Chapter 11

The morning sun broke through the curtains and onto Mac's sleeping face. Gradually his eyes opened. Suddenly, he realized that it was after eight A.M. He never slept this late. He jumped out of bed, put a robe on and hurried to the bathroom. When he looked in the mirror, it appeared that he had a hang over. His eyes were red and he looked haggard. He concluded that it was from the guilt and embarrassment he felt from losing control last night. Still, he could feel a twitch in his penis when he thought of Tess. He shook his head and then washed his face in cold water and took another shower. Then, he quickly dressed and slipped the shoulder strap of his holstered weapon over his head and fit it snuggly under his arm. It was funny but the pistol so close to his body always made him feel better. Almost like he was in control again. Then he thought about last night and he shook his head in dismay. These two women aren't the enemy, he thought. They were two strong willed and incredibly sexy, but tiny women. How could he let things get so out of control?

When Mac walked into the kitchen, Tess and Angela were already eating breakfast.

"Well, it's about time sleepyhead," Angela said with a laugh.

"Sorry," Mac said sheepishly. "I'm not sure why that happened. I'm always up before dawn."

Tess took a bite of food to keep from smiling. Her eyes caught Mac's with a knowing glance.

Angela asked, "So, what's on the agenda for your prisoners today?"

"I'm sorry to keep you ladies cooped up but you can never be too careful." Mac didn't want to scare them with what he had learned yesterday. However, he felt that they were taking the situation too lightly.

"Come on Uncle Mac, can't we go out somewhere and have some fun?"

Angela got up from the table and started to clear the dishes.

"Tess we've been over this..." Mac said and stopped in mid-sentence. As he stared through the large window, he saw a glint of reflecting light coming from the woods outside the fence. Suddenly he was on his feet and diving toward Angela. One second after he hit her, the glass in the breakfast room shattered and then a large mirror cracked behind them.

Tess screamed as she was splattered with flying glass.

"Get down," Mac screamed to Tess. She fell out of the chair onto the floor as other things in the room began to explode. "Stay on the floor," Mac ordered as he crawled across the floor until he reached the kitchen door. He turned and slid his cell phone across the floor to Angela. "Call 911. They'll know what to do." With that, Mac dove through the door to the outside deck as a silent round shattered the window in the door behind him. With a swiftness that came from years of experience, Mac rolled across the deck until he could dive off the edge and behind a row of hedges. In his planning, Mac had outlined a route for just such a contingency.

Angel and Tess huddled on the kitchen floor in each other's arms, sobbing. The police said to stay put and they would be there in a few minutes.

Mac knew that he had to work fast or whoever was out there would get into the house. His mind worked quickly as he ran from the hedges to the woods. He figured that there were at least two shooters, one in back and one in front, but probably more. Now in the safety of the woods, he ran swiftly, his weapon in his hand. There was no fear in his actions. Experience had taken over and he was on automatic pilot.

He circled around the route he figured someone would take if they were trying to sneak up on the house. As he came out of the woods, he saw an SUV sitting off the road and hidden behind some bushes. He quickly noted that the vehicle could hold five people so he figured that was the maximum number he was dealing with. He approached the car carefully, looking around him then at the dirt on the ground. There were two sets of footprints on one side of the vehicle and two on the other. Four of them, he thought as he pulled a knife from his ankle sheath and slashed two of the tires.

Quickly, Mac moved to follow the footprints of two of the occupants of the car. He stopped suddenly when he saw a man with an automatic weapon standing with his back to him. He had apparently been left to guard the Jeep. As Mac approached quietly, he saw that the man was relieving himself. He unceremoniously hit him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. He fell to the ground with a thud. Mac picked up the weapon. It was an AR 16, a weapon Mac was very familiar with. Mac holstered his pistol and looked down at the guy. He didn't like it, but he had to leave the guy there. He hastily tied his hands behind his back with his belt. However, he knew that it wouldn't hold him long.

Further into the woods, two men huddled together. "Did... gasp... did you... gasp... see where he went?" the brawny guy said to his partner as he gasped for breath.

"No, he disappeared into the woods. We better get Nick and get out of here. The cops will crawling all over this place any minute."

"I think Nick was heading for the house."

Mac crouched behind a tree, watching the two criminals talk. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying. He picked up a large stick and threw it into the woods behind them.

Both men turned toward the sound at the same time and opened fire. The two weapons spit lead into the bushes, tearing limbs from trees and destroying the foliage. The silencers on the two weapons made a thud instead of a bang.

"Drop your weapons!" Mac yelled.

Both men turned toward Mac at the same time.

For Mac, it was like everything was happening in slow motion. He was as calm as he had ever been. The calmness was a result of years of training and discipline. It was why he had been a good cop and soldier. He watched with crystal clarity as both men raised their weapons. It only took Mac two shots with the AR 16 and both men were down with bullets in their chests.

