Veil of Civility: A Black Shuck Thriller (Declan McIver Series) (9 page)

The Briton-Adams mansion was well lit with small spotlights spaced evenly at three feet intervals down the brick walkway that led to the front door, and further apart across the front of the entire house. The brightness of the area surrounding the house made the darkness beyond it seem all the darker. This, Declan thought, seemed to be a contradiction in terms of security. The red and brown brick surface of the house rose to three stories before the steep, architecturally tiled roof disappeared above the reach of the spotlights. The flat front of the house featured six high windows on each level and an expensive looking set of double doors, which served as the entrance to an interior that was surely just as attractive as the exterior.

Declan surveyed each of the windows, looking for any signs that the house was occupied, but only the faintest hint of a dim light near the front door gave any sign that anyone lived there. Taking a last look at each of the windows, he crossed the driveway to the front door, pressing his back against it when he got there. Leaning to the left, he craned his neck so that he could see through the floor to ceiling windows on either side of the entrance. Inside the home was dark with the exception of a small light ablaze in the luxurious foyer. An LED on an alarm keypad across from the door flashed red every few seconds, indicating the security system was armed. Each of the four rooms off the foyer was dark and all the signs pointed to the conclusion that no one had entered the home recently.

Even with the house dark, Declan knew there had to be someone about. Whose vehicle had made the tire tracks he'd found near the gate? Who had killed the guard? It was one of the security company's vehicles that had exploded outside of the Barton Center. Had the guards been part of the attack? If so, then it was possible that Levitt had put the guard down himself as he and Kafni entered the property.

Declan raised the pistol in front of him as he moved to the left towards the side of the house, speeding up as he passed each of the three first floor windows on that side of the front door. Rolling out around the corner of the house, he again found no one and he continued to move cautiously towards a darkened Florida room that jutted off the northeast side of the house. The room beyond the floor to ceiling windows was populated with wicker sunroom furniture, but otherwise empty.

Seen through the Florida room's windows to the north, a vehicle caught Declan's attention. Sticking out from around the front of what appeared to be a garage was the tail end of a dark red SUV. Declan moved around the room onto a section of pavement that ran off the main driveway and made his way towards the garage, taking momentary cover behind several tall shrubs as he approached.

Like the house, the garage was made of brick and was large enough for a minimum of three full sized cars. With no windows or doors on the side, Declan placed his back against the outer wall and slid towards the front, where the dark red SUV protruded into the driveway. The SUV Kafni drove was black, so the vehicle wasn't his. As he got closer, Declan could hear a hissing sound as water from the vehicle's undercarriage dripped on the hot exhaust manifold, a sure sign that the SUV hadn't been parked there for long.

Rounding out into a full view of the garage doors, Declan noticed the driver's side door of the red SUV had been left open, along with the window. Yellow light from the open garage stabbed the darkness and glared off the sleek paint of the vehicle. Making a quarter turn into the garage, he saw the black GMC Suburban that Levitt and Kafni had left the Barton Center in. Suddenly his fears were realized as his eyes rested on a small pool of blood near the base of the Suburban's front door. It was obvious to him now what had happened. Whoever had been driving the red SUV had followed Kafni's vehicle through the gates before the guard could close them and had ambushed Levitt and Kafni as they'd exited the vehicle. Clearing the rest of the garage, Declan rushed over to the driver's side of Kafni's vehicle and looked inside. Small spots of blood flecked the inside of the driver's compartment but it was clear from the small amounts that the gunshot had not been an exit wound. From the location of the blood, it appeared to have been Levitt who'd been shot, but where were he and Kafni now? Declan looked over the smooth concrete floor leading out of the garage. Amid the dirt and dark oil stains that littered the floor were a few more drops of crimson blood leading around the vehicle and to the left, out of the garage. Aiming his gun in front of him, he followed the trail outside.

"Hey!" a voice shouted from outside as he momentarily cleared the garage; he ducked back inside. Two suppressed gunshots erupted, one tearing into the hood of the dark red SUV and the other glancing off the garage's brick exterior. Declan pressed his back against the inside wall and listened, his pistol at the ready.

"What did you see?" an obviously foreign voice asked.

"There's someone in the garage with a gun. A guy in a blue shirt," another voice answered, this one rough and gravelly.

Declan thought he detected the presence of Slavic accents. He listened as the sound of shoes against the pavement indicated the men were moving, trying to get a view of him. Hidden in a corner between the garage door and the outer wall he waited, knowing the men would have to cross into his line of fire to see him. Having caught only the quickest glimpse of them before he'd ducked away he was pretty sure there were only two of them, but he couldn't be certain. The men began speaking quickly in hushed whispers using a foreign language, then suddenly one of them bolted forward, firing into the garage. The back window of Kafni's SUV shattered and Declan rounded out of his hiding spot to return fire. Squeezing the trigger three times in rapid succession the report of the weapon echoed loudly in the hollow building.

The running gunman dove for cover behind the passenger side of the dark red SUV and Declan's rounds passed over him. Suddenly, Declan caught sight of someone approaching from the edge of the garage. He moved left a millisecond too late and the broad end of a shovel slammed down on his extended arms and again in quick succession to the right side of his face as the first strike drove him downwards.

Falling backwards from the second upward impact of the shovel, Declan held tight to his gun as his back slammed hard against the concrete, knocking the wind out of him. His attacker stepped fully into the garage and raised the shovel to deliver another blow. Declan rolled onto his left side as the tool banged against the concrete where his head had been seconds before. Rolling back to his right he raised his gun as the attacker brought the shovel over his head for another blow. Gunshots echoed through the building as three holes appeared in the man's chest and he flew backwards from the close range impact.

