. “That’s a good point, Chief. Just be careful.”
“A little late for that, don’t you think?” she asked with a curt laugh.
She cat-footed toward the doors with the rifle clutched tightly in her hands. Each door had a window set into it. When she got close enough, she leaned over to peer through the glass. Plenty of light came through the big front windows, but the library had some dark corners, too, because of all the shelves.
Alex didn’t see anybody moving around. She pushed one of the doors open a few inches and listened intently without hearing anything. It appeared that no one was here after all. A pang of disappointment went through her. She pushed the door back even more and stepped into the big room.
A hand came out of nowhere, grabbed the rifle barrel, and thrust it toward the ceiling. Alex didn’t fire because she didn’t know who had grabbed the gun. Then strong arms went around her from behind and lifted her off the floor. She let go of the rifle with her right hand and drove that elbow back into the stomach of her captor. The man grunted in pain and let go.
Alex jerked the rifle loose and spun around, ready to slam the stock into the face of whoever had grabbed her. She stopped short when she realized it wasn’t a man at all, but rather a teenage boy.
“Rowdy! “ she exclaimed.
“Oh, shit!” he said. “I mean, I’m sorry,