The Clearing - DSA Season One, Book One by Lou Paduano

Author:Lou Paduano [Paduano, Lou]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eleven Ten Publishing LLC
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Gadgets and More stood in the middle of a deserted plaza. Shuttered stores occupied the ends. A grocery store took the vast majority of space offered by the complex. They circled the back, the entrance barred by a locked gate and combination padlock. When they reached the front, the foursome exited their vehicle.

The storefront window had been shattered, immediately raising their awareness. Sidearms were drawn and flashlights replaced the faded sun as clouds rolled in from the west. Ruth took the lead once more, Ben at her side. He did his best to ignore her unsteady steps and the way her hand reached to her temple more often than his own to his tie. He didn’t need the argument, but more than that, his focus was lost on the status of the shop.

Glass littered the inside, not the walkway outside. “Someone might still be in there.”

Ruth nodded, cautiously entering. Her leg arched over the window display, cheap toys and games used to draw in the family crowd. Morgan and Lincoln covered her entrance. Ben followed the trail of glass, catching sight of small flickers of blood along the remnants.

“We’ll take the right, Riley.”

“Got it.” Ben caught a thin glare from Lincoln.

“Definitely not staying back this time,” the gun-toting agent said.

“Wouldn’t ask you to,” Ruth said.

He shifted left. Morgan scanned the lot for more than the empty cars scattered throughout. Then she followed, glass cracking beneath her feet.

“Anything?” Ben asked, moments later. Ruth surveyed the nearby displays; the newcomer assisted as well as he could with his flashlight.

“Not yet.”

“Couldn’t Zac get a fix on the signal?”

Ruth stopped. “Not outside the zone. Being in the epicenter of whatever signal is cutting off communication with the outside world allows us to piggyback and therefore figure out its location.”

“Then why isn’t he here with us?”

“Listen,” Ruth whispered sharply. “This isn’t your beat, and this isn’t some game. Metcalf might have sold you on that unique perspective crap back in Bethesda, but what it really boils down to is the fact that we are here because we are the ones willing to take the risk. Without question. Without hesitation. That’s the job.”

“Good to know.”

“We need to move for the back,” Ruth said, looking past Ben for the others inching down the left-hand side of the store. “I thought I caught a glimpse of some—”

“Wait,” Ben interrupted. His flashlight beam glinted against something to the rear of the electronics store. It shifted into shadow. “Is that—”

Shots rang out. With each one, the firing pin lit up a figure behind the gun.

“Down!” Ben yelled as he collapsed against a shocked Ruth. They slammed into a display of radio-controlled helicopters, then squirmed for cover along an endcap.

“Lincoln!” Morgan screamed from across the way. “Get down before—!”

“Dammit!” Lincoln cursed, blood spattering from his bicep before he fell. Morgan pulled him to cover along another display.

“Lincoln?” Ruth bellowed over more gunfire keeping them pinned into position. She pushed Ben aside and his back slammed along the metal shelving. He clutched tight to her wrist, locking her with him as a bullet whizzed down the aisle.

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