thought that would be enough of a warning. By now Laney should know that Jake had done this before and knew what was going to work. Instead, the agent had seen that the SWAT team was pinned down, and reacting to the situation had set off on a route he thought would loop him around to the side, hidden by the dorms. He had seen the side door to the mosque and apparently hoped to make his way there, and get inside while taking a minimum of fire. Unfortunately, Jake and Laney had tried that together, only to find that the defenders were very aware of the soft spot in their defenses, and had set a trap for anyone who tried to come that way. Laney had been severely wounded, Jake had never learned how badly, as he had taken a couple of hits himself before back-tracking and bypassing the attempt. He’d hoped they could stay on script, using his knowledge of what had worked last time to protect them, but now Laney had already gone off on his own. Jake couldn’t back-track out of any trouble that developed, and any actions that Laney took might have an adverse effect on the final outcome.
It made no sense to follow after Laney. That would simply lead both of them into the ambush Laney was headed for. Instead, Jake followed after the SWAT team, made a right turn at the end of the dorms, and ran rapidly toward the concrete barrier that directed any vehicles into the garage along the far right side of the compound. Several shots whined off the barrier as he dropped flat behind it, then crawled on hands and knees toward the far end. He could hear shots being fired from the open space between the dorm and the garage, and as expected he found Laney kneeling behind the rusty remains of an old car that sat there. He was trying to use the engine block to protect himself, but he was taking fire from both a sniper in an upper floor of the mosque, and a pair of defenders shooting from inside the large open door of the garage. Because of their relative locations, there was no place that was completely safe, and no way at all to advance. Jake could see that Laney had been hit in the left arm, but he was still handling the shotgun with both hands, so it couldn’t be too bad.
“Laney,” Jake shouted when there was a momentary lull in the firing.
Laney looked his way. Jake pointed back at the dormitory, but Laney shook his head and pointed toward the side door of the mosque. It was clear that Laney wanted Jake to take out the sniper, and then they might have a shot at the side door. It might work. It might get them inside. But it would be the two of them against however many were inside, and it would leave the SWAT team still pinned down out front. Most importantly, that’s not the way it had gone down before, and Jake didn’t want any changes. He needed for events to proceed as he remembered.
Laney pointed again at the sniper and then at Jake. Then he pointed at the garage and himself. His meaning was clear enough. If Jake would take down the sniper, he’d handle the two shooters inside the garage. Once that was done, they would have a clear shot at the side entrance.
Jake shook his head again, and pointed back the way Laney had come. Laney shook his head.
Jake set his rifle on the ground and crossed his arms. Then he pointed back the way Laney had come. A series of shots smacked into the vehicle that Laney was using for cover. Jake could see the agent was cursing, and finally he looked back at the dorm, then at Jake and nodded. He wasn’t going to be able to hold out where he was, and couldn’t advance without Jake’s help. Laney fired a pair of quick shots into the garage, and then started to sprint back toward the dorm. Jake lined up on the window where the sniper was and fired a series of shots. He shot half a magazine, the rounds slamming into the concrete wall around the window, causing the sniper to duck away from the window, but none came close to hitting him. Then Jake turned and ran into the dorms after Laney.
“What the hell is the matter with you anyway?” Laney shouted