Mars wanted music.
He went to the den, where he remembered a nice Denon sound system. He tuned to a local hip-hop station, and cranked the speakers to distortion. He helped himself to a bottle of scotch, then returned to the bedroom.
The bed was a raging inferno. Fire covered the doors and walls, and a layer of smoke roiled at the ceiling. The heat made him squint. A layer of smoke roiled at the ceiling. Mars took off his shirt and drank. He checked the Chinaman’s gun, saw that there were still plenty of bullets, then took out his knife.
Mars crouched at the far side of the room, far from the flames and below the smoke. He watched the door. He hoped that if the security room grew hot enough, and the children grew frightened enough, the kids would open the door to escape.
Then he would have his way.
TALLEY
Two men would breach the front door, two the French doors; Talley and Jones would breach through a window to enter a guest bedroom located next to the master. Once inside, Jones would radio the seventh man, who would shatter the sliding doors in the master bedroom to distract Krupchek from the bedroom door, which would be the point of egress for the assault. All of them would carry fire extinguishers to suppress the flames.
Talley didn’t have time to get his own vest from his car. He borrowed a vest from one of the CHiPs, strapping it over his sweatshirt, then slung a fire extinguisher over his shoulder. The firemen ran out their hoses, remaining under cover until word would come down that the hostiles had been neutralized.
When they agreed on the assault plan, Talley phoned Thomas. The connection was even weaker than before, and this time Talley told him to keep the phone on. Powering up the system probably cost more power than it saved. If Jones thought anything of Talley and the boy talking, he did not comment.
Martin edged close to Talley as Jones deployed his men.
“What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“You just going to let them leave with the disks?”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Martin. I don’t know. I just gotta get those kids.”
Talley finished strapping on the vest and adjusted his radio. Everything moved quickly and efficiently, without wasted moves or words. When he was set, he looked over at Jones.
“You ready?”
Jones seated his helmet, then shook himself a last time to settle his equipment.
“Remember, Talley.”
“Let’s just do this damned thing.”
Jones set off for the house. Talley let him get a step ahead, then turned back to Martin.
“If I don’t get out, don’t let him leave. Bring in the detectives and try to save my family.”
“Just make it your business to get out.”
She turned away before he could answer and shouted at her SWAT team to remain in place.
Talley caught up to Jones at the corner of the house outside the guest bedroom window. They heard music, loud and throbbing within the burning house. Talley was thankful for it, because the noise of the music and the fire would cover their entrance. They pulled away the screen, then Jones used a crowbar to wedge open the window. He pushed aside the shade, then gave Talley a thumbs-up, saying the room was clear. They lifted the fire extinguishers into the room, then they waited. They would not enter the house until the others were in position. Talley took the phone from his pocket and checked in with Thomas.
“Thomas?”
“I’m here, Chief.”
The boy’s voice broke up, salty with static.
“We’re almost there. Three minutes, maybe four. As soon as we get Krupchek, the firemen will come in.”
“It’s getting hot.”
“I know. Is Krupchek still in the bedroom?”
Talley wanted to keep the boy talking. If he was talking, he wouldn’t have time to think about how scared he was. Neither would Talley.
“He’s sitting on the floor by the-”
The cell line went dead.
“Thomas? Thomas?”
Nothing.
The boy’s phone had finally failed. Jones glanced over his shoulder at Talley, and twirled his finger. They were spooling up, getting ready to launch.
“Let’s go, goddamnit.”
Jones jabbed his finger at the window.
“Go!”
Jones went first, Talley giving him a boost up, then scrambling inside after him. The room was lit only by the low wall of flame that barred the door to the hall. The master bedroom door was only ten feet away. Jones shot the bolt on his MP5; Talley popped the slide on his pistol. They turned on their flashlights, then met each other’s eyes. Talley nodded. Jones keyed his mike.
“Now.”
Talley heard the sliding glass doors in the master bedroom shatter at the same time that the front door blew inward off its hinges.
Two fast shots came from the master bedroom. Talley and Jones charged down the hall as a third shot cracked in the bedroom, then they were through the door.
The bedroom was an inferno. The man who had shattered the glass doors was down, writhing in agony. Talley glimpsed a flash of movement from his right and saw Krupchek heave up from behind a Morris chair, chest bare and glistening, an angry, strictured smile on his face. Krupchek screamed, a high-pitched screech, as he swung his pistol, pumping out shots even as Talley and Jones fired. Krupchek stumbled backward, arms windmilling as he fell into the flames, thrashing and still screaming. Jones fired two short bursts into him and he was still.
They unstrapped their fire extinguishers as Jones’s other men cleared through the door, covering the room with their weapons.
Talley shouted, “We’re clear!”
Jones pointed at the first two, then the fallen man.
“You and you, him, out to the van.”
Talley blasted gouts of CO2 at the burning security door, and shouted for Jones to help.
“Jones! The kids are in here.”
Jones shoved the next man toward the door.
“The office is at the front of the house. Make sure the hall is clear.”
“Help me get these kids!”
Jones and the last man joined Talley at the wall. Their CO2 extinguishers hissed like dragons. The red walls turned black as the flames engulfing them died. Talley banged at the door with his fire extinguisher.
“Thomas! It’s me!”
The fire on the walls licked to life again, eating away the paint.
“Thomas!”
Talley fogged the door as it opened. The boy and his sister stood back, wary of the heat. Jones grabbed Talley’s arm.
“They’re yours, Talley. We’re getting the disks.”
Talley let them go. He blasted the walls around the door again to beat back the flames, then stepped through and took the boy’s hand.
“We’re going to move fast. Stay behind me.”
Jennifer crowded next to him, nervously peering around him into the room.
“Is he dead?”
Talley ached when he saw her. Jennifer and Amanda were close to the same age. They wore their hair in the same cut. He wondered where Amanda was now. He wondered if she was looking for her own monster.
“He’s dead, Jennifer. Come on. You guys did great.”
Talley hurried them along the hall, using the fire extinguisher whenever the flames crowded too close. He paused only long enough to switch his radio to the Bristo frequency, and called Mikkelson.
“Mikki!”
“Go, Chief!”
“The kids are coming out the front. Take care of them.”
When they reached the entry, Talley could see into the office. Jones and his men were searching Smith’s desk. Talley pulled Thomas aside out of their view, knowing that these were his last few moments to save his own family. The Watchman would know that they had entered the house. He would be calling Jones for a report, and he would be expecting the disks.