his hands encased in thin disposable medical examination gloves. He had already used his compass to scout out the directions the two drones would approach from, and was aligned toward the first. He rested the shotgun in his lap with the barrel aligned along the direction of fire, so all he had to do was raise it to his shoulder and fire. He had nearly thirty seconds between the arrival of the two drones, which gave him plenty of time to be sure of the first, before rotating five degrees to his left to engage the second one.
There! His eyes picked out movement against the sky. As he watched the small drone moved straight toward the Presidential Suite near where Jake sat. Attached to the bottom was a dark package that looked almost too bulky for the tiny drone.
“Show time” Jake thought. He wanted to hit the drone when it was far enough away that any explosion he triggered would startle people, but do no serious harm. He raised the shotgun to his shoulder as he rose up on his knees. From that position he could easily swivel for repeat shots and to engage the second target.
The shot was difficult only in the fact it was longer than he liked. Unlike game birds and skeet. There was little transverse motion. The drone was headed directly toward his position. He sighted over the barrel, allowing years of practice to guide his sight picture and decide the lead. Then he fired.
He was almost surprised that his shot was good. He’d been prepared to back-track as needed to retry the first shot, but his first attempt struck the tiny vehicle a little low, hitting between the bottom of the drone and the top of the explosive payload. He was also surprised there was no explosion. He watched as the drone wobbled, lost control, and plunged toward the ground below. It struck in a grassy area along one side of the hotel.
So far, so good, Jake thought, as he turned toward the second drone. It took him a moment to spot it. This one was coming in with one of San Francisco’s high rise buildings in the background, and that momentarily hid the vehicle from Jake. When he finally spotted it, the drone was closer than he liked, and he had to make a snap shot or it would be too late. He fired once, then a second time, as the first appeared to clip the edge of the vehicle. The second struck something critical, and the drone erupted into a bright flame and a powerful boom, that made Jake duck and press himself against the rooftop. He heard the sound of shattering glass, the result of the blast, and hoped that no one had been hurt.
Knowing he had only a little time before someone responded, Jake set the shotgun down, and left it in a depression on the roof. There was no way to trace it to him. Then he turned and made his way quickly across to the far side of the building. All eyes would be this side of the hotel for the moment. He’d tied a rope to a support, and checking to see if all was clear, he tossed the end over, then slid down to the wide walkway that encircled the hotel on the upper levels. Once down, he tied the end of the rope out of sight. It would be found later, but by then it wouldn’t matter.
Quickly he pulled off his gloves, stuffing them in the pockets of his jacket, and made his way inside through the side doors. He pulled out his phone and pretended to be engaged in a conversation as he walked toward the elevator, taking it down two levels where his room was located. A couple of minutes later he was in his room, where he ordered room service. He’d made it unnoticed, without the need to back-track even once!
He would remain in the hotel for the day. In additional to the politicians who were meeting in the hotel, there was an art exhibit he would pretend to be here for. There was nothing to tie him to the shotgun or the aborted attack. He was simply another frightened guest. Staying would be better than trying to make it out of the hotel which would be crawling with police by now. He’d be a day late getting to Reno, but he’d accomplished his goal. Once he heard from Susan, he would be