“Don’t be shy, boys. This is working better than I hoped. Fire, fire, fire!” Nick grinned as John and Gus dropped down to prone position, firing bursts into the men caught between the house and hangar.
Nick sighted in the men retreating in either direction. They fired wildly with their own weapons and died. Nick had switched to hollow point clips. The effects of even slight limb hits by the hollow point .50 caliber ammunition smashed men screaming to the ground. Only the short random bursts from the terrorists could be heard. Gus and John’s silenced MP5’s killed in relative silence. Nick finished each of the nine bodies off with final killing rounds.
“I’ll be down in a moment guys. We’ll have to sweep the house for party favors and chicken shits who didn’t want to come out for the final dance.”
Nick knelt next to Gus after jogging across the highway. He clapped his partner on the shoulder. “How you doin’, brother?”
“A little shaky,” Gus admitted. He took Nick’s helping hand to his feet gratefully as John joined them. “I don’t get enough practice in open combat to be very complacent.”
“No problem,” Nick replied. “Are you okay, John?”
“Yes, Muerto. Who leads?”
“I’ll take us in. We’ll have to be thorough. It’s a big house, but we need to take anything they have of value, not to mention I don’t want to get shot in the ass while dragging bodies into the hangar for the fireworks show. I brought our costumes and camera gear in this pack.”
Nick dropped the large pack from his shoulders. “As I mentioned, the Director wants a cartoon for the people to see how dimwitted their government is about terrorists in our midst. It may get him canned, but we’ll have some fun doing it.”
“They’re all dead, Muerto. What fun did you have in mind,” Gus asked suspiciously. “Oh no… no you don’t! You’re not doing that evil Kabuki dance of the dead with the corpses!”
“See. This is why I don’t tell you everything. I brought Kabuki masks for all of us, so John would get a laugh and surprise. He hasn’t seen the Kabuki dance of the dead yet. Now you’ve ruined the surprise, Payaso. For shame.”
“Kabuki dance of the dead? Like when the Japanese playact in those theaters with white face?” John started laughing. “Oh… I get it. You make the corpses dance with your Kabuki mask on. I have to see this. Can we be in our costumes and then suddenly slip the Kabuki masks over our other face mask?”
“Exactly, John,” Nick replied. “See, Payaso. John enjoys the Kabuki theater. He is a true patron of the arts.”
“Oh barf! John, I am disappointed in you. There’s no way in hell you should be embracing this warped crap Muerto comes up with.”
“It annoys the hell out of you, Payaso.” John grinned at his friend. “That is enough for me to enjoy the process.”
“Enough frivolity for now. We have a house to clear… and a Kabuki theater to rehearse as we haul the bodies to the hangar for their final dance.”
“I think I’ll take point,” Gus said. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and someone will shoot me in the head before the Kabuki theater opens for business.”
“Not a good idea, Payaso, my wayward sidekick,” Nick replied. “If you get yourself killed, I will do a Kabuki on you in retaliation for not being careful, and forcing me into a showdown with the terrible Tyrannosaurus Tina Rex.”
“You would too. Okay. You go first.”
“Don’t put any negative Payaso vibes on my ass,” Nick warned. “Watch him, Kabong. Tell me if he puts the hex on me or something.”
“Yes, Muerto. I have your six.”
Nick signaled his friends to spread out on approach to the house entrance. At the door, Nick halted at the side, using his hands to indicate John and Gus should make no sound. He listened with eyes closed, a smile forming slowly. Nick moved away from the door. He holstered his Beretta and borrowed Gus’s MP5. Taking aim at the left side of the doorway. Nick fired a burst through the entrance corner, garnering first a short scream followed by silence.
“Say hello to my little friend!” Nick kicked the dislodged door in off its hinges. He fired in short indiscriminate bursts, but there was only one body in the entrance way. “I always wanted to do that. I figured there was only the one mouth breather in there at the door.”
“So there wasn’t anyone else in the entrance other than the guy you killed with the first burst?” Gus accepted the MP5 and popped in a fresh clip.
“That was very good, Muerto,” John said, peering into the house.
Nick opened his equipment pack, extracting a smaller bag and a gas mask. “You guys wait here while I get any conscious bad guys in the right mood. Watch my back. I’m running down the hallway on the right. You guys watch for sudden appearances. Call out ‘down’ and shoot the sucker. I’m starting at the back of this place since it’s only one story. Here.”