Page 145 of Near Miss

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Stone had expected to hear more screaming, but it appeared everyone had made their escape. Which was exactly what he and Carly needed to do.

“Come on,” Stone said.

He grabbed Carly’s hand again, and they moved into the dining area, weaving through the tables toward the exit.

A moment after the ballroom door was pulled open, Sarge and his men heard another door across the room open and close, and after that silence.

“Team three!” Sarge called into the room.

Nothing.

He tapped the shoulder of the man nearest the door. “Check.”

The man dropped to a crouch and peeked through the doorway. “Oh, shit,” he said.

“What?” Sarge whispered.

“All I see are bodies.”

“Everyone in,” Sarge ordered.

The first two entered, their guns raised. The next two followed, doing the same, and then the Sarge and the Corporal went in.

“What the hell?” someone said.

There were several bodies on the floor, all within a few feet of each other.

“Go,” Sarge said.

The men moved cautiously toward the bodies, sweeping the area with the barrels of their guns. When they reached them, they checked each for a pulse. All were dead.

That was bad, but more troubling to the Sarge was that none of them were Barrington.

“What happened?” the Corporal said.

Through gritted teeth, the Sarge said, “A clusterfu—”

A gunshot drowned him out.

Everyone ducked and looked around.

“Where did that come from?” someone asked.

The shot had been loud, so it had to have been close, and it wouldn’t have been caused by one of his men. They were all carrying silenced weapons. But there was no sign of a shooter.

A second shot rang out.

“There,” the Corporal said, pointing at a doorway near where Sarge and the others were.

Everyone ran toward it.

Stone and Carly were just over halfway across the deck when the ballroom door flew open, and several silhouettes rushed out and took cover. Stone motioned to the bar as it was the closest place to hide.

As they crept behind it, they heard one of the new arrivals say, “There’s another body. It’s Craddock. He’s dead.”

“See,” Carly whispered to Stone. “Not hard.”

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