Zane finished programming their detonator and joined him at the window. “I guess it was too much to ask that Benson had his shit together. I knew I should have taken Stanford’s bet that he’d flop against the Feds. I could’ve bought a new Glock.”
“Whatever, man,” Ty grunted, not really paying attention to Zane’s grumbling. “Let’s go blow shit up,” he said with relish as he moved out of the building.
They hugged the storefronts, moving along the street toward the target.
Ty was examining the entrance to the alley coming up when Zane abruptly grabbed his arm and yanked him down just as something hit the brick wall over their heads with a dull thump. The shot had barely missed his head.
Zane already had his gun up, shooting indiscriminately at the two-man team that had appeared out of the door of a nearby building. The two agents retreated back into the barbershop under the hail of bullets Zane sent their way.
“Move!” Zane hissed.
They scuttled along the side of the building, no longer concerned with stealth. The mission now was to blow the ammo dump they’d just left—their assignment as Charlie Team—and then they had to get close enough to fulfill Alpha Team’s failed objective using the coordinated triggers.
Ty skidded to a halt as they reached another narrow alley and peered around the corner. Agents were running along the length of it, and more were coming up behind them. He and Zane put their backs to each other and fired in opposite directions, forcing the encroaching patrols to dive for cover.
“The cars!” Zane said harshly, and they darted across the street toward a row of parked cars, the action getting them closer to the building even as it offered cover. As they ran, Zane pulled the detonator he’d just programmed out of his pocket and flipped it. Behind them, the weapons cache blew, blowing the door open, making a mess of the windows and the street in front of the building.
It bought them just a little more time as the agents in pursuit ducked and covered or turned to look.
But after no more than half a block, they were forced to duck behind a Lincoln land yacht as more shots came at them from across the street. Zane flinched as a shot smacked the bricks ten feet away. They were pretty damn well pinned down; Zane took a glance over the hood and quickly hunched back down as more ammunition skimmed over their heads.
“Ten f**king yards,” he said harshly, turning his chin, his dark eyes meeting Ty’s.
Ty smiled at him, barely resisting the urge to grab him and kiss him. “We could pull a Butch and Sundance,” he suggested.
“I don’t know about you, but I did not come here to die today,” Zane said smartly as he put a fresh clip in his gun. Despite his annoyed tone, he looked amused and his eyes sparkled wickedly. “Don’t have a better idea, though.” After a moment, he gave Ty a half-smile. “It was fun, yeah?”
Ty grinned back at him and nodded, switching out his empty cartridge and pulling out extra guns to set them aside. “Always knew I should have gone the Dark Side route,” he mused.
Zane laughed quietly and was checking his two guns when they heard “Federal agents!” shouted by one of their pursuers.
Looking under the car, Ty could see the feet of the dozen or so agents surrounding them.
“Toss out your weapons and come out with your hands behind your head!” one of them called out.
Ty shook his head. “Did we ever sound that stupid when we said that?” he asked as he consolidated his supply of ammo. With two guns, he had enough for a last stand.
“I don’t know. I was more the ‘drop it or you’re getting it in the head’ kinda guy,” Zane muttered. He winked at Ty and turned so he was facing the car where he crouched.
They had one advantage. The agents who were swiftly surrounding them would have to wait until no other option existed before they fired on their quarry. They would have to give warning, just like the good little Feds they were.
Ty and Zane were no longer constrained by such delicacies.
“On three?” Zane suggested.
Ty glanced over at him and then to his side, toward the building that was just out of range of their receiver. They were so close. Ty narrowed his eyes and looked at Zane again speculatively. Two out of three just didn’t sit well with him. “Ready,” he answered.
“One,” Zane said under his breath. “Two. Th—”
Before Zane could stand, Ty reached out and grabbed him around the neck, yanking him up and to the side, putting Zane between himself and the agents as he dragged him sideways around the car they were using as cover.
“What the f**k?” Zane squawked, heels kicking out as he struggled to get hold of Ty’s arm around his throat that was bowing his body back.
“I thought you liked it when I did this, darlin’,” Ty breathed into Zane’s ear with a smirk.
“Goddamnit,” Zane huffed, sounding like he was trying not to laugh.
At least a dozen agents leveled their guns at them. Some knelt in the middle of the street behind large black ballistic shields in pairs. Others used the cars parked along the street as cover.
Several agents were yelling at them, telling them to stop, to drop their guns, to hit the ground. Ty ignored them, moving slowly toward the building, hiding behind Zane and pointing his gun at the agents who followed.
When a couple of the agents looked like they might be getting brave, Ty moved the gun to point the muzzle at Zane’s head, grinning as he shouted, “Stop moving or I shoot him!”
The agents paused, looking at him warily and giving each other confused glances, but then they resumed their advance, following as Ty drew them backward.
Zane turned his head to the side, eyes shifting to look around them as he growled, “If they don’t kill you, I will!” And then with no warning, he stopped struggling in Ty’s arms. ”Now,” he hissed.
Ty pushed the button of the switch he held in his hand, tightening his grip on Zane so he couldn’t get away. The building down the street—Alpha team’s objective—gave off a muffled whump, dust flying off the roof and the bricks as the charges made a mess of the inside. The agents flinched and ducked before continuing to shout at them to drop their weapons.
“Happy trails, Lone Star,” Ty breathed to Zane as he raised his gun under Zane’s arm and fired several times, hitting the shields with dull thumps, just as Zane did the same with his two guns.
But when the agents returned fire, Ty ducked his head behind his human shield. Zane howled in pain, and his body jerked hard as he took the volley of shots right in the chest. When he started to collapse, Ty let him go and turned, running for cover.