Deadly Crossing

Emerson was wringing wet even in the cool evening. This was the first time he’d ever been exposed in the field like this. He usually was far from harms way in a secure trailer filled with electronics. He didn’t like sitting in a Cemetery with squeaking rats. The place even smelled bad in the chilly night air. He was shivering, either from cold or fear. He didn’t know nor did he care. He just wanted out of this place. He was thinking that it was too damn quiet when he heard the motor. He flattened himself against the white washed wall of the gate and peered down the broken road in front of Ricardo’s house. A car was moving slowly with its lights off and quietly rolled to a stop in front of Ricardo’s gate. The doors opened and three men got out holding short assault rifles. They looked up and down the street and apparently satisfied, went in through the Judas door in the big gate. He didn’t know what to do. Zack had told him to stay put but Zack wouldn’t know about the three men that just arrived. He had to do something---but what. He couldn’t call him on the cell phone but he couldn’t wait and do nothing. Zack may not even look at a text. He’d go help. He would sneak up to the house and arrest these men. Damn right, he’d help Zack. A few minutes later Emerson eased himself through the Judas door in the gate and saw all three men looking through open slats in a large window in the front of the house. He drew his gun. It was the first time he had ever drawn his gun except at the agency shooting range. He wasn’t even sure he could kill a man. He didn’t belong here and every part of his body told him to turn and run. He crouched low and rapidly moved to the nearest suburban in the driveway. Just as he reached the car all hell broke loose. In a panic he dropped to the ground behind the big car and his breath caught in his throat with horror. He was staring into the starry eyes of dead man ten inches away that was lying underneath the vehicle. He tried to bring his gun up to shoot but couldn’t move---his muscles had frozen. Even in the poor light he could tell the man was staring at him with a kind of wild look and his jaw hanging agar. The noise at the house was terrific. Guns roaring, glass was breaking and bullets crashing into things. The window exploded. The vertical blinds tore off the wall and scattered around the room. Glass flew everywhere. There were two automatic weapons firing indiscriminately into the room. Bullets were slamming into everything and ricocheting off the big stone fireplace wall. Pieces of plaster and dust danced in the air, glass flew---the bullets were tearing the room to shreds. Zack squinted through his hands that held the two Glocks and waited. His time would come. He could hear there were two guns firing into the room now and the muzzle blasts winking through the disintegrated window confirmed they were immediately outside. Ricardo went down with the first burst but the wiley old Russian had disappeared into the hallway with ‘Little Ivan’ with the first burst of gunfire. The shooting stopped as abruptly as it started and Zack heard the magazines being released and dropping on the tile porch. His time had come. Emerson stood up behind the Suburban and peered through the window. Two men were hosing down the room through the gutted window and a third man went through the front door shooting down the hallway. He knew he had to move now---but how? The shooting stopped at the window while the men jammed in new clips for the automatics. It was then he saw a black shadow and only a shadow move across the window. He would think it a trick of the light except two guns roared twice in its passing and the two men on the front porch went down. This was not the place to be. He remembered the man’s words now---‘when I’m alone---everyone is the enemy’. Crouching he turned and ran for the Judas gate.