Chapter 10: Holding the Line
“Code Red! Shots fired at the rear perimeter!” Miller yelled into his radio, pressing his back flat against the fender of the sedan. His heart hammered furiously against his ribs, but his training took over, overriding the sudden spike of adrenaline.
“Mark! Are the kids hit?” Jenkins shouted over the chaos, her voice tight with strain as she pinned Lily and Leo to the floorboards of the back seat.
“They’re clear! Keep them down!” Miller fired two controlled shots toward the top of the wooden fence, not aiming to kill, but to suppress the hostile positions and buy precious seconds for backup to arrive from the front street.
The heavy crunch of gravel signaled that Captain Vance was moving around the side of the house, joined by the two backup officers who had remained near the front entrance. Heavy footsteps pounded against the grass as Vance rounded the corner of the garage, his weapon drawn and ready.
“Miller! Where’s the shooter?” Vance demanded, taking up a firing position behind a thick brick planter.
“Alleyway! East side of the fence! Suppressive fire coming from the shadows!” Miller yelled back, keeping his sights fixed on the splintered wood where the muzzle flashes had briefly illuminated the night.
Inside the car, Leo began to cry softly, clutching his sister tightly as the acrid smell of cordite drifted over the yard. Jenkins kept her hand pressed firmly against the boy’s shoulder, murmuring quiet reassurances while scanning the perimeter for any movement.
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“Cease fire! Hold your fire!” Vance suddenly shouted, lowering his weapon an inch as the headlights of a heavy patrol vehicle swung aggressively into the alleyway from the main street, its high beams cutting through the darkness like white-hot lances.
The silhouette of a dark sedan could be seen peeling out from the far end of the alley, its tires squealing furiously against the asphalt as it accelerated into the night, abandoning the ambush before the full weight of the local police department could pin them down.
