The Milestone Protocol by Ernest Dempsey (best books to read in your 20s txt) 📕

building, startling Magnus so much that he visibly winced and ducked at the same time.

“What was that?” Kevin shrieked, ducking his head and raising his shoulders.

The gunman’s response wasn’t as panicked, but he was still