Chapter 26

"Alpha Team in position. I count three in the kitchen on the North side of the building. They're all sitting at a table, looks like they're eating." The sniper removed his hand from the throat microphone and sighted his Barrett on the girl. "Damn crime to kill a girl that pretty without getting some use out of her," he whispered to his partner, who was also sighting in.

"Orders are orders." The man shrugged. "Nice slippers she's got on." He focused on the stuffed pink rabbits. Both men were settled into the pine needles littering the hill 352 yards from the house. The spot was a prime location, affording them a clear view of the grounds. The Driscol house was relatively isolated. The nearest neighbor would barely be able to see the top of the flames as the house burned.

"Bravo Team in position," Jamal whispered. He checked the selector switch on the suppressed MP-5 one last time, making sure it was set to three round bursts. He unclipped a flash bang grenade from his shoulder webbing and crept up to the well-lit house. He would not fail Max this time. He motioned for the men behind him to form up. They were like armed ants swarming a picnic.

Max watched the scene through night vision goggles. He was sitting in the driver's seat of the van that brought the assault team to the Driscol house. With no rear windows, the black cargo van was the perfect method for getting his team from the bunkhouse to the target while wearing full battle gear.

The assault was going to be pure shock and awe. Jamal would start the operation by throwing a flash bang through the kitchen window. The rest of Bravo Team would storm the front door, shooting anything that moved. Then, they would burn the house, leaving no trace of their assault. A quick report by the Sheriff's office would indicate that an electrical line had shorted, causing a deadly house fire. Tragic, but it happened often enough and would not be further explored. If, for some reason, anyone made it out of the house, Alpha Team would take care of the problem with their high power sniper rifles.

Max prided himself as a disciple of the KISS principle. Keep It Simple, Stupid. One could hardly ever go wrong following this simple mantra. Go in, kill the witnesses, get out. The whole mess had already become too big. It had started with the girl, but now, two others were involved. Time to bring the nightmare to and end.

"Thanks for the coffee and chicken Mrs. Driscol." Finn licked his fingers clean. "I haven't had a good, home cooked meal in forever."

Liv was amused by the sight of Finn enjoying her Grannie's cooking. She knew that stuffing himself on her grandma's food was the surest way to make himself welcome. She hadn't brought many guys back to the house to meet her Grannie because she was afraid she might scare them off.

Not that there had really been all that many guys, she reflected. It was hard to meet someone interesting in Eagles Landing. For the most part, all of the good ones got out as soon as they graduated. Or they got their high school girlfriend pregnant and stayed forever.

Her musings were interrupted by an object bursting through the kitchen window. Finn immediately recognized the dark metal canister bouncing on the tiled kitchen floor. "Grenade! Get down! Now!" As he dashed over to grab it, the lights went out, plunging the house into darkness. "Shit." Finn fumbled for the grenade. His hand found something that felt right. He grasped it and hurled the object toward the moon, barely visible through the broken window.