Scene 30


Grounds of the Grant Estate


I quickly scrambled behind the cover of the hill, pulling Mr. Loon behind me.

“I’m hit!” I yelled to Mr. Toucan. Working quickly, I managed to bandage where the bullet had hit me. The bullet had passed completely through the muscle of my calf. It would be painful, but I would be okay. I just wouldn’t be running any marathons anytime soon.

As I was pinned behind the hill, I bent to examine Mr. Loon more closely. His wound was small, as the bullet had just creased the side of his head. Unfortunately, he was unconscious. I quickly bandaged the wound and turned my attention back to the firefight.

Glancing over towards the stone building, I could tell that no more shots were being fired towards the building or from it. Ms. Hawk and Mr. Mender must have gotten away.

I reached up to activate my headset, but it wasn’t there. I must have lost it somewhere when I was retrieving Mr. Loon. Looking over at him, I saw he still had his on, but the same bullet that had wounded him had also disabled the radio. I couldn’t contact anyone and could only hope that Mr. Toucan was keeping everyone updated on the situation.

I risked another glance around the hill to survey the situation. At least three dozen guards were firing to keep Mr. Toucan and myself pinned down. Glancing towards Mr. Toucan’s position, I saw something that caused both joy and fear in me. Mr. Toucan was slowing crawling across the lawn, keeping as low as possible. He was coming to help us. But bullets were also striking the ground all around him. I feared it was only a matter of time before he was hit. I had to give him some cover.

I grabbed my handgun and slipped in a fresh magazine. Then slowly peeked over the hill to pick my targets. What I saw inspired me.

The guards were suddenly subjected to automatic weapon fire from behind and spun around to meet this new threat. Coming across the yard were Ms. Hawk and Mr. Mender. Although these two had met only a few days ago, it was obvious that they were kindred spirits. The two of them had retrieved an M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) and were systematically moving in on the guards. As Mr. Mender trained the weapon on one group of guards after another, Ms. Hawk kept close to his side using her M16 and passing him magazines to keep his weapon firing.

The guards had forgotten all about Mr. Toucan and me, so I quickly motioned for him to move quicker. He got up and ran to my position, diving behind the hill when he arrived.

“Did you contact the others?” I asked when he pulled up beside me.

“Yes, we should be getting help shortly.”

Just then we did receive more help. Aside from Ms. Hawk and Mr. Mender, gunfire began to be directed at the guards from near the house. Then, I again heard the roar of a truck approaching and saw the rest of my team come rolling across the lawn.

It seemed the guards knew when they were outflanked. Very quickly each group threw down the weapons and surrendered.