crouched beside the car and looked around. Moving his weapon with his stance, he searched in all directions, but it was obvious he didn't know where the shot came from.
A tactical officer had also taken cover, with his assault rifle held in the ready position. He covered the biker on the porch.
Chapter 40
Ed Mathers
Ed sat on his chair in the corner of the veranda, watching the early morning hours go by. The cops had invaded the clubhouse, harassed his fellow members by throwing their power and might around. Now it seemed some were starting to leave.
A few came out together and stood by the door for a second, but they weren't SWAT.
Probably detectives. What are they up to?
When they didn't stop or acknowledge him, he relaxed. They went down the stairs toward their car.
As long as they stay out of my business -- who cares?
His phone was more interesting than these cops. He resumed the game he was playing. A few minutes went by when he heard the unmistakable "pop" of a gun. He glanced up to see where it had come from, when he saw one of the detectives crouched down by the vehicles, pointing his handgun at him. Twenty feet beside the detective was a tactical officer in full gear, pointing his assault rifle at him.
He fired at me?
Instincts took over. He dropped behind the cover of the brick railing. Within seconds he had unlatched the secret compartment of the flower box. Five seconds later, the loaded clip was in his AK-47 and he was ready to go.
"No damn cop is takin' me down," he said.
Looking behind him to see his other two biker friends sitting at the far end of the porch, along the side of the building, doing something with one of their phones. They looked at him like he was crazy.
"What are you doing?" one of them asked, barely audible from forty feet away.
"Cop shot at me!"
They didn't move. Only looked at him strange.
Screw them.
Ed had six feet of the partial brick wall before it switched to wood railing. He slowly made his way to the wall's edge, to see what was happening. A quick glance through the wood spindles revealed the cop with the handgun looking his way, still pointing his weapon, and a guy from SWAT coming toward him, with an assault rifle leading his way.
"I don't think so," he said, quietly.
He moved back to the brick pillar so he could use it for cover. He steadied himself, got his weapon in position and stood up. Immediately upon clearing the brick wall, he laid down a spray of bullets in the direction of the cop from SWAT -- his more immediate danger.
The shots were too low, but caused both cops to move for cover. He was back down behind the wall, before either of them could return a shot. He crawled back to the edge of the wall, beside the wood railing. He leaned around to find their positions, but was met with a peppering of bullets from the street. Bits of brick hit him, crumbling from the wall behind him.
Ed couldn't see what was happening but knew he had to make a move. His location was vulnerable from approach from behind. He saw the brick wall on the other side of the doorway where nobody could sneak up on him. This time he got up shooting, while making a run to the other side of the front porch.
Halfway across the open area, Ed felt a stab of pain in the left thigh. With a quick glance to his right he saw flashes from the handgun in the street. He knew instantly he'd been hit, but the momentum carried him to the other side. Unsure if it was the wise thing to do, he looked down at the damage.
The cop must have anticipated my movement.
Blood ran down his leg and the area was tender to touch but the bone wasn't broken.
Straight through, I hope. No time to examine closely.
The bleeding was significant and he knew he wouldn't last long without treatment.
Ed stood on his good leg, hiding behind the pillar. He took a quick look trying to locate the cops. A second tactical cop approaching from the left. He brought his AK-47 up and fired, this time meeting his target. The one tactical officer fell backward while the other was staying clear.
Seeing the guy's head take a round, he dropped below the wall again. He knew he'd killed a cop. There was no