Day of Reckoning
Page 9
“I saw something, too,” Tim said, leveling his pistol.
Jason had been spotted. He moved behind a shelf, trying to get himself to the staircase. He never dreamed the man would pick this exact moment to turn around and defuse the situation. Jason didn’t know what he had, but it was big. A .44 revolver, or maybe a .357? Either way, he knew it would pack a punch. Enough of a punch to fucking hurt!
Karen swore under her breath as she crept out of her hiding spot. She had to flank these men while not leaving herself exposed to an assault from above. The plan had been to split up and cover both floors. Oh, well. Too late to worry about such mundane details now.
The other two men, and Burt’s wife, walked toward Jason’s position. There was a small section in the shelves that offered a glance of what was coming. He didn’t like what he saw. Four men and one woman, all armed. There was movement upstairs, he could see it in his peripheral. He was too afraid to move his head at all to see what was going on.
He spotted Karen just before she leapt into action. She held up one finger, then two. On three, she stood, aimed, and fired a single shot. A bullet burst from Burt’s face. He fell to the floor in a heap of mangled flesh. His wife’s scream could have raised the dead. “No!”
Karen got a second shot before she was spotted. A bullet grazed another of the men on the neck. Blood oozed from the wound, but it proved superficial. He spun and began firing an assault rifle. Karen dove behind a rack of fishing rods. The display would do little to protect her; she crawled as low as she could away from her last known location.
Jason stood and fired three shots in a quick burst. Tim caught two rounds to the chest and one to the left shoulder before falling forward. Blood blossomed from the wound, staining his navy shirt as he fell forward. Jason dropped and rolled behind a clothing rack. The cotton fabric would do nothing to stop a bullet, especially not anything as strong as these people were packing.
Karen rose to fire again and spotted a form above her and to the left. She dove down just in time to avoid the hail of rounds.
Burt’s wife was still screaming a blood-curdling wail. The two men who were on the bottom floor said something to each other and split up. They were trying to flank Karen!
Jason stood before thinking of his surroundings and fired once. Twice. The man on the left fell to the floor with a cry. He was hit, but Jason couldn’t tell how badly. Based on the massive amount of blood that splattered onto the wall, Jason was about positive that the wound would prove fatal.
The man whose neck had been grazed turned to shoot at his attacker but fell short. Jason fired four more rounds before the man fell to the floor. Blood puddled under his lifeless form. Shit! Out of ammo. He released the magazine and reached into his pocket for another. One magazine in the gun, one left in his pocket.
He chambered the next round and peaked over his cover. The woman stood in the middle of an aisle, still screaming. Jason struggled with the thought of killing the woman. She was hysterical over her husband, yes, but she was not trying to hurt anyone. Yet.
He saw Karen move as the woman in front of him spun and raised her gun. Jason’s internal struggle instantly faded and he fired one shot. It missed and flew wide, bouncing off a steel coat rack. He fired another, this time hitting her in the back. The woman toppled to the ground. Her body began to spasm as she lay helpless in the floor. He must have hit her spinal cord. Her legs appeared inoperable while her upper half flailed around in agony.
He fired again. This shot ended the woman’s misery for good.
Bullets sprayed all around Jason from the second floor. He fell back behind cover, bullets whizzing past his head and blowing chunks from the concrete floor in front of him.
On the other side of the store, Karen scrambled behind a pontoon boat. It was low to the ground and should provide the best cover of anything in sight. Hopefully the hull was strong enough to withstand the bullets which seemed to fly at her from every direction.
The other man who had been flanking her appeared to her right and opened fire. She saw the shadow just in time to roll away from her spot and fire two shots of her own. Although her .32 didn’t pack as much firepower as the man’s shotgun, Karen was confident as the man’s body fell.
By Karen’s body count, everyone on the bottom floor had been eliminated. Six left. She knew they had to watch the elevator, but how likely was it that one of the gunmen would trap themselves in an elevator to mount a surprise attack. Surely the door chime and motor noise would give away their intentions.
She checked her ammo. She had two more magazines and several shots left in her gun. She couldn’t remember how many times she shot, but it must be close.
There was a movement to her right. As she leveled her gun, Jason crept around the corner. “I’m hit,” he whispered through clenched teeth.
She was going to ask where as she spotted his bloody left arm. She inspected the wound. “It went all the way through. At least I’m not going to have to dig out a bullet.”
Jason grinned. “It would have been a cool souvenir, though.”
Bullets rained down on their position from above again. Jason and Karen dove for cover as ricochet rounds bounced around wildly. The shooter above stopped to reload as another opened fire. “What do you suggest?” Karen asked as she leaned over cover and returned two quick rounds. She couldn’t tell if she hit the gunman or if he just fell from sight into cover.
Jason thought for a moment. “We don’t have accuracy to take them all out from this far without running out of ammo first. All firearms and ammunition are on the second floor. There isn’t anything down here that could help us with our assault. Thank God we are dealing with what seems to be average people who are horrible shots or else we wouldn’t have made it this far.”
