Page 106 of At Midnight Comes the Cry
“The doctor said it won’t be too bad if we can get him to a hospital, Chief. In and out through the side of his abdomen. He doesn’t think the round broke any bones.”
Clare winced. She had done her share of medical evacs in the war, and she knew the myriad complications that could happen to an abdominal wound. Paul didn’t just need a hospital, he needed to get therefast.
“Good.” Russ rubbed his lips. “That’s as good as we could have hoped for, I guess.” He focused more firmly on Hadley. “What’s the sitrep?”
Kevin rejoined them, and Johnson waved Khalil over. “We didn’t take any fire, but we stayed as close to the doors as we could to grabPaul. I couldn’t see anyone, but that crane that was there when we came in? The one to the side of the big menorah? It’s up now.”
“It’s what?”
“The long part, you know, that the hook hangs off of?”
“The boom,” Russ and Kevin said at the same time.
“It’s fully extended. The crane itself hasn’t moved.”
“Could you make out anyone in the operator’s cabin?” Russ made a shape with his hands.
She shook her head. “The lights in the plaza throw off too much glare.”
“Does anyone remember if the boom was a girder or lattice style?” Russ looked around. “The girder is like a solid bar, the lattice ones look like they’re made of a bunch of pipes.”
“The latter,” Clare volunteered. “Why?”
“Because if it’s a lattice crane, one or two people could climb up and be balancing at the top. It would be the ideal place for a shooter.”
Khalil, who had been listening quietly, tapped a finger into the palm of his hand. “You could cover this entrance, the whole expanse of the plaza, and some of Madison Avenue behind you.”
“Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ,” Johnson said. “We can’t even risk calling for backup down here.”
Russ folded his arms and looked toward the ceiling. After a moment, he sighed. “I hate this, but I think our only option is a frontal assault.”
“No!” Clare didn’t mean to yell, but—“Across completely unguarded ground against an unknown number of enemies who have the higher ground? The way, way higher ground? That’s not an option.”
“We have three—” He glanced at Johnson and Khalil, who both nodded. “Five officers. If we can smother them in rapid fire while one person gets in close, we might have a chance.”
“You only have three guns,” Clare protested. “Andnoneof you are wearing body armor.”
Russ stepped out of their huddle and raised his voice. “Is there anyone here carrying a gun?”
“It’s a Hanukkah celebration!” The rabbi looked incredulous.
“It’s America.” Khalil’s voice was sardonic.
Russ took another step toward the crowd. “Those of us who are law enforcement officers are going to try to rush the people holding us here. But we need more weaponry if we’re going to have a chance.”
There was a shuffle and a stirring. One man came forward. “I do.” He reached beneath his jacket and carefully handed Russ a semiautomatic pistol.
“Ben!” someone said, shocked.
“I’ve got a concealed carry license, Joan. It’s perfectly legal.”
A woman sidled around the edge of the crowd. She opened her purse and brought out a gun. “It’s a Ruger.” She gave it to Russ. “It only has five shots, though.”
He passed it to Kevin. “You’ll be our runner. Get up close enough to be inside their defenses and take out as many as you can.”
“Okay, everyone, that’ll do it. I want—”
“Wait! Wait a damn minute!” Leonard Schlesinger elbowed his way through the crowd, helped by the fact people jumped out of his way as soon as they saw the old man. He reached Russ’s side and stomped about-face. He held out one trembling hand toward the rest of the congregation. “Gimme a gun!” His voice was surprisingly strong. “I’ve killed those damn Nazis before and I’ll kill ’em again!”
