Thy Kingdom Come: Book One in the Sam Thorpe series (37 page)

“Do I ever.” Case laughed. “I’ve got three daughters myself and spend half my life waiting for them. They’re great kids but once in a while a real pain in the butt.”

The team came running out of the science building.

Kaminsky waddled behind the other four men, two of them carrying the metal box.

Case looked up and saw the group. “What the hell?” He reached down for his weapon.

Lieutenant Patrick keyed his mic. “Deploy SWAT teams. Alpha six, bring your unit into town. Put four men at each roadblock. Split the rest on either side of the campus.”

He switched the radio to intercom. “The National Guard is about four miles away and moving toward us. With police escort, they should be here in about five minutes.”

O’Brien flexed his arms and took deep breaths. “Use them to form a firewall between the science building and the center of town. We’ve got to protect the students.”

“I’ll tell our trooper to lead the truck into the north side of town. We’ll place them up where the bars are. Keep the kids inside.”

O’Brien worried that he was missing something. “Get some of your officers to go to the local places. We need to follow up on the text messaging. Uniforms should help. Everyone stays inside.”

“Roger,” Patrick replied. “One of my officers said the science building is dark. We should be okay as long as no one wanders down there.”

O’Brien located three of Oliver’s four vehicles in front of the science building. Then O’Brien saw flashes from a weapon.

“Get that SWAT team in place—now.”

A flash, then a pop, and Case fell to the ground, clutching his chest.

Oliver pulled his revolver back inside the vehicle. “Out of the way.”

Sam jumped back. The right rear fender brushed him as Rose pulled the Jeep out from the curb. The Jeep careened down the block, turning a sharp right and disappearing.

Kaminsky’s team ran down the sidewalk from the science building. They loaded into the waiting truck. Sam looked through his binoculars. State police cruisers blocked both ends of the street.

Sam ducked between two trees. He stopped at the curb to size up the situation. The militia was surrounded, but what about Marshall?
He’ll be scared to death,
Sam thought.
Kid might do something dumb.

Alex.

Oliver knew things were going wrong. Would the troopers be able to stop the bastard without harming Alex?

The insert team had loaded into the truck. His own team was gathering—ready to leave.

The Jeep fishtailed as Specialist Rose pulled out from the curb.

Alex spotted the state police vehicle at the far end of the street at the same time Rose did.

He spun the wheel to the right and turned up an alley.

“Floor it, Rose,” Oliver called. “Beat the roadblocks.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What about the rest of the team?” Alex called from the back seat.

No reply.

They reached the end of the alley, turning away from the roadblock. Rose swung the wheel to the left and turned up the next alley, the force throwing Alex against the side of the Jeep.

Alex recovered her balance and spotted a police cruiser down the block. Through some stroke of luck, the cruiser must not have seen them.

Rose turned left onto a dark residential street and slowed down. At the end of that block, he turned right into a farm lane, the vehicle slipping on ice. Driving without headlights, Rose slipped the Jeep into four-wheel drive and dodged between two storage buildings. Alex turned around. The town began to disappear behind them.

Alex heard shots, and thought she spotted the helicopter overhead. Well, no way was she going to let Oliver get away. She reached down and pulled her .38 from the holster on her leg.. Placed it against the back of Oliver’s head.

“Time’s up, fellas. Pull this thing over. Stop, or I’ll blow your few brain cells all over the windshield.”

Oliver’s neck stiffened. “That’s not nice, my dear. After all I’ve done for you.”

“Don’t give me that stuff, asshole. Stop this fucking Jeep, or I’ll pull the trigger. I really don’t care if you live or die.”

Rose slammed on the brakes. Without a seatbelt, Alex flew forward. A loud crack resounded in Alex’s ears as the gun discharged. She rammed her head into the back support of the front sea. The bullet tore harmlessly through the roof as the Jeep spun around in the field.

Rose’s vice-like grip wrenched the gun out of her hand while he karate-chopped her on the back of the neck with his left hand.

She heard a woman’s scream.. Then was met with silence and darkness.

Sam sprinted across the street in his best infantry crouch, staying low to avoid the bullets ricocheting up and down the street. He ran up the front sidewalk toward the science building. When he turned the corner and paused, he felt the muzzle of a rifle in his back.

“All right, Thorpe. Time’s up. Drop that rifle on the ground. Now.”

Sam recognized the voice. “Be careful with that weapon, Popeye. You’ll hurt someone.”

“That’s the point, asshole. Somebody tipped the cops. I know it was you. Now drop it.”

Sam dropped his M16, and it clattered on the walk. “Why would I do that?”

“You’re a cop, and so is your lady friend with the big boobs.”

Sam glanced around, checking for anything he could use against Popeye. “Where’d you get that idea?”

“I finally remembered where I’d seen the broad. She led the raid on that skinhead meeting in Minneapolis. Should have remembered sooner. You may have broken up this operation, but you won’t get away with it. Turn around.”

Popeye stepped back when Sam pivoted to face him. Popeye had a ski mask over his face, but the white hair and the voice were a dead giveaway.

“Stand right there. Move, and you’re dead.”

Sam knew he’d be dead anyway. He looked left, then right. There was a hemlock to his left. Could he dive for it? No, he’d never make it. The gunfire and yelling in the street became deafening. Could he use the flashes from the weapons as a diversion? No, he had no control over them.

“Goodbye, asshole.”

Sam ducked down to do a cross body block, pushing the rifle up in the air. Popeye rolled back, kicked at Sam, and brought the weapon down over Sam’s head. Pain seared in Sam as he grabbed for Popeye’s leg. In a surprising display of speed, Popeye jumped back. The rifle pointed at Sam’s face.

Popeye laughed. “Nice try.”

Sam stared at him. Was this how it would end? No chance to tell Emily he loved her. No chance to square things with Jackie. And,
shit, what about Alex? Oliver knows she’s an undercover operative.
Sam had no way to warn her.

He heard the shot and waited for the force of the bullet to tear into him. But he felt no pain. Had he already died? He opened his eyes to see Popeye lying on the ground, hands on his chest, gasping in pain.

“I held it steady this time, Colonel Thorpe. Yes, sir, I did.”

Sam wiped the sweat pouring down his face with his sleeve. “You held it steady, Marshall. You sure did. Thank you.”

Voices resounded over the speaker. “Roadblocks are in position. Guard troops have sealed off the town.” O’Brien could hear small arms fire in the background.

O’Brien’s attention remained focused on the screen of his Blackberry. Sam’s cell tracker showed that he was in the center of the block. “Watch out for Thorpe, big guy. He’s across from the science building. And keep an eye out for Alex Prescott: slender, female. Don’t want them shot by mistake.”

Muzzle flashes from the weapons lit up the street.

He leaned over to Patrick and called, “Double check the roadblocks. Make sure they know to look for Sam and Alex.”

Patrick keyed his mic. “Roger.”

O’Brien spoke into the mic to the pilot. “See if you can find a place to land this thing. We’re not doing any good up here.”

Marcel Dubois sat in his vehicle across the street from the theater in Sharpsburg. He had pulled over and stopped when he’d heard the rifle shots.

A helicopter hovered over the university. Something had gone wrong. What should he do?

He decided to turn around and head back toward the farm. He’d wait awhile and then call Oliver. No way did he want to get in the middle of an ambush.