Karen agreed. “If we knock out power entirely it will be much harder for them to see us. But what if we need power to activate whatever security measures this bunker has? There must be another way upstairs. Maybe an employee only stairwell or emergency stairwell that is not so obvious.”
Jason nodded toward the manager’s office. “Looks like a good place to start looking, I guess.”
Chapter 21
“One.”
“Two.”
“Go!” Karen led the way to the manager’s office, Jason close behind. Several gunmen above – it was hard to know exactly how many – opened fire at the exposed trespassers below.
Karen leveled her pistol as she threw open the unlocked steel door to the small office. She scanned back and forth before proceeding. Jason made it over the threshold before slamming the door behind him. He slid the single deadbolt into position. Even though it probably wouldn’t survive a single solid kick, Jason felt better knowing something stood between them and the crazed shooters.
The office was mostly bare, save for a full wall of filing cabinets. There was a wall containing around twenty small cubbies, a couple of stray mismatched chairs around a computer desk, and a locked closet. No signs of a bunker entrance.
There was, however, a single steel door leading from the back of the room. A tiny plaque in the middle read ‘EMPLOYEE BREAK ROOM’ in large white letters. The letters didn’t match up perfectly level or straight. In other circumstances, this would have bothered Karen tremendously. As it was now, she hardly noticed.
Karen placed her ear against the cold steel and listened. She didn’t hear any movement. “I’ll pull the handle, she whispered. “You have plenty of bullets?”
Jason nodded. Karen eased the door open and Jason pointed his gun into the… stairwell. The employee lounge was on the second floor. Jason smiled at this revelation. “I’ll lead.” The wound in his arm had mostly stopped bleeding by this point but Karen couldn’t help but worry when she spotted the ever-expanding blood stain on his cotton sleeve and the trail of blood drops it was leaving on the floor.
Jason moved stealthily but quickly up the stairs. He seemed to have already gotten the hang of being covert. The top of the stairs opened into a hallway t
hat immediately doubled back to the right. Jason peeked around the corner and, seeing nobody, motioned for Karen to follow him.
The lounge was nice enough; it seemed to serve its purpose well. There was a mini fridge, microwave, and small box television set surrounded by twelve steel, folding chairs and a small, round table. Voices and movement could be heard somewhere outside the lounge. There was a door leading back onto the second floor.
Jason imagined the other side of the steel door to have a plaque reading ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’ as if the room should serve some important purpose. “Where do you think we will come out?” he whispered as Karen nudged into his arm.
“Probably not where we want it to,” she admitted. She dropped the magazine from her gun and inserted a fresh one. “I have a feeling I’ll need a full magazine for this. Ready?”
Voluntarily putting themselves in harm’s way seemed so normal lately. “Let’s end this.” He placed a hand on the door handle and twisted slowly. He cracked the door slightly and peered through. The shelves in front of him contained knives, boxes of ammo, gun cases, and other shooting-related items. They were in the gun department, behind the sales counter.
There were two men in view, both of whom had their backs turned toward Jason. He stuck two fingers in the air and motioned outside. He crept through the opening, followed by Karen, and hid behind the sales counter. He raised one finger. Then the second. On three, he stood and fired three shots into the man’s back. Simultaneously, Karen obliterated the skull of the other man in sight.
Two down, four to go. Cover was blown.
Shouting from the other side of the store as the remaining four took cover or rushed toward the gun department.
Jason spotted a pump shotgun laying atop the sales counter and pulled it into cover with him. To his surprise, it had already been loaded. “This might come in handy.” Two of the men were across the store behind cover somewhere that Jason could not see. One more had moved much closer and would be in range of the handgun if he stood still enough and waited for Jason to get a bead. This was unlikely. Who would just stand still and willingly let their assailant train a firearm on them? He didn’t know where the fourth man was.
Karen nodded. “You know, I can’t believe these dumbasses haven’t set off any sort of security system or silent alarm.”
Jason shrugged. “Maybe they did. I doubt law enforcement would make a breaking and entering priority on a night like this.”
“Guess not.”
The fourth gunman rolled unseen to another aisle closer. He hunched over and moved quickly. If he could make it to the other side of the aisle… he would have a clear shot on the side of where Jason and Karen hid.
Jason peeked over the counter and saw movement from across the store. One of them was moving closer. Just then he heard a shoe squeak, the tiniest of sounds, come from his right. He turned just in time to spot the large, muscular man appear. Jason fired once but it flew wide.
The man squeezed the trigger just as Karen fired. Her aim was true and the man fell. So did Jason. “Shit!” he cursed aloud. “Fucker got me again!”
A red blossom appeared on his right shoulder.
Karen wanted to panic. She wanted to scream so badly she couldn’t stand it. Now was not the time. She had to hold her composure now more than ever. If she panicked she would make a mistake and leave herself vulnerable. It would do nobody good if she went and got herself killed. Well, not nobody. It would be a victory in the eyes of their attackers. She was determined not to let this happen.
She scooped up the shotgun out of Jason’s trembling hands and pointed it over the counter. As another attacker appeared, Karen fired.
The man’s body flew backward, catching slugs straight in the chest. He was dead before he ever hit the ground.
“There’s just two left, Jason. Don’t you fucking die on me!”
