“Rachel’s with the EMTs. She’s been drugged, probably from the get-go, so she’s not going to be a good witness. She’s in and out of it, but she’s going to be okay. Nothing appears to have happened to her, nothing physical at least. We’ll have to wait for the drugs to wear off to find out the whole truth. Kaylie’s being transported, too. She took a pretty hard knock to the head when Adrian hit her. She’s got a bad concussion. But, Sam, I have good news. We found the other girls. They’re all alive. All five of them,” Fletcher said.
A huge breath of relief left her. “Thank God. Who set the fire?”
“You know how those flash bangs are. They catch things on fire. Whoever was in the farmhouse and the barn was shooting the hell out of the HRT forward advance. They had to put a stop to it. They lobbed a few in, but whatever was in there caught, and whoosh, the whole thing went up.”
“Where are the casualties?”
“Being evacuated. Only two women were in dire straits. The rest were rounded up and are being treated. The four guards are being transported to the morgue once the scene has been secured.”
“So we have witnesses. Good. Is Jordan okay?”
They looked over to see Jordan gesticulating wildly as she argued with Thurber about something. “Yeah, she’s good. She’s a hell of a shot. She took Adrian right in the neck, dropped him. I think this is probably the first time she’s fired her weapon on a scene. She’ll be okay.”
Baldwin joined them.
“What the hell just happened down there?” Sam asked. “Curtis Lott was claiming she was the victim, not the perpetrator?”
“That’s what she’s saying. And that’s what the rest of her flock are saying, too. They’re acting like they haven’t seen her in years.”
There was a knot of people about a hundred yards away. Sam could just make out flowing white robes as Curtis was led to a car, arms behind her back, head held high.
“Are they brainwashed? Or did Adrian really run this place, after all?”
Baldwin had been running his hands through his hair. It was sticking up in all directions. “Honestly, I don’t care. We found Rachel Stevens, and she’s in one piece. We found the other missing girls. The rest is going to take a while to sort through.” He smiled. “You did wonderfully, Sam. You, too, Xander. Though I need your weapon.”
Xander handed it over. “I shot four center mass. You’ll get that back to me?”
“Assuming it all matches up, yes, but it might be a while. There’s so much brass down there it’s going to take ages to sort. For right now, Sam, let’s get you and Xander out of here. We’ll take it from here. Go get Xander fixed up. I’ll touch base with you tomorrow. We’re going to need full, official statements. But good job, both of you.”
He hugged Sam, shook Xander’s good hand, and Fletcher’s, then strode back into the fray, shouting orders.
“I’ll take you out,” Fletcher said. “It’s a straight shot up the drive. Jordan said there were a bunch of ambulances waiting up there.”
“I am not going anywhere in an ambulance,” Xander said. He was smeared in smoke and dirt and blood. Sam knew she must be a sight, too.
“At least let them look you over. You are going to need a decent orthopedic surgeon for that break,” Sam said.
“What, you think some EMTs are better docs than you? It’s fine. I can feel it knitting already.”
But she knew she’d won, and he wouldn’t make too much of a fuss. He looked as though he hurt, and they could help with that.
They started the walk up the long drive. People in FBI jackets were still pouring in to help with the wounded and put out the fire.
Sam had a moment of sheer exhaustion. Her feet dragged like they were encased in mud. She didn’t know if she could walk all the way back. She just wanted to sink down into the ground and sleep.
Xander noticed, put his good arm around her waist. The M-4 bumped her in the back. She hadn’t shot a single bullet, and was very thankful she hadn’t been forced into firing at Adrian. Xander and Baldwin and Fletcher and Jordan had taken care of it for her.
She leaned her head on Xander’s shoulder, grateful for the support. He gave her a little kiss on the forehead.
Fletcher turned and put his hands on his hips. “What are you guys doing? We don’t have time for a make-out session.”
Thor began to growl, and the forest suddenly came alive.
Fletcher pivoted and raised his weapon, shouting in surprise, and Thor leaped at him. His teeth sank into Fletcher’s sleeve and he went down under one hundred pounds of dog. Xander pushed Sam to the ground, whipped the M-4 over his good shoulder and got his finger on the trigger. Both he and Fletcher returned fire. A figure in white fell to the ground from a spot in the trees, blond hair sailing behind her, and the shooting stopped as suddenly as it had begun.
It was Lauren. Lauren had somehow evaded the FBI agents and fired at them.
Sam crawled onto her knees, saw blood.
But it wasn’t coming from Xander. It was Fletcher.
He was staring down at his chest, his mouth open in shock. He was on his back, Thor on top of him, teeth still latched onto Fletcher’s sleeve.
Xander called Thor, but he didn’t move.