watch as Magnum stands to his full height and pulls the trigger. Three shots ricochet through the room. He starts barking orders, his gun still out in front of him. “Move!” The other gunfire has petered out and hope swells inside my chest.
I creep out behind Magnum, keeping low while he surveys the room. At the apex of losing my cover, I glance to my right. A gun sits on the bleachers. Further up, a body lies across several rows, blood dripping off it and down the shiny surface.
I sneak my hand around the railing and grab the gun. Crouching back down, I open the chamber to see how many rounds there are. Four. I guess it pays to be in a room filled with people who have no problem carrying. How he got this through Security, I don’t know, but the bigger question is, how did the fucker with the semi-automatic get his through Security?
I walk out, Brawler following close behind with a hand on my back as we head toward the middle of the ring. Bodies litter the floor, scattered everywhere in varying positions as they were trying to flee. I quickly scan them and find no signs of Jiko or Oscar.
Masculine yelling catches my attention, and I stare up at the box to find a guy with a gun pointing it out the window.
“Run!” I barrel into Mag as we hightail it out of the open space, finding a place to stand just under the box. The glass explodes overhead and rains down onto the blood-coated cement. The crowd, still unable to get out, screams. Some cry as they crowd toward the exits once more.
My only thoughts are of Oscar and Johnny right now. I don’t know where Oscar is, but I know Johnny’s up there in the box. At least, that’s where I saw him last. “We have to get up there.”
Mag shakes his head. “They have the advantage.”
“Johnny’s up there,” I grind out.
Mag swallows, glancing at the gun I was able to pick up. “You know how to shoot that?”
“Yes.”
He starts up the steps to the box, keeping low. In my head, I’m thrown back a couple of weeks when we were at the warehouse looking for Farmingham’s body. We didn’t know what awaited us then, but we know now. Trouble.
“Follow me. Stay right behind me. If I tell you to run, I want you to run. Do not second guess me,” Mag orders.
I nod Brawler forward, taking up the rear since I’m the only one of us who is armed besides Magnum. I watch our backs, making sure another intruder doesn’t come in from behind, wiping us out before we have a chance to get up there.
What makes matters worse is that I don’t know the layout of these rooms or the box. I knew how the other box was set up, but I have no idea what we’re getting ourselves into with this one. Are there places where they could hide and shoot? What about walls? What about…well, anything?
“What’s the layout like?” I whisper to Brawler.
Sweat runs down his tight muscles, mingling in blood. Hopefully, that’s the only blood I see on my guys tonight.
More yelling erupts as we move up the stairs stealthily. In the distance, echoing sirens sound, signaling the police are on the way.
I must be becoming more Heights than home because to me, sirens don’t mean safety. Not anymore.
“It’s all open,” Brawler hisses. “It’s a replica of the other box.”
So much for a surprise attack, but at least they’ll be out in the open, too.
As soon as Magnum hits the top stair, he barges inside the open doorway, moving to his full height. He shoots, the shots ringing through the air in quick succession. As I come around the corner after Brawler, a guy falls to his knees, a bullet wound lodged in his thigh. His gun clashes to the ground, and Big Daddy K scoops down to grab it.
More yelling jolts me. Both sides give out orders to drop guns. I have my own weapon trained on a guy I don’t recognize while also searching the room for Johnny. I find him in the corner, slumped to the ground. Brawler follows my gaze and immediately starts after him amid guys yelling at him to stop.
The guy I’m squaring down raises his gun, pointing it at Brawler, and I shoot. I hit his shoulder, knocking his gun out of his hand. Another shot goes off, but it’s drowned out