Jason laughed quietly. “I don’t think I’m dying. Feels like it just grazed me. But watching you retaliate and kick total ass is hot.” He winked as he got to his feet. He wavered a little; although his wounds weren’t fatal, he had lost a lot of blood and felt a tad woozy.
Karen blushed. Who knew one could get embarrassed in the middle of a gun battle?
Two gunmen left. They could be heard on the other side of the building, talking quietly. Arguing, almost. One of them shouted. “Don’t shoot. I’m coming out. I stand down. I will drop my weapon.”
A man stood, unfortunately out of range of the shotgun or handguns. He dropped a large rifle to the floor and began walking slowly with his hands in the air. “Don’t shoot. I surrender. I don’t want to die today.”
“Bennett! You stupid fuck!” a voice called out. The second remaining man stood from his cover and dropped his pistol to the floor. He looked pissed. “I don’t stand a chance by myself!”
The first man was about half way to the sales counter now. Almost in range. Could he be trusted?
“Stop there!” Karen shouted. She cocked the shotgun, chambering a fresh round and ejecting the spent cartridge. “Don’t move another muscle.”
She and Jason moved cautiously from behind cover and walked toward the pair. “Keep your hands up!” Jason demanded as he held up the 9mm. Both men stopped in their tracks and did as they were instructed.
Bennett got down onto his knees and placed his hands on the back of his head. The other man just stood still.
“Can they be trusted?” Karen asked quietly, barely a whisper.
“I wouldn’t,” Jason answered.
Bennett began to rock back and forth slightly as if he couldn’t keep his balance. He appeared to fall face-first onto the ground. Just in time, he caught himself and rolled, snatching a holstered handgun from an ankle holster. The other man took the distraction as his cue to reach into the back waistband of his pants and produced a long, shiny revolver. It had definitely been one in the display cabinet a few days ago. Perfectly polished, not a scratch on it.
Karen fired the shotgun as Jason emptied his magazine. Both men fell before they could get off a shot.
“So much for being trusted…” she said, shaking. She was always good at keeping her cool under pressure. Once things calmed down, she always seemed to lose it. Tears streamed down her face.
“It had to be done, Karen.” Jason’s tone was consoling but it didn’t make him feel better about what happened. Eleven people lay dead by their hands. He had never considered the idea of taking a life before. Certainly not more than one. And yet, here the bodies lay as proof.
Karen fell into his embrace, sobbing full on. Jason held his bloodied left arm out so he didn’t ruin her clothes. She didn’t seem to mind the blood soaked shoulder where the bullet had grazed him “We… might… should get you cleaned up,” Karen managed to say.
“Yeah, and it might not hurt to lock this place down before we get company. If there is anyone around, I’d say they heard the firefight that just occurred.”
Chapter 22
The next fifteen minutes were spent inspecting the building with a fine-tooth comb. They checked every crack and crevice to ensure there was nobody else in the store. Once satisfied, Jason led Karen back to the manager’s office. There had to be something useful in there.
Jason pulled open a drawer in the computer desk and found a keyring. “You think the way into the bunker is the elevator? They can lock elevators so that they can be restricted to certain floors.”
“That would make sense. But what about if the building lost power?” Young & Buck’s still had power now, but how long was that likely to last?
“I would assume a backup generator.”
Karen mulled this over. “It’s worth a try, I guess.”
Jason went to the elevator and hit the button to open it. He and Karen quickly stepped inside. Jason tried several keys until he found one that fit into a slot on the control panel. He turned it clockwise a half turn and a chime sounded. A panel slid open and revealed a button with a down arrow. His heart quickened at the motion.
Lights began flickering on as they stepped out into what appeared to be a lobby. This was, in fact, a bomb shelter. Rows and rows of cots lay in the floor, ready to accept refugees. The perimeter unpainted, concrete walls were lined with metal shelving and tall metal cabinets. MREs, bottled water, canned foods; the supplies seemed to be endless. This place, this shelter, had been stocked for the long term.
Karen was in shock. Jason looked to her and grinned. “Ready to unload the car?”
◆◆◆
After carrying several loads of goods to the elevator, Karen and Jason rode down for what may possibly be their last time down the shaft. Jason had tried his parents again; nobody answered any of the phones. He began to imagine the worst, but tried to push the thoughts from his mind.
Karen had no immediate family. She called a few cousins, none of whom answered. They even tried each other’s phones. So far, they still had a signal to call each other. Neither phone had signal once down in the shelter, so they powered the phones off to preserve battery life.
Although they brought a phone charger, there was no telling how long they would have power. They charged the phones immediately, just in case. The building was still powered, although the thugs had left some lights turned off, whether intentional or not. Did that mean the building was already running off backup power that didn’t power every single bulb in the building? Either way, power may not last long.
After a short discussion, Karen and Jason agreed. Give it three full days. Four only if things obviously took a turn for the worse. After this time period, they would ride the elevator back upstairs and see what was going on. The only thing they knew they could do would be check different social media outlets and search for anything online. That was all assuming that cell towers and carrier-run mobile internet wasn’t lost entirely.