Anarchy (Hive Trilogy, #2)(37)
“Armageddon is upon us!” A high pitched female voice whined out of another speaker. Did all of these humans carry around loudspeakers or something?
I knew that whiny voice. It was the crazy bitch who’d killed those ash and nearly killed Ryder.
Ryder grabbed a vest and helped me slip it on, securing the last strap as the gunfire began. Oliver did the same for Jayden, who was the only one here unarmed.
Ryder leaned in close and whispered in my ear. “We could run, but we may need a favor from these boys in the future, and they’re outnumbered. They could use our help.”
I nodded. It was the right thing to do.
As the noise of bullets increased, one of the SWAT guys tumbled off one of the cars and slid backward into Kyle’s outstretched arms.
“Man down!” Blue Eyes roared.
“I got you, bro.” Kyle ripped open a med kit—seemed the boys had emptied the Humvees of the important stuff when we’d ran here—and began to treat the fallen guy.
Blue Eyes was still barking orders, and at the same time seemed to be ducking between the two vehicles constantly. His shots were scarily accurate. I saw him take out at least five Deliverance in under a minute.
Actually all of these guys were highly trained and absolutely brutal. They definitely shot to kill, and a small, sick part of me enjoyed that. Deliverance should not exist. They were murderers, killing innocents for their sick sense of right and wrong.
Deciding I wanted to be a little closer to the action, I snaked my way around the side of the closest Tahoe. The back door was open, offering me some protection, and I propped myself up on the step so I could shoot over the top of the window. A quick headcount had at least twenty Deliverance *s, and they all seemed to be armed. Shit! Was that a freakin’ AK-47? Steadying my hand over the doorframe, I breathed deeply, allowing my mind to release the fear and panic and step into the zone.
The weapon bucked in my hands as I shot once, twice, a third time. I heard two shouts, and knew I’d nailed them hard. The third bullet had clipped the crazy old bitch, whom I particularly wanted to kill, because she’d shot at my guys. No one touched my boys.
Blue Eyes swung around to me then. “I don’t want an untrained female on the front line. Stand down.”
Oh hell no. I flipped him off before lifting my gun up again. I heard a bark of laughter from behind and knew it was Jared. He would find that amusing; he had a particular distaste for authority.
With a shake of his head Blue Eyes resumed his previous position and went back to taking down crazies. After a few more rounds from us, the Deliverance had lost at least half their members, which must have been their signal to start gearing up to use the big machine gun on the roof. I saw two of the guys crawling their way up, others flanking around them to provide backup. I squinted again, taking aim, and fired. A female spun off the side of their car then, but another stepped in to take her place. Dammit. Were they multiplying?
“Take cover!” one of the SWAT bellowed, and on instinct all of us hit the ground. Under the Tahoe I could see Ryder and Sam, who had been exchanging fire with a small group of Deliverance to the left side.
I flinched as the first bullets from the heavy machine gun started raining across the ground and cars. Bullets pierced right through the door above my head; nothing was stopping those shots. Shit. I army-crawled my way backwards, sticking close to the car until I could scoot back around to the rear. I expected to find Kyle and company back there, but it was only Jayden. His eyes were wide, the silver swirling into the black as we both pressed ourselves to the rear panel.
“That is one hardcore gun,” my BAFF whispered. “How the hell are they going to take it out?”
Oliver popped up beside him then, scaring the absolute heck out of both of us. “Ryder and Lincoln are going to come in from either side. One of them will be able to take the rest of the Deliverance down, no worries.”
What the actual … seriously? “Who is Lincoln and where can I find Ryder so I can kick his ass? Dude just got out of hospital for being a hero.”
I was so angry I was literally shaking. Well, angry and scared. No matter how lethal Ryder was, he was not bulletproof.
“Lincoln is the head of this special forces division. We’ve had a few run-ins with them. Generally we live in an uneasy truce, but they do seem to just be waiting for the day we f*ck up and they can nail our asses.”
Ah, Blue Eyes.
I’d already tuned out of the conversation, trying to figure out how the hell to chase down Ryder and haul him back to safety. I was crouched again, attempting to see along the ground to find where all the men were. But I kept getting blocked by a bunch of debris which had been smashed off the cars.
The bullets died off then and the ringing in my ears intensified. Hadn’t even realized how loud that machine gun was until it stopped. Using this moment, I popped myself up and launched onto the back step of the car to see above the roofline. I wasn’t stupid enough to go any higher; there were plenty of Deliverance there still, but I needed to see Ryder. Before I managed to fully take in the scene, which was pure carnage—that gun had shredded the cars and debris was absolutely everywhere—Oliver yanked me back down. Just in time too, as the heavy bullets started up again.
“Heard them reloading,” Oliver said. “Figured you’d like to keep your brains on the inside.”
I gave him a quick hug, my breathing a rapid. “Yep, totally. That’s where I like my brains.”