Dollar Runaways

Chapter 37: Chaos

GLORIA HEARD THE sound of a gunshot down the hallway and reached into her dresser drawer for her pistol while also rolling onto the floor. A second later a figure she didn't recognize entered and pointed a gun at the bed. She didn't think about it, she just fired a shot into his head. He went down easier than a rattlesnake.

Simultaneously she could hear shouting down the hall and Hank's angry voice "Damnit, son of a bitch!!!!" followed by a lot of rounds from different caliber of guns including an automatic it sounded like! She heard a couple grunts and then running down the hallway and the stairs.

After that, silence reigned for a moment before she heard a long string of shots from the automatic weapon again out back, behind the house. More shouting came after that.

AGENT KLINE AND Brian had just managed to get into position when the shots began. There was no way to tell what was going on, but they heard a number of different weapons firing inside the house before silence came. "They have automatic weapons," He said quietly.

"Sounds like our MP5s" Stan said over the radio.

"Keep your eyes open, an idiot with an automatic weapon can get lucky," Brian reminded them.

As if to say he couldn't be more correct, Lance called, "The back door is opening," over the radio.

"Freez..." He started to say before a hail of bullets came out of the suspect's gun and they heard someone run into the forest.

"Lance!?!" Brian called.

There was no response, "I can go check on him," Bob said.

"Be careful, and stay in constant radio contact." Brian ordered. This was not good in the slightest and he didn't like sending him over there uncovered. "Wait, I'm going with you." he said to Bob. "Stan, can you get an angle to cover front and the side?"

"Be there in a moment," he said. Almost literally a moment later he said, "There, go!"

The two of them covered each other and reached the back to find the worst had in fact happened. Lance had several shots that had impacted his vest, but two unlucky ones had hit him in the face.

"GLORIA, IT'S HANK don't shoot," she heard from the figure coming through the doorway. She kept her gun aimed carefully at the figure until she could fully see him.

"You've been shot!" She called out as she carefully moved over to him.

Blood was running from a wound in his arm, another his leg, and a stream of blood from his face as well. "Well yeah... I have been," he answered with a smile that said he was in shock. "We got two others down the hallway dead like this one, and I think we hit one of the others before they ran with another."

"Five guys?!?" Gloria said in disbelief.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure we aren't alone outside, I'd guess the feds arrived late."

"Let's get you down somewhere we can treat your wounds. Is everyone else okay?"

Hank grimaced, "Mike's dead... He was the first person they saw. The rest of us were a little bit out of view in our beds and had some time..." He frowned and she could see the tears streaming a bit out of his eyes, knowing her own would come in time too. "Everyone else is okay. Joe took a bullet graze to his ribs, but he claims it's nothing he hasn't had before."

She grabbed the phone and dialed 9-1-1. "I'm calling to report an attack on my house. Shots have been fired and we have a few dead intruders and a couple got away..." she continued for a moment, "I have injured ranch hands that have been shot, please send ambulances."