"UMP's or Glocks?" I asked. The Glocks were loaded with what we were calling the neutralizer rounds, the UMP's with alternating neutralizer and regular nine millimeter rounds. The other clips I had in my vest for the UMP were regular rounds all the way though, there just hadn't been enough time to reload all of the clips with the mix of rounds.
"What's your distance?" Mark asked.
"Twenty meters." It was just on the edge of a good shot for a Glock for me.
"Go with the UMP, I'll use the Glocks," Mark replied. "Sophie, you take out the targets on the dock first, then back us up. You have flash suppression?"
"I'm far enough back for the first two, but there's not enough flash suppression, no," Sophie replied. Before I would’ve never knew what the hell that meant, but they’d taught me well. She was firing from deep enough within the building that any flash from the end of her barrel wouldn't be visible from outside. "I'd have to go to ground level indoors if you want no flash."
“No, stay up there and fire down on burst from close to the window if necessary," Mark replied. I understood his thinking. With Sophie up there, not only could she provide heavy firepower with her larger caliber rifle, but she was safer too. She wasn't quite as armored as we were, foregoing the Kevlar helmet and her vest was only standard thickness instead of having additional trauma plates, but she would have the additional protection of the building. He was protecting her, while at the same time trying to honor Tabby's request by using the Glocks himself. Regardless of his past, if anyone ever doubts that Mark Snow is a honorable man, I'll happily kick their ass.
"Understood," I said, slipping my UMP out from behind my back slowly and taking aim at the nearest group of Latin Kings. I aimed a bit low and to the left, knowing that when I fired it would rise and pull my shoulder to the right. Settling in, I waited for Mark's signal.
"I'm in position," Mark whispered over the radio, "Sophie, you have first shot."
"Understood," Sophie replied.
I waited, feeling my palms sweat and the blood rush in my ears. This was different from my attacks on the 88s or the Gangster Disciples. Hand to hand fighting against thugs or a paintball gun attack on the GDs is one thing. These guys were carrying fully automatic weapons, as was I. People were going to die, regardless of the measures we'd taken to minimize the loss of life. It wasn't even like when my kick ended up killing Melinda Pressman. She'd been trying to kill me, after all. This was an attack.
In an instant, there was no more time to worry about it or to question things. "Sophie you're up.”
"Understood," Sophie whispered, and adrenalin flooded my system. Time stretched out, and I was beginning to wonder what was taking Sophie so long, when a crack pierced the fading light, and all hell broke loose.
Chapter Twelve
Mark
As soon as Sophie's first shot went off, I was around the corner of the warehouse, both Glocks firing. I'd told Patrick to use his UMP from his position because the Latin Kings were facing his direction. They'd react to him faster, and with at least half of his rounds being potentially lethal, he'd have a better chance to survive. Also, the firing rate of a UMP is actually a bit slower than most submachine guns, for good reason. It would allow Patrick to waste fewer rounds, and maintain a bit better control of his bursts.
My first shot caught one of the nearest Kings in the back of his head, knocking him out instead of killing him. There was a chance there could have been major damage, but I doubted it. He looked like he was the type with too thick a skull for it to be life threatening.
My next shot caught the person next to him in the shoulder, paralyzing his right arm and making him drop his Uzi. I knew he wasn't totally out of the fight, but I didn't have the time to worry about that, I had to move on.
Sophie fired again above us, followed by a quick succession of four shots. Someone returned fire on her, and I heard the distinctive rattle of an AK-47 and rounds impacting the side of the warehouse. I only hoped that she was safe, I didn't have time to let my mind think about the possible consequences of the rounds. I would only endanger her more by hesitating. Patrick's next burst silenced the AK-47, and I rolled deeper towards the two cars.
My first Glock was empty by the time I'd completed my roll, and two of the Kings on my side were down. Shoulder shot, the second guy I nailed, turned towards me and I lashed out with a thrust kick into his left knee, dislocating it and putting him on the ground for the rest of the fight. I kicked away his Uzi while I shot at another. A burst from above answered my questions about Sophie’s wellbeing, and suddenly all of the Latin Kings were down. It had felt like minutes, but most likely the entire fight took less than sixty seconds.
I holstered my Glocks, which were both empty, and pulled my UMP around to secure the area. "Clear?"
Patrick, who had moved across the alleyway from where he started, darted out, slapping another clip into his UMP. "Clear.”