Page 48 of Joshua's Mistake
The jet pulled to a stop, Kane ran down the steps and in a second they were rolled up, the door closed and the plane taxied and took off.
The speeding plane had blocked the man from the view of the helicopter. Joshua spared only a glance. He rushed to the armory and grabbed an AK-47 and five clips. By the time he came back, Tessa was running toward him with a shirt and combat vest. She had pulled on jeans and was also in a vest.
Tossing the clothes aside for the moment, he crouched in the door and laid down some fire in the direction of the helicopter and gave his brother a chance to get out from behind the stack of metal drums where he’d taken cover. Kane ran toward the nearest building, the dojo, and got inside.
Bullets resounded off the buildings in a steady barrage.
Joshua let out the breath he’d been holding and donned the clothes Tessa had brought him. Wanda, Trip and Tessa were already in full gear by the time he was ready.
Wanda rounded the couch to look out the window. She stayed low where she was protected by the metal building. “He must be well-funded. That’s a twenty million dollar Apache out there.”
“He always did get the best toys,” Joshua said.
Tessa crouched behind the wall near the door and fired a controlled burst at the Apache. It was a good idea to make it harder for them to land and take up a formation.
Trip punched out a small window and did the same. It would help, but that helicopter was made for this kind of attack. Eventually they would land and by then he had better have a plan. “Do you think we can hold them off until dawn?”
Joshua said, “I think this will be over in fifteen minutes.”
Will burst in from the bedroom sucking wind and lugging a backpack that appeared to be filled to capacity. Joshua assumed he’d crawled in through the closet escape hatch. “Good God, it’s a mess out there. Here, put this on. I’ll start it and then you’ll likely get two or three uses out of it.” Will thrust the pack at Joshua.
“What is it?”
“Portable generator. I wanted to set out two bigger ones. I thought you could get a few good zaps out of each. These bastards got to us too fast. No time for more than the portable, but it should help.”
Joshua started laughing. “You’re a genius.”
“Yeah, I know.” Will smirked.
“What the hell are you two talking about? The Apache is down. We need more cover fire to get Kane out of there.” Tessa’s shouts were controlled but anxious.
An assault of psi energy pushed forward. Banta’s warped mind touched Joshua and though he was not in a position to see the enemy it was as if he were standing a few feet away.
Joshua closed his mind and shielded the others from Banta’s probing. Shielding was not one of his better talents. At this distance, it would hold Banta off. But if Banta and his people got closer they would have to defend themselves. Of course, Will was the least vulnerable since he had no psi talent. Bullets could kill the sharpshooter, but his soul was safe.
“Fire it up, Will.” Joshua slung the backpack over his shoulders and clipped the chest strap. It was every bit of sixty pounds, maybe more, since it was likely completely full of fuel.
He picked up his weapon, walked to the door and knelt next to Tessa. He had to get close to hear her and shout to be heard over the generator. “Remember when you joked about me shooting fireballs?”
“Is this the right time to reminisce?” She fired her weapon, wounding one of Banta’s soldiers in the leg.
A dozen soldiers dressed in SWAT BDUs spread out from the Apache.
“Close off your mind and don’t open it until this is over. That goes for all of you. Close your minds and don’t use any psi abilities.” Joshua didn’t wait for anyone to reply or ask questions. He stood up and walked out the door. All four guns behind him started laying down cover fire. He could hear Tessa screaming something but there was too much noise to hear what it was, probably for him to get back inside.
He saw headlights coming in from the road. It looked as if the rest of his little army was arriving early. Good thing too. Banta had shown up with a full assault team.
Will had cut a small hole in the side of the backpack and left the cut end of an electrical cord sticking out. This was going to hurt. Joshua grabbed the wire. Voltage coursed through his body while he willed the pain away and forced himself to concentrate on focusing the energy. A moment later lightning flew from his outstretched fingers and sent the enemy running in every direction. He caught three soldiers with the charge. Their bodies jerked wildly and the smell of singed hair wafted through the air. All three dropped to the ground. If they weren’t dead, they would be unconscious for a while.
The blades on the helicopter slowed and a lone figure stood beneath their shadows. Banta’s stark white teeth stood out in contrast to his dark skin.That bastard is smiling at me.Joshua sent another volley of electricity at Banta, but it just bounced away. It was as if he had a glass wall in front of him.
Joshua let off as his own power and that of the generator would not last long with a constant drain on the fuel. Banta stood, unharmed, staring at him.
“Josh, get back in here. Don’t waste it,” Will called from the house.
Gunfire erupted from both directions. Joshua turned and he leapt through the door, rolling until he came to rest against Tessa’s hip. She looked down at him with the widest eyes he’d ever seen. He probably should have had a more serious thought, but all he could manage was something about how beautiful she was and how much he wanted to kiss her.
“What the fuck was that?” she asked.
