Blackout (38 page)

Scott complied.

Riley picked up the weapon and lost his fingers in the thick grooves of Skeeter's custom-made grip. However, Skeeter's gun was not unfamiliar to Riley, and he made a quick adjustment to his hold. Turning to Khadi, he said, “Scott and I are going to press these guys back. Soon as we're forward, I want you to check on Skeet.”

Khadi tried to respond but started coughing instead. Tears from her grit-filled eyes were making streaks down her dusty face. She put a thumb up instead.

Turning back around, Riley said, “Okay, Scott. Just like back in Afghanistan, except this time we're outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded by innocent civilians.”

Scott grinned, “Look out,
hajji
, here we come!”

“On
go
, you cross the street and split the fire! Three—two—one—GO!” Riley began firing up the street as Scott bolted across. His peripheral vision caught Scott suddenly veering course. He turned in time to see Scott grab the first casualty's rifle off the pavement and dive behind a car.
The guy's good,
Riley thought.

He signaled Scott, who began to lay down cover fire. Running past the corner restaurant and across the intersection, Riley could hear the whiz of bullets all around him. The discordant scents of fresh baked bread and gunpowder hung in the air as he flattened himself against the side of a
panadería
. Chunks of pulverized brick showered his face from the corner of the building.

Riley looked back to see Scott ejecting the magazines that had been taped together and shoving the fresh box into his AK-47.
That'll give him thirty more rounds,
Riley thought as he slid a new clip into his handgun.
Not much, but it'll have to do.

Suddenly, he saw Scott's eyes get big. Scott quickly signaled to him that there was another RPG ready to fire but that he wasn't in position to get a shot at it.

Riley leaned out just a touch and used the glass of the buildings up the street to give him a picture of where the gunmen were. His eye caught a dark shape with a long cylinder stepping out into the street.

Riley signaled Scott to lay fire and then spun around the corner. His first two shots were wild as he tried to get his bearings, but the next three hit their mark. As the man fell back, his RPG fired wildly into the sky.
Lord, don't let that land in a schoolyard,
Riley prayed as he quickly advanced. Running ahead, he saw another bogey lose half his face courtesy of Scott.

Where's the third one?
Riley thought as he ran.
Scott said there were three. There!
At the next corner, a man was pulling off a mask as he rounded a corner at top speed. Riley signaled to Scott, who was now across the street and trying his best to match the linebacker stride for stride. Scott nodded, and they both went toward the corner.

Just before they reached it, the sound of a motorcycle engine kicking to life echoed down the narrow side street. Scott and Riley made a wide turn around the corner just in time to see the third gunman speeding away.

The sounds of sirens began to fill the air. The two men slumped against the building and tried to catch their breath.

“How'd they know, Scott?” Riley panted. “How could they possibly have known I was down here?”

“I don't know, man. But, believe me, I'm going to find out.”