One Rough Man - Brad Taylor [164]
One of the drivers said, “Somebody just beat us to the counter. This is all they had available, but they should work.”
Lucus mentally rolled his eyes. So much for thinking they made a conscious decision.
KNUCKLES PAUSED THE VIDEO at the target house, seeing the same two-story style with a courtyard in the back that appeared all over the area. The front of the house was clean, with a clear path to the door. No parked cars or fences to worry about. It was located on the east side of the street, with houses on both sides and behind it.
“What were the atmospherics of the neighborhood?”
“Quiet,” Bull said. “In fact, we didn’t see a single automobile. A couple of pedestrians and a few folks tending gardens, but definitely not a hopping place.”
Knuckles stared at the still image. “All right. I don’t want to do a mounted assault. We do an offset on the main thoroughfare to the east, then conduct a dismounted movement to the target from the south, the opposite direction of the recce drive-by. We move in two groups. One takes squirter control in the rear, the other enters the house from the front.”
Knuckles paused for questions, then continued. “Remember, we don’t know what’s in this house, so we can’t treat it as a hostile force. Discriminate on every target. We don’t want to end up killing some old housewife.”
Knuckles finished the briefing by splitting the team, putting me on squirter control. Out of the fight again. I didn’t argue, knowing he was right.
I moved off to the rear of the lead car, checking my weapon and spare magazine placement, working to ensure I could reload in a minimum amount of time. Jennifer walked over, tentatively asking, “Hey, I’m not trying to bug you, but I didn’t understand any of that.”
I continued working on my kit. “Based on what you guys are saying about the traffic in the area, we don’t want to drive right up to the target. We’ll park on the main road to the east, then walk there. It should help us remain undetected. Me and another guy will move to the back to catch what we call squirters—really just a name for anyone trying to run. We’ll lock down the back of the house while the team enters from the front.”
Jennifer nodded absently, looking distinctly uncomfortable at how fast this was progressing.
“Relax,” I said. “Your job’s over. Don’t worry about us. We do this for a living.”
I heard the other men beginning to load the cars. “See you in a few minutes.”
She locked eyes with me, saying, “Please be careful. Let them do the hard stuff. Don’t do anything heroic. Don’t let Carlos blow you up.”
“Cut that shit out. You should be worrying about him.”
I started to get in our car when she grabbed me by the arm, “Pike, I’m serious. You might have nine lives, but you’ve been going through them like a chain-smoker. A life can only have so much luck. We’re both working on credit now. I can feel it. Promise you’ll be careful.”
I looked at her, realizing she was deeply worried.
“I’ll be careful. This’ll be all right. Trust me.”
“I do trust you,” she said, with a hint of a smile. “A little, anyway. It’s just that you’re acting different. I can’t put a finger on it, but it’s like you now think you’re invincible. You used to be an asshole about everything, sure it was failure. Now you act like this is all just a ride at Disneyland.”
“Hey, this is what I do. I’ve been killing terrorists a helluva lot longer than I’ve known you. Sorry if I get a kick out of it, but don’t tell me to go back to what I was. You don’t like it, I’m sorry. But this is who I am.”
She recoiled, and I knew I had missed the point. The hurt and pain in her expression reminded me of Heather the last night I had seen her. I remembered what I had said after Jennifer had thought Carlos