An Undeclared War (Countdown to Armageddon Book 4) by Darrell Maloney Read Free Book Online Page A

Scott.
         “Tom, they don’t have a radio.”
         Tom muttered to himself, “Oh, hell. Well, they’ll figure it out.”
         Tom remembered the last time he placed the barrel of his rifle through the firing port and all hell broke loose.
         He suspected it would happen again.
         And Pike and Gonzalez didn’t disappoint him. As soon as they saw the barrel come out of the upstairs window, they let loose with a barrage of gunfire. Tom was smart enough this time, though, to take cover behind the thick plywood barrier, and let the men outside take care of the shooters.
         John and R andy couldn’t see the shooters in the bush. But they very clearly saw the smoke from their rifles rising above a thick stand of shrubs.
         John said, “Okay, as soon as I throw the grenade, you start firing. You ready?”
         “Yep.”
         John pulled the pin from his first grenade, stood up, and threw with every ounce of power he could muster. His aim was off, but just a bit, and the grenade landed within fifteen feet of its target.
         By the time John reached for his weapon, Randy was already firing. John used the fully automatic weapon to spray the tree line, assuming that his targets were down low and cowering in the dirt.
         Then, where Pike and Gonzalez had rained hell on Tom’s position, there was nothing but silence.
         Deathly silence.
         John and Randy held their ground, hoping for some kind of sign that their counterattack was successful. Of course, the silence might mean that the men were merely changing positions.
         Or, it could mean they were dead.
         In any event, it made no sense to come out too quickly and risk a bullet to the head. They were in no hurry.
         “Let’s just wait here a bit,” John said. “The next move is theirs.”
         Sara was back on the radio with a warning for Jordan.
         “Baby, look out. The one that’s wounded on your side is coming back to your window.”
         Jordan had lost all fear half an hour before. Now he was just angry and wanted revenge.
         He said into the radio, “I’ll be waiting for him. Let me know when he passes directly below the window.”
         “Okay.”
         The next fifteen seconds were eerily silent. There was no chatter on the radio, no chatter in the house. Even the dogs had taken a break from barking.
         Then the silence was broken by Sara’s resolute voice.
         “Now!”
         Jordan had his handgun out of its holster and at the ready. At Sara’s command, he reached his arm as far as he could through the firing port, just as Tom had done, and aimed the weapon toward the ground.
         Then he fired as quickly as his finger could pull the trigger, round after round, until all of the bullets were exhausted.
         Sara said, “He’s running, back toward where he came from.”
         “Did I get him?”
         “I don’t think so. He started running as soon as you fired the first shot.”
         Jordan shouted, “Dammit!”
         He wasn’t bothered at all at the prospect of killing a nother man. He just wanted to avenge Joyce’s death.
         The man was still badly wounded from the shot that took most of his ear and shattered his jaw. He’d lost a lot of blood and was dazed and confused.
         So it was, perhaps, understandable, that he didn’t realize he was running directly toward Scott and Robbie until he was within forty yards of them.
         Then, in a terrible panic, he stopped short and raised his weapon toward them.
         It was the last thing he ever did.
         He was cut down by a burst of rapid gunfire from Robbie’s M-16, and a single shot through the heart from Scott’s AR-15.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
      -10-
     
         The eerie silence returned. Scott was back on the radio to Sara.
         “Honey, do you see anyone