From a distance, Mac heard the sirens and knew the cops would be there in a minute or two. However, he couldn't wait. He figured that there was one criminal left and he could be in the house. Mac pulled his handgun from his holster and then smashed the rifle against a tree, rendering it useless. Then, he rushed back toward the house. He could see several police cars heading for the gate as he ran full speed through the woods and into the opening. While he knew that it was dangerous to be out in the open, he had no choice; it was the quickest route to the house. He ran with lightening speed across the grass, up the steps and into the house, hitting the button to open the security gate for the cops as he went. Mac turned the corner to the living room and looked through the door to the kitchen. He saw Tess and Angela still huddled on the floor and he sighed with relief. However, as he turned back toward the hall, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He heard the thud and felt the hot lead as it grazed his cheek. In the same instant, he fired his handgun, catching the guy in the stomach and throwing him against the spiral staircase and then to the floor.

At the same moment, two cops burst through the front door with weapons drawn. Instantly, they saw the guy on the floor and Mac walking toward them with his weapon drawn. Fortunately, they knew Mac.

Mac looked at them and said in a calm voice, "Hi sarge!"

"What the hell is going on here?" the sergeant asked breathlessly.

"I think we found our contract killers. They took a shot at Mrs. Rhinehold and her daughter. They're both okay," he said nodding to the kitchen behind him.

Just then, Angela and Tess came up behind Mac.

"How many are there?" the sergeant asked still wary of the situation.

"There are two in the woods that are probably dead, one still unconscious, I think, near the car and this one here. I believe that's all. But I can't be sure."

The sergeant used his radio to let the other officers know the situation. They radioed back that they had found the two dead guys and caught the other one trying to get away in the car with two flat tires.

"Roger that... thanks," the sergeant said and then turned to Mac. "We'll have them fan out around the place and check for anymore bodies." A smile crossed his lips as he looked at his old friend. "You've still got it I guess."

"I'm not sure sarge. I think I've lost a little in my reflexes," Mac said as he reached for his bloody cheek. "If he had been a better shot..."

"Maybe so," the sergeant said and both men laughed in relief.

The cops turned the victim on the floor onto his back. He was still breathing but losing a lot of blood. They radioed for a medavac.

Mac turned to Angela and Tess and smiled. Both of them looked frazzled and there was a look of shock on their faces.

"Your face," Angela cried.

The long scrape on Mac's cheek was dripping blood. He reached up and touched it again. "It's nothing. I've had worse in bar fights."

"Hurry, get me a wet towel," Angela told Tess. Then she led Mac over to a chair and sat him down, using her dress to catch the blood dripping from his chin. Tess was back in a second with a wet towel. Angela used it to clean the blood from Mac's cheek and neck. Fortunately, once the blood was gone, she could see that it was just a graze and wouldn't require stitches. "We need to get a bandage on this. Come with me to the bathroom," Angela said, pulling Mac from the chair and toward the upstairs bathroom.

"Angela, it's nothing," Mac complained. "I have to help check out the house."

"The cops are here. They can take care of things now," she said, dragging him up the stairs. "We need to get something on that."

Mac sighed and said, "I'll just add it to my collection of scars. Gives me character you know."

"Well, it's still bleeding and it'll get infected if we don't do something," Angela said as she took Mac into the bathroom and had him sit in front of the vanity. Then, she knelt and quickly cleaned the wound, putting some antiseptic on it before covering it with a bandage. When she was done, she stayed at Mac's feet and looked up at him as she took his hand in hers. There were tears in her eyes and she was trembling. "Mac, how can I ever thank you? You saved both of our lives."

"It was my job," Mac said, uncomfortable with the compliment. Suddenly, he felt like Roy Rodgers in a hokey western. "Ah shucks ma'am, weren't nothing!" he said in an attempt at humor.

Angela brought his hand up and pressed it to her cheek, ignoring his humor. "Tess and I thought this was all a big joke. We never believed that anyone would really try to harm us. Thank God you took it seriously. No more games Mac. I'm so sorry."

Mac was about to ask her what she meant by "No more games." However, before he could ask, the sergeant came into the bathroom.

"Mac, we need you. We have a shit load... sorry ma'am... a lot of paper work to do with you."

"All right, I'll come down to the station with you. You'll leave a few guys here?"

"How about ten. That should equal one of you," the sergeant laughed.

At police headquarters, Mac filled out all the forms, identified the perpetrators and told his story ten times. While it was a lot of work, it felt like old times at the station. Old friends came from everywhere to say hello and get the scoop, laughing and sharing their own war stories. Finally, the Captain pried him away from the crowd and arranged for him to go see the Judge.

Judge Rhinehold was gravely concerned when he had heard about the attempt on Angela and Tess's life. He had called Angela right away, hoping to settle her down. He was surprised to find her very calm. Her calmness actually helped to settle his nerves. However, when he thought of what could have happened... well, he didn't really want to think about it. He knew that Angela or Tess might not have been alive if he hadn't convinced Mac to watch over them.