Page 5 of Over the Top

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

Chapter Two

CHAS CROUCHEDbeside a fetid-smelling dumpster, chanting under his breath, “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”

A familiar voice, deeper than it had been the last time he heard it and with an edge he didn’t recall, growled in his ear without even a greeting, “To what do I owe this surprise?”

Not a pleasant surprise, Chas noted. Just a surprise.

He whispered urgently, “I’m in trouble and couldn’t think of anybody else to call. There’s been a shooting in Misty Falls. All the police are dead. A woman died on my front porch. She was carrying a baby. I’ve got the kid with me now. I don’t know where to go or what to do. The shooters seem to be… hunting… someone. They’re killing everyone who gets in their way.”

“How many are there?” Gunner’s voice was clipped, abruptly terse. The SEAL had taken over his old friend.

“I don’t know. I saw an SUV. Or maybe there was more than one SUV. I never did catch any license plates.”

“How big are their weapons?”

“They look like, umm, rifles. They fire a lot of rounds fast. Like a machine gun.”

“Assault weapons. Heavily armed, then. And you say they took out the police? How do you know that?”

“I was heading for the police department to turn over the kid when a cop ran out on the sidewalk. A bad guy followed him out and mowed him down. No other cops came out, and the shooter left super casually, as if he knew nobody else would be giving chase.”

Gunner swore. “Where are you now?”

“Hiding in an alley behind a dumpster.”

“Can you get indoors?”

“I don’t know. Everyone’s inside hiding. The town’s locked up tight. I knocked on a few doors of people I know, but nobody’s answering. Everyone’s panicked.”

“Break a window if you have to, preferably at the back of a building. Let yourself inside and find a hiding place. A small room you can barricade yourself into. Hunker down.”

“Then what?”

“Don’t come out until you’re absolutely certain the threat has passed and law enforcement is on the other side of that door.”

“How will I know? What do I do with this baby? Is she the reason these guys went on a rampage?”

“Just get inside, okay? I’m on my way. I’ll call when I get close.”

“Are you close?”

“No, but I’ll call in a favor. I can be up there in a few hours. Just sit tight until then, okay?”

“Okay. And Gunner?”

“Yeah?”

“Hurry.”

“Got it.”

The line went dead in Chas’s ear.

He looked around the alley. It was mostly brick walls and security doors. But down near the end, he spied a window. He crept toward it, hugging the wall. He reached the window, which was conveniently right beside a rusted metal door. Using his elbow, he hit the glass hard.

Ow.

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