Suddenly the door flies open behind us and a Program soldier leaps out, practically running into Tanya. He reacts in a flash, seizing Tanya before I can get to her.
Tanya screams, whirls around, and kicks him hard in the shins, looking like a pissed-off girl at recess. The guy howls and hops on one leg, losing his grip on her. I leap forward before he has time to recover and aim a ferocious open-palmed strike to his throat that crushes his voice box, cutting off his oxygen and disabling him.
This soldier is a witness, so I have to finish the job. As he falls, I plant a vicious kick at chest level, hard enough to crush his sternum and the heart beneath it.
The man gurgles and drops to the ground, dead.
Tanya stares at me, shocked by the violence unleashed an inch from her face. “Is he—?”
“He saw us,” I say. “I couldn’t leave him alive.”
“A friend,” I say. “I’m here to help Howard.”
I glance over at Howard, and he’s frozen in place, his finger pointing behind me.
I turn to find another Program soldier emerging from the woods, drawn by Tanya’s scream. He stands between us and potential escape, a heavy black pistol aimed at my chest.
I can tell by his stance that he is a professional shooter. He is focused and still, even after having seen his fellow soldier put down a second ago.
I move slowly and the gun moves with me, targeting my center mass. He does not shift the pistol from one person to another like someone untrained and afraid. He knows he cannot shoot all of us at the same time, so he will take us out by level of threat, highest to lowest.
“What do we do?” Tanya whispers.
“I have to pee,” Howard says.
“Stay calm,” I say. “And no peeing.”
I’m searching for options but not finding any. I note the soldier’s face, and I can see he’s working through his own options. Shoot first or ask questions?
If it were me, I’d shoot.
He hesitates. That’s his mistake.
I dive forward and down, hoping he will get distracted and lose his first shot.
A shot rings out, but I feel no pain. I look back to Howard and Tanya and find them unharmed.
I steal a glance at the soldier and see him blink twice, then fall to the ground, dead.
Mike is behind him, gun drawn, body set in a perfect modified Weaver shooting stance.
Mike had killed the soldier before he got a chance to fire his weapon. Now Mike’s gun is pointing in my direction.
He looks from me to Howard and Tanya. I feel Tanya stiffen beside me.
“They’re innocent,” I say.
Mike glances at Tanya and sighs.
“That’s the difference between you and me, Zach. I follow orders, not my feelings.”
Before I can speak again, another Program asset comes tearing out of the house behind us. Mike fires without hesitation, and the guy goes down in a sprawl.
Mike is killing Program soldiers. What orders is he following?
Sirens in the distance now, returning to the house. I imagine the firemen barely left the scene before they heard the shots and came racing back. It won’t be long before the police join them.
“God damn you,” Mike says. “I have to clean this up now.”
Bullets slam into the tree by Mike’s side, and he dives for cover. Another asset has come out of the house behind me, and he’s shooting at Mike, assuming he is an attacker and automatically directing his fire at the first man he sees with a weapon.
Mike wings him with a shot, but the man doesn’t go down. Then a second man comes out of the house and joins the first.
This is our chance.
“Go!” I shout to Howard and Tanya, pushing them forward.
A fusillade of bullets rips up the ground at Mike’s feet. He curses and returns fire.
I use the distraction to lead Howard and Tanya through the woods, racing back to the Accord. I’ll have time later to figure out why Mike didn’t shoot us, but now we have to get away.
I put Howard in the back of the Accord with Tanya, then I get in the front and start the engine. When I’m sure there are no police vehicles on the road, I pull out and speed away.
We are safe. At least for the moment.