Wear Something Red
Page 55
Chapter 55
Both SWAT teams and the snipers remained at the command center after her phone call to Colter. They took up positions by the two vans, the BearCat and any other cover they could find. Everyone else headed for the first aid area.
As they went, Harry said, “Did you hear more gunshots?”
“I don’t think Leo made it.”
She went to Shana and Caesar. Picking up on the tension, Caesar bounded to his feet and pranced about around them.
“This is it,” she said to Lily and handed back her phone. “I sure hope you’re right about Pox.”
Lily said, “I do, too.”
“I sent him your message.”
The SWAT teams and the snipers opened fire on the house for a few seconds.
“Everyone take cover where you can.” She took Shana to hide behind a huge Douglas-fir tree. She scanned for any sign of recent digging nearby that would indicate an IED was present. She could see nothing out of place but that was hardly reassuring. She could find nothing that might indicate the tree was wired with an incendiary device.
Zemar and Randal got Donny and Lily behind trees.
Colin and Wally were signaling their teams to hold fire and keep covered.
Shana said, “We’ll know soon, won’t we?”
She thought she heard a cry of rage just before the house exploded from top to bottom. SWAT members and snipers were knocked over. One FBI van was toppled. At the first aid area, the force of the explosions knocked over the picnic table, sent medical equipment flying and sent everyone to the ground.
Caesar took off the moment the house blew up.
She ducked them down, pressed Shana against the tree and covered her.
Debris started to rain down all over the farm. Another explosion was followed by another explosion until nothing was left of the house but a burning crater and echoes of the explosions reverberating around them. Nothing nearby exploded, however.
Everyone stayed under cover until the heavier falling debris stopped crashing to the ground and the prevailing westerly wind started carrying away the lighter stuff and the thick smoke.
She got to her feet and checked for anyone who might have been injured. Everyone in her area appeared to be fine. When she reached for Shana, a violent push from behind sent her hurtling through the air over her daughter to land ten feet away on her back. Pain pulled against the staples in her leg but they held.
Shana scrabbled over to her on hands and knees. “It’s the tunnel and the cargo containers. The signal must have reached something still in them.”
She got up with Shana to see the last of the smoke and debris being ejected from the garage. It then collapsed into burning rubble. The cargo containers resembled giant dumpsters split open and on fire. From a distance, the smoke would indicate a huge forest fire.
She started to inspect Shana for injuries, but her daughter grabbed hold of her and just hung on.
Randal and Zemar brought over Donny and Lily.
Zemar said, “I would say that was one hundred percent effective.”
“Well done,” she said to Lily.
Lily held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Lily Wiley. I’m Shana’s new best friend, though you should know I am introverted. This is Donny Nguyen. He’s also her new best friend. He’s with me. Your daughter is really cool.”
“She sure is.” She shook hands with them. “And she has some really cool friends.”
Two paramedics ran past them on their way to the command center.
Harry said, “One of Colin’s men is pinned under the van. Two others are injured.”
“I’ll let you know,” Randal said and ran off to lend a hand.
“If I understand what just happened,” Harry said, “and I don’t, Colter’s weapons of mass destruction had a malfunction.”
“Harry, that’s as good an understanding of it as you need.”
Kate, Susan and Kelly came to them.
Shana hugged each one of them, then Zemar. “Will Caesar ever come back?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart.”
She wiped her eyes. “Can we go home now?”
“People will want to talk to us.”
Harry said, “Let me take care of that for you.” He headed back to the command center.
While everyone else waited in silence, Shana kept looking around for Caesar to return. She and Zemar took turns calling for him. It took over an hour, but Harry returned with the FBI van that hadn’t been knocked over. The driver’s side was pockmarked from the explosions.
“I tried to get the BearCat, but Colin wouldn’t give it up.”
“That sucks,” Donny said.
“They got him out from under the van,” Harry said. “He only has a few bruises. The other two should make it.”
They all got into the van as the ambulances drove slowly past to retrieve the injured. Zemar returned to the one holding his sister and helped get the injured agent on board. They let both ambulances leave first before taking the silence with them back to Dominion.
They dropped Lily and Donny off at Lily’s townhouse.
Harry said to Donny, “I’ll do what I can to speed up the return of your mother.”
They dropped Kate and Susan off at the Nite-Lite per Kate’s request. She and Harry both insisted Kelly go to Dominion General to get checked out. Harry escorted her into the hospital.
He then dropped them off at home.
She came around to his side of the van. “What are you going to do once all of this wraps up?”
“My plan was to move to Palm Springs and become the town drunk.”
“I have another option, if you’re interested. I hope I don’t sound too much like I’m massaging your ego, but I could use your wisdom now and then.”
“These days, my ego is a little arthritic. It can use all the massaging it can get.”
She ducked her head into the van and kissed his cheek.
She and Shana waved when he drove away. He honked.
The clouds she hadn’t notice move in earlier announced themselves with a flash of lightning and a peal of thunder and began dumping their load on Dominion.
Inside the house, Shana sagged against the wall, but held her mother off with a wave when she started for her.
“Is that what it was like at the Crowley farm?”
“It was faster and more chaotic. They had dug tunnels there, too, though they were much smaller.”
“That kind of crap belongs in video games and movies, not in real life. No, you know what, not even there.” She started up the stairs. “I’m going to take a long, hot bath, remember some wonderful people and animals who shouldn’t have died and cry my heart out.”