After a second or two of eerie silence, all hell broke loose. Jason had turned his gun to the left and continued to fire. Steve suddenly brought two guns into play, exchanging shots with several men standing directly in front of him. Charlie was methodically firing at the men stationed to his right.
Ted finally tried to pull his handgun from his waistband, but something struck him in the chest. He was knocked back against the wall. As he struggled to lift his weapon, he felt another blow to his chest just before he lost consciousness.
The next thing Ted remembered was waking up as someone lightly slapped his cheek. He opened his eyes to see Steve's face quite close to his. Steve nodded to himself and then ripped open the heavy jacket Ted was wearing. He looked Ted over for about fifteen seconds before speaking.
"I don't see any blood, Ted. It looks like you took two bullets to the chest, but your vest did its job. It'll hurt like hell, and you may have a cracked rib or two, but you should be okay.
"Jason, let me have a look at your leg," insisted Steve as he stood and walked over to Jason, who was now seated.
"You'll need something to prevent infection, but it looks like the bullet went through muscle and missed the bone. Luckily, you're in a pretty damn good hospital. Charlie, how bad is your arm?" questioned Steve as he moved a short distance to inspect his friend's injury.
"It hurts like hell, but I can still use it," assured Charlie just as one of Hasko's goons groaned loudly. Without even blinking, Charlie placed a round into the man's head. "That was the bastard that shot me! We need to find out how Jordan and Ruth are!"
"I just tried calling, but it goes straight to voicemail," responded Jason. "If Mallory did her job, the girls' phones should be turned off and they should be in a safe place. We have to wait until they turn the phones back on."
"I'll call Chip and let him know what's going on," volunteered Steve as he made the call. He spoke briefly and then signed off.
"They have company. Chip says that there are ten of them, and the idiots think that they're sneaking up on the guys in the house. Chip said that Jared, Pete, and he are just about to lower the boom. Those poor bastards won't know what hit them. I've seen Chip work. Jared and Pete aren't any pilgrims either, as John Wayne would say."
"How come no one's coming in to check on us?" asked Ted. "They had to have heard the shooting in here."
"We gave the staff a bit of a head's-up about the trouble we were expecting and suggested that they stay away until the dust settles and we call for them. We'll need to get the bodies down to the incinerator as soon as possible. Charlie, help Jason down to the nurses' station and get those wounds taken care of. Ted and I will load up the bodies and get them disposed of."
"Are you crazy?" demanded Ted. "The police will be all over you if you move these bodies. We need to get them here to see that it was self-defense."
"Ted, these were sociopaths. They've killed without feeling any remorse. The police won't be concerned about them. Nadiya's father promised the government wouldn't be interested as long as it remained low profile. We're going to burn these bodies and go home to our families. Chip, Jared, and Pete will bury the ones they have up in the woods by the house we rented."
"You don't even know how that turned out. Those gunmen could have killed your friends," protested Ted as he tried to assimilate the information flying his way.
"Believe me, Ted. I know how it'll turn out," replied Steve. "Those men are trying to sneak up on an empty house while three very capable men armed with assault rifles are waiting for them. Chip could probably handle them himself. Jared and Pete could take them without Chip. Those thugs are either dead or dying right now. Let's get this over with."
Steve stepped into the hall and went into a nearby room. He soon returned with what looked like a small dumpster on wheels. Steve casually began heaving bodies into it. Ted shook his head and then moved to help Steve. It required three trips down the service elevator, but Ted and Steve managed to load the dead men into the fire chamber.
"How can you do this without feeling sick?" asked Ted as they swung the last body into the fire. "Doesn't this bother you at all?"
"What bothers me is worrying about our girls back home," answered Steve as he moved to a wash basin and began cleaning up. "These men have a history of killing and raping women, and even children. They were worse than wild animals. They were more like mad dogs. We simply exterminated vermin. Doing so will probably save hundreds of lives over the next few years. Did I enjoy it? Not even a little. Do I regret it? Not at all. If Hasko had lived, none of us would have ever been safe. We had to do this for your wife and daughters, for Ashley, Naomi, Becky, Charlotte and the rest.