Taking a shallow breath, relief was brief as Declan heard the sound of suppressed gunshots. Pushing his feet furiously against the smooth concrete floor and scrambling towards the outer wall of the garage, he raised himself into a sitting position and returned fire towards the red SUV, his first shot impacting the vehicle's windshield. Following the gunman as he skipped sideways towards the front of the vehicle, Declan squeezed the trigger methodically, intent on hitting his target. The man shouted in pain as a bullet tore into his shoulder, followed by another that caught him in the side of the head. The man fell down and Declan stopped firing, breathing heavily as the sound of shell casings hitting the floor abated and the tang of cordite filled the air. The peaceful sound of crickets chirping in the trees lining the driveway returned outside the garage before being interrupted again by a gunshot, this one a distant echo somewhere to the north of the garage.

Standing upright, Declan steadied himself against the side of the black SUV, becoming aware of the injury to his head for the first time as the room spun around him. He lifted a hand and touched a spot above his right eye that was throbbing with pain. Pulling his hand back he noticed blood dotting his fingertips. Turning his hand over, he saw a laceration caused by the shovel striking him. Wiping the warm fluid on his shirt, he pushed himself off the vehicle and moved towards the garage door, stepping over the body of the dead thug.

Outside, he aimed his pistol to the left in the direction the two men had come from. In the distance he could see another building, this one longer than the garage and with a tin roof. The driveway leading to the garage extended past it and turned to gravel about fifteen yards from where Declan stood. Stepping in front of the dark red SUV he peered over the edge of the vehicle to see the gunman he'd shot moments before lying on the pavement. He moved towards him and kicked away the suppressed pistol before nudging the man hard with his foot. The man slumped onto his back and stared eerily upwards, the side of his face covered in blood that had pooled underneath him from the wound above his left ear. Along with an unkempt beard, a black crochet
taqiyah
on the man's head identified him as a follower of Islam, though he didn't appear to be Middle Eastern. He had a slightly pallid complexion and black hair, his skin rough like he'd spent a lot of time in harsh outdoor conditions. Declan turned away towards the north knowing the man was deceased.

Another distant gunshot echoed from the tin-roofed building in the distance and Declan rushed forward, suddenly remembering why he was there. His steps were unsteady and his vision blurred as he made his way forward. Stopping at the base of a tree, he leaned against it for support, realizing the seriousness of the injury to his head. Doing his best to shake it off, he continued forward towards the building fifty yards ahead of him.

Unlike the house and the garage, the building was made of wood that had been blackened by age. Several sets of barn doors lined the outside of it and steel icebreakers jutted out of the tin roof to break up any falling snow as it descended during the winter months. Declan ducked back behind the tree trunk and lowered himself to the ground in a prone position as two black clad men carrying submachine guns appeared around the side of the building and ran up the driveway towards the garage. He watched from the wet ground as the men passed within twenty yards of him. When they arrived at the garage, they slowed to a stop, speaking to each other in a foreign language.

Staying low to the ground and keeping an eye on the two men at his six o'clock, Declan continued forward. Arriving at the building he rested against the aged wood before continuing around the perimeter in search of an open entrance. How many men were there? The vehicle they had arrived in could easily seat six, but could hold as many as eight or nine if they'd used the rear cargo area in addition to the regular seating. Slowly rounding the northwest corner of the building and being sure to stay out of the line of sight of the two men near the garage, he saw another dark red SUV parked next to the building, its passenger doors open. On discovery of the second vehicle he knew he was facing impossible odds. In his injured condition and having expended nine of the sixteen bullets in his magazine, there was no way he could hope to take on what could be as many as twenty men.

The sound of a vehicle starting up and a pair of headlights illuminating the driveway next to the building preceded the appearance of the SUV that had been parked in front of the garage. Arriving around the opposite corner of the building from where Declan was standing, the vehicle came to a stop in front of its twin. The passenger door opened and one of the men who'd run up the driveway got out and entered an open door across from the parked SUV.

"Someone's here," he said in accented English to whoever was inside. "Tariq and Nadir are dead!"

"Get out there and keep a lookout!" a harsh voice bellowed. This time Declan was sure the accent was Slavic and belonged to someone from the old Soviet bloc of countries. "It looks like our fun here has come to an end, little brother, but before you die, I want you to know that I'm going to cut off your head and mail it to your family!" the voice continued. Declan was sure he heard the voice of Abaddon Kafni next, but couldn't make out what was being said. He closed his eyes as two gunshots rang out from within the building. Moments later, as the ringing of the gunshots faded, several celebratory whoops filled the air.

"Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!" several men repeated over and over again.

Declan moved away from the building towards a clump of trees twenty yards away. He watched from cover as ten heavily armed men exited, aiming their submachine guns and pistols in all directions as an eleventh man moved abruptly out of the building and straight to the parked SUV. In his left hand, Declan could see a white sack with a dark red stain forming at its base. He felt the breath leave his body as a surge of anger erupted within him. Falling back against the trunk of a tree, he slid to a sitting position as the scarlet glare of the SUV's brake lights sliced the darkness. Doors slammed as the men entered the vehicles and a cloud of dust was pushed into the air as they moved out in succession, the tires sliding on the loose gravel as they accelerated around the side of the building and up the driveway towards the house. As the SUVs rounded the knoll next to the teardrop shaped yard and disappeared over the hill, Declan closed his eyes, breathing heavily as darkness took him.