Holding Their Own XI: Hearts and Minds Read Online Free PDF Page B

the attackers full in the upper thigh, sending the man groaning to the carpet in a corkscrew motion.
    Now the remaining team members forgot about José and his barricaded position, their weapons snapping around to address the new threat to their rear.
    With no cover, and slow to work his weak, nervous limbs on the shotgun’s pump, the sibling went down in a hailstorm of gunfire from the assaulters.
    The small victory gave momentum to the survivors in the hall and they began firing wildly into unit 3C. The impacting rounds shattered glass, punched through walls, and peppered José’s cover with such a ferocity that he was forced to keep low.
    During the barrage of incoming rounds, it dawned on 3C’s lone defender that his brother’s weapon was no longer firing from the hall. He could only assume the worst.
    The thought of losing another brother, combined with the hailstorm of lead, choking smoke, and unbearable noise caused something to snap in José’s mind.
    His presence at Ocean Towers was hurting no one. The odds were that the original owner had died during the collapse. Yet, the men out in the hall were bound and determined to keep him down, to put their boots on his neck and make him stay in his wretched place.
    Fueled by the injustice of their actions, rage overwhelmed the normally composed defender. Screaming at the top of lungs, José came out from behind his shield and began firing at the entrance as quickly as his adrenaline-fueled arm could work the 12-gauge’s action.
    The bold, unexpected charge was almost successful. Stunned by a seemingly insane man rushing at them with a blazing scattergun, one of the security men actually stopped firing and took a step backward, blocking his comrade’s line of fire.
    Straddling the body of his own coworkers with blood-covered boots, another of Cunningham’s employees had the wherewithal to round the corner and blindly pour rounds into the opening.
    Two high-velocity hollowpoints struck José in the chest, the impact knocking him sideways as he fired the final round from his weapon.
    The rifled deer slug tore through the kitchen wall and pierced one of the Towers’ 3-inch water mains.
    While José’s failing lungs gulped their last gasp of air, his younger sibling pushed aside the pain and managed to lift his weapon with weak, shaking arms. As his vision began to darken around the edges, he squeezed the trigger, releasing a swarm of buckshot into the cowering Cunningham and a survivor of the security team.
    Three of the pellets caught the building manager in the back of the head while the remainder of the deadly load tore through the neck of the nearby guard. Both men died instantly.
    A full 20 minutes after the sickening thud of a body slumping against the bedroom wall, the surviving trespassers ventured out. Nothing but the sound of gushing water greeted José’s family members when they finally emerged from the unit’s rearmost room.

    Deputy Morgan almost didn’t return to Ocean Towers after his shift.
    In addition to the dilemma of trying to resolve that ambiguous situation, the lawman had experienced an especially trying day.
    Still, he’d made a commitment as a servant of the community. Perhaps more importantly, Cunningham and whoever was funding the refurbishment of the complex were going to be prominent members of the region he served. No sense pissing off the folks in charge , he mused.
    After parking in the empty lot, the first hint something was wrong came as the deputy approached the front door. There, he noticed a small stream of water escaping down the stained concrete steps.
    “Now Cunningham is really going to be testy,” he whispered. “I’m sure he will blame the leaky roof on the squatters.”
    When Morgan opened one of the heavy glass doors leading to the lobby, a small tidal wave of water sloshed down the steps. “Oh shit, this looks like more than just a leaking pipe.”
    Splashing across the floor, the deputy couldn’t help but feel