"I would give my life to save our women from these bastards. So would you, Jason, Charlie, and the rest. It was forced on us and we took care of it. I'm not proud of what we did, but it needed doing and not many could have managed it. That was some of the most intense action I've ever seen. We did what we had to do and survived. It's a good thing."
Charlie and Jason insisted on being treated quickly and leaving as soon as possible. They had their injuries dressed, given antibiotics, pain medication, and went in search of Steve and Ted. They found Steve explaining to three of the custodial staff that he wanted the floor scrubbed and the holes in the walls and furniture repaired as soon as possible. The men nodded agreement and began working on the blood stains first.
By the time the foursome reached the rented house, Jared and Chip were carrying their bags out and putting them in a dark Mercedes. Pete was grinning as he stepped out from behind the wheel.
"We won't be crowded riding to the airport now. We'll ride back in this 'borrowed' Benz. You guys can take the rentals."
"What happened to the men who came here to kill you?" asked Ted as he looked around the area in front of the house.
"I don't know what you mean," chuckled Chip. "Some friends loaned us this great automobile. We're just going to ride to the airport in it. They don't need it anymore."
It was two hours later when Steve's phone rang. He and the others were preparing to board the Red Lady when the call came in.
"Steve, are you and the rest okay?" asked Gwen immediately and in an obviously agitated tone.
"We're fine. We're boarding the Red Lady right now. Is everything okay with you?" questioned Steve as he somehow dreaded Gwen's response.
"Four horrible men came to our house before sunup this morning. They were armed and intent on killing someone, probably Charlotte and me. Sybil had sneaked us out earlier and secluded us with some of her agents a few miles from the home. She, Janice, and three others hid in the house and waited just in case we were attacked.
"There was a gun fight and three of the men were killed and one badly injured," continued Gwen. "Charlotte and I are fine, but we're not going back to the house. Our security detail wouldn't let us use our phones until just now.
"I spoke to Mom a few minutes ago. She had pretty much the same thing happen. Mallory had moved all of the occupants of Asgard into the safe room in Valhalla. She and about twenty agents spread out in all of our homes. A van crashed through the gate, with two more following it. The three guards had been warned and they killed three of the men there before they were wounded so badly they were unable to carry on the fight. There were ten more guards on their way to help cover when the attack occurred, but they were a few minutes too late.
"The loud ruckus alerted Mallory's people and when the vans stopped in front of Jordan's house, they were prepared. Twelve men were shot to ribbons and three more surrendered after being injured. Mom said none of our friends or family was hurt, but they're all shook up and worried about you guys."
Steve saw that his friends were all using their phones as he spoke with Gwen. "I think the guys are talking to their ladies right now. I want you to tell Sybil that she did a great job. We need to think of something really nice for her."
"Steve, I hate to tell you this, but Sybil was shot in the gun battle at our house. I'm waiting to hear more from Janice, but it doesn't look good."
"Oh shit!" cried Steve in anguish. "I'm so sorry to hear that. We'll be back as soon as possible. I'll fly through to California and be with you as fast as I can make it. We need to be sure that Sybil has every chance possible."
"I already let it be known that Lady in Red will cover any and all expenses and efforts to help her. Everyone at the hospital is aware of how much Sybil means to us," replied Gwen as she fought back tears. "Hurry back to me. I'm going to need some emotional support from you."
Steve and Gwen spoke for a few more minutes before ending the call. As he returned the phone to his pocket, he brushed the tears from his eyes and looked at his companions. They were watching him somberly.
"We heard about Sybil being hurt," began Charlie. "We all like her a lot and wish her the best. Sadly, it goes with the territory. We're pretty damn lucky that we're all alive and going home."
"Yeah," agreed Jason. "I apologize if I jumped the gun, so to speak, but when that miserable fuck started talking about what he was going to have his men do to Lisa and Theresa, I knew he had to die."
"You saved me a bullet," admitted Charlie. "I was just getting ready to pop the bastard myself. He deserved to die just for saying the things he did. Apparently he intended to carry them out."
"Won't there be any trouble over this?" asked Ted. "We just arrived in a strange country and killed, oh, about two dozen men, give or take. How can they let us leave so easily?"
"I spoke to Nadiya's father a few minutes ago," responded Steve. "Without going into any particulars, I explained that Hasko was out of business, permanently. I told him that my understanding was that he and his associates left the country and would not be returning."
