Page 85 of Into the Gray Zone

Troy continued working on a wounded man, then said, “Take Mr.Thakkar to the other room, then come back here. Being able to triage is better than nothing. It’ll save me time.”

The two hotel security men returned with the bodyguard Knuckles had knocked out, carrying him by his arms and legs. They dropped him on the floor and Knuckles said, “Troy, this asshole is involved in the attack. I’d recommend flex-cuffing him to a radiator or something.”

Troy finished applying a compress to a wounded man and said, “Flex-cuffs? You ever work with them in your ‘previous job’? And how did you know where that asshole was outside?”

Knuckles said, “Look, I used to do something a little like your job, but I’m just here on a date. I’ll get Mr. Thakkar to the safe room and come back. Don’t let that man get away.”

Knuckles turned back to Riva and said, “Mr.Thakkar, he has a point. Let’s get you to the safe room and wait on the authorities to sort this out.”

Thakkar stood up and kicked the unconscious guard in the leg. Knuckles said, “Sir, that’s not necessary now. The fight’s over.”

The words were barely out of his mouth when gunfire exploded on the other side of the building. Troy said, “What the fuck?”

Troy drew his pistol and started running to the northern room. Knuckles shouted, “Thakkar, stay here!” He pointed at the hotel security and said, “You two protect him!” and followed right behind Troy.

They ran past the bar area, Troy shouting, “Can you shoot that pistol?”

“Yeah, I can shoot.”

“Aim for their heads. They have body armor.”

***

Kamal reached the French doors of the northern room, staying just outside the light. He crouched down and saw that the men and women they’d killed earlier had been moved to the patio, stacked next to the grenade casualties. Neat lines of corpses all in a row.

Two private bodyguards were inside trying to get the guests who hadn’t fled to remain calm, both armed with pistols.

He looked at Randeep and said, “Single shot. I’ll take the man on the left. You take the one on the right.”

Randeep nodded and Kamal turned to Jaiden, saying, “There are two women in the room. Which one is Thakkar’s daughter?”

Jaiden pointed to the one on the left, saying, “The one with the blue flowers in her hair.”

Kamal nodded and said, “We’re going to kill those two security men. When we do, Randeep and I will go inside and snatch her and that old white guy in the rear. You and Manjit cover us. Shoot anyone who tries to resist.”

Jaiden nodded, saying, “Just be quick. I’m sure the police are on the way, and if we get stopped on the road, we might as well have gotten killed here.”

Kamal raised his weapon, taking aim. Out of the side of his mouth, he said, “Randeep, do you have your man?”

“Yes.”

Kamal squeezed the trigger, felt the recoil, and saw his man drop. Randeep fired right after him, killing his target, and they both leapt up, kicking in the doors. Randeep ran to the older man in the rear, now cowering on his knees, his hands over his head. He reached down to grab him, and Kamal saw Randeep’s body jerk, then his head snap back, his arms flying wide as he fell straight back, his AK-47 clattering to the floor.

Kamal turned to the arched entry door and saw two men shooting, one in a Western suit, the other wearing Indian garb. He returned fire, hitting the suit and causing the one dressed like a local to duck behind the entrance wall. He screamed, “Manjit, Jaiden, get the hostages!”

Jaiden ran into the room and grabbed the older Caucasian, jerking him to his feet by his hair, then dragging him back out the door. Manjit ran to Thakkar’s daughter but another woman jumped on her, covering the daughter with her own body.

The bodyguard Kamal had hit was rolling on the ground. Kamal whipped his weapon to him, but before he could fire, the other man had snatched him back behind the wall, snapping rounds as he did so.Kamal fired, missing him, then turned, wondering what was taking so long.

Manjit was standing over the two women, his weapon raised, but not shooting. Kamal screamed, “Kill her and take the daughter!”

Manjit aimed, but he didn’t squeeze the trigger. He lowered his weapon and grabbed the woman on top, shouting, “No, we take them both.”

Kamal cursed, emptied his remaining rounds at the door, then turned and snatched Thakkar’s daughter by the arm, snarling, “You’d better run, or I’ll kill you.”

She began screaming but let him lead her out the door.

They reached the path, Kamal seeing Manjit in front of him with the other woman. Manjit turned to make sure he was there, and Kamal screamed, “Don’t look! Run! Run!”

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