Page 77 of V-Day
He nodded and glanced at Roldán. “Did you mean what you said about shooting anything in your path?”
She nodded. Nick handed her the gun, then picked up the Glock which Calli had left on the control panel and gave it to her. He bent and picked up the assault rifle propped in the corner behind the desk. “There’s a coal cellar. It’s steel-lined. It will buckle, but it might not break.”
Might.
“Let’s go,” Nick said.
Calli opened the door and the three of them jumped over Serrano’s still body and ran like hell.
*
AS THE STEEP HILL UPto the Palace leveled out, they could see the Palace ahead. The Insurrecto resistance grew desperate. They sprayed bullets like bug repellant, not bothering to take aim. As a result, they hit almost nothing.
The countdown on the phones had cleared out all the civilians normally crowded around the gates. Instead, the big circle in front of the gates was thick with Insurrecto gray uniforms. There were so many of them that when one fell, another took his place. They crouched behind the stone bowl of the fountain in the middle of the square and made a stand.
Duardo and Aguado’s men had plenty of cover to hide behind while they kept the Insurrectos pinned down. Duardo dropped behind an antique Ford with current license tags and shiny whirling hub caps, to consider the situation. He pulled out his phone.
0 hours, 8 minutes.
“Jesus Mary,” he breathed. The two hours had flashed by.
“Peña!”
He lifted his head. Aguado, crouched down behind a current model Chevrolet, pointed to the wrought-iron fence surrounding the Palace grounds. On the far right, just before the fence took a sharp turn and headed for the back of the grounds, perhaps eighteen women were scaling the iron spears and clambering over the top.
Aguado got to his feet and fired three quick, careful shots toward the Insurrectos to keep their heads down, then ran for the fence. He shouted at his men, who gathered around him and gave covering fire. Aguado and two others made steps for the women with their hands, helping them reach the top of the iron, then lifted them down as they crossed over the points at the top.
One of them gripped Aguado’s arm, talking fast.
Aguado pulled her behind the Chevrolet and beckoned to Duardo. The other women ran down the Avenue.
Duardo rose and sprinted for the Chevrolet and dropped behind it with the woman and Aguado. The woman had dark bruises under her eyes.
“You are General Peña?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She nodded. “I saw Nick Escobedo in the Palace. He came for his wife.”
Duardo’s gut clenched. “He’s in there?” He glanced at the stone façade of the Palace, with its shaded verandahs and the rotunda in the middle. “Still?”
“They went for Maria Roldán. Calli knew where she was.” The woman glanced at Aguado.
Aguado blew out his breath. “Stupid, stupid, stupid…he could be out by now, otherwise.”
Duardo pulled out his phone.
0 hours, 4 minutes.
“We’re out of time, too, General,” he told Aguado and turned the phone so he could see it. “Tell your men to fall back,” Duardo added. “As far as they can in four minutes. My men and I will keep the Insurrectos contained, right here.”
Aguado considered him. “I have heard all my life about the honor of Vistarians. I did not understand it until just now.”
Duardo rolled his eyes. “Now who is being stupid? You just wasted twenty seconds. Move your ass, General, or do I have to give you an order as President?”
Aguado grinned. “If it’s all the same to you, I’m staying right here. So are my men. If we leave now, the Insurrectos will escape ground zero. No offense, General, but there are not enough of you to contain the bastards. I’d rather watch the gray suits burn.” He checked the clip on his rifle.
Duardo sighed. He glanced at the woman and jerked his head. “Go. We’ll cover you.”
