of view. When several of the men dressed in all black came slipping through the busted brick and mortar, my brothers quickly dispersed, searching the best place to fire upon our unwelcomed guests.
I didn’t move. I just stood there watching as they inched closer through the haze of dust. When Lynch spotted me in the doorway, he shouted, “Widow! Move your ass, brother!”
I should’ve heeded his warning. I should’ve moved, or at the very least, ducked for cover, but that’s what a rational man would’ve done. At that moment, I was too fueled by rage to be rational. With chaos erupting around me, I lifted my Glock and aimed its barrel at one of the men. I pulled back on the trigger and the bullet pierced right through his head. I watched with utter satisfaction as his lifeless body dropped to the floor, but that feeling of gratification didn’t last long. My shot had drawn the attention of the others, but I’d expected it. I wanted them to see that I’d taken out one of their own. I wanted those motherfuckers to come for me, so I could kill them—every last one of them. I was about to aim at the next guy when Lynch grabbed me and pulled me into the hall.
“What the fuck, man?” Lynch roared as he crouched down with the others. “You trying to get yourself killed out there?”
“I had it handled.”
Before he had a chance to argue, Viper whispered, “If they make it past the bar, we’re as good as done.”
We fired off several rounds, slowing their advance. Knowing there were others outside, I leaned over to Viper and said, “If we stay here, we’re sittin’ ducks. It’s only a matter of time before the others make their way inside.”
“He’s right.” Hawk thought a moment, then said, “What about the roof?”
Viper was quick to ask, “What about it?”
“It would give us the vantage point we need to take these motherfuckers out before they can get inside,” Hawk explained.
“Go,” Viper ordered. “Take Rafe, Menace, and Widow with you. We’ll stay here and try to hold them off.”
Hawk nodded, then without further delay, he led Rafe and me down the hall and up to the dropdown stairway. Menace had installed it a few years back, thinking it would be beneficial for us to have access to the roof. None of us found it truly necessary, believing a moment like this would never occur, but thankfully, we went along with his suggestion and had it installed. When we got up on the roof, Hawk motioned his hand, instructing us to spread out. The roof was relatively flat, making it easier to maneuver as I eased over to the south side of the building. Being careful not to be seen, I leaned over the edge of the roof and found two guys standing at our back door. My chest tightened as I watched them prepare to mount an explosive device to the door. Knowing time wasn’t on our side, I stepped back and rushed over to Hawk. “We gotta move! They’re setting up explosives on the exterior doors.”
“Fuck! If they get inside, we’re done.”
Hawk signaled for Rafe and Menace to follow as we positioned ourselves above the two men. Hawk pulled out his M9 Berretta and attached the silencer, hoping to keep our whereabouts under wraps. He shot off three rounds, quickly killing two of the men below. We immediately moved to the second entryway, and Hawk was preparing to take his shot when bullets started whipping around us. Menace ducked for cover as he shouted, “Down on your right.”
Rafe aimed his pistol and shot off several rounds, and within seconds, mayhem ensued. While we had the advantage of being overhead, it was dark and extremely difficult to see where these assholes were hiding until they actually fired their weapons, and we could see the small explosion of light emit from their weapons. Even though it wasn’t easy, we remained calm and did our best to remain patient, knowing it was the only way we could draw them out. Just as I’d hoped, the assholes were eager to take us out and fired round after round in our direction, but their efforts were in vain. We had the perfect cover and were able to take them out, one by one.
We’d wiped out over half their crew when the roof shook and a billow of smoke came rising up from below. I rushed over to see what had happened and