Lany would be glad to hear that. He adored that dog and the cook. We all did.
"How many men do we have on hand?" Sal asked.
"There are ten guards on the grounds, sir," Brant said. "I've sent an emergency alert to the backup team. They should be here in about ten minutes."
"This could be over in ten minutes."
"Yes, sir."
"When this is over, we need to discuss having barriers placed over the doors and windows."
"Bars, sir?"
"No, something that can be dropped down into place when we're on red alert." Sal gestured to a couple of the screens that still had camera feed. "We have to go out there and round these idiots up. That leaves anyone in the house vulnerable. I don't like that."
Jeez, this place was becoming more of a fortress every single day.
I expected a moat next.
"Everyone have their earpiece?"
"I need one," I admitted. "Mine is with my vest."
Brant grabbed one out of a drawer and handed it to me. I carefully fit it into my ear and then made sure it worked. "Okay, I'm good."
"Wu and Brodsky, you take the back of the house and the pool area. Burke and Clarke, you take the river side of the house. Jerry and I will take the front of the house. Once you've cleared your side of the house, make your way to the west side. Try and incapacitate if you can, and disable if you can't. If your life is in danger, you know what to do."
"Yes, sir," we all answered at once.
"Brant, you might want to alert the authorities to have a couple of ambulances on standby."
Brant quickly turned and typed out something on his keyboard before looking up at Sal again. "I'll have a couple of my men come in and keep watch in here so I can be out in the field with you. I'd feel much better if someone was watching from inside the house."
Sal nodded. "Do what you have to do and then take the garage side of the house. We'll meet you there." He glanced at the rest of us. "If you get into trouble, alert us. Hopefully, we can come help. Stay frosty."
My mind reeled as I followed Brodsky out of the security office and back down the hallway toward the back of the house. We both stopped at the backdoor and looked out the square window on the door.
"I don't know how many of these idiots Brant's guys have been able to round up, but I figure we have about eighteen armed men out there. If they're willing to use a rocket-propelled grenade, they're not here to visit. Incapacitate like Sal said, but go for the kill if you can't."
"Oh, I intend to," Sam replied. "Angelo would string me up if I got injured."
"Pretty sure I'm in the same boat now," I said. "Skip threatened to treat my injuries without pain meds if I got hurt."
"So, you finally hooked up with the doc, huh?"
I shrugged. "You could say that."
"Does this mean you're going to stop being such a bear and keep your head in the game?"
I grimaced. "Yeah."
I had good reason to now.
"Good." Sam glanced out the window again. "Okay, let's do this."
"Hold on, I need to load this thing."
"Well, hurry the hell up."
