Chapter 28

From the detached garage, more than fifty feet away from the burning house, Finn, Liv, and Grannie peeked out a frost encrusted window. "Holy shit," was all Liv could say as she watched the inferno.

"Wow, that was way too close," Finn said as he replayed the ordeal in his mind.

Propelled by his desperate throw, the flash bang grenade had barely made it through the window before its internal timer counted to five. The concussion blew the remaining glass in the window back into the house where it rained down on Finn, Liv and Grannie.

However, the explosion had been worse for the assault team. Not only were they stunned by the sound of the blast, but each was wearing night vision goggles. The flaring from the flash bang saturated the sensitive equipment, temporarily rendering it unusable. It had taken several precious seconds before any of the men were able to function.

Finn's heart pounded in his chest as the blazing light faded. He instinctively rushed to the front door where he had left the single action .410. The little shotgun felt like a toy in his large hands, but he was glad to have it. He turned and raced back to the kitchen.

In the faint glow of the cloud-covered, harvest moon, Finn saw a man outside the window jump up and paw like an animal at the night vision goggles on his face. The shadow was holding a gun in the other hand. Finn didn't hesitate. The little .410 spat fire, a perfect headshot. The shadow melted to the ground.

"Get to the gun safe," Grannie commanded. "Into the living room, now! Get in the damn safe!" In the darkness, Liv groped along the living room wall, searching for the coat closet. She flung the door open and reached for the combination dial on the giant safe. She felt the engraved plaque then grabbed the combination dial.

"It's not locked, just turn the handle." Fear filled Grannie's voice. Liv reached to the right, flipped the lever and opened the thick metal door. A battery powered light clicked on, revealing the inside of the safe.

The safe was a monster her dad had picked up during his travels and was large enough for one or two people to comfortably stand inside. The best part, especially at the moment, was that it was filled with weaponry. On the back wall were pistols; to the right sat hunting rifles and shotguns. But the left wall was Liv's favorite because it contained assault rifles and submachine guns. Her dad had never explained where he had gotten them, but Liv assumed his buddies, whom she had played paintball with, had helped acquire them.

To Liv, the safe, with its battery-powered light and racks of weapons, looked better than all the gold in Fort Knox. She was reaching for a pump action, twelve gauge shotgun when her Grannie yelled, "Put the gun back, just get in. Now! Get in the goddamn safe, both of you." Grannie shoved Finn into the safe, squishing Liv against the back wall. Grannie stuffed herself in and pulled the mighty door shut, then locked it from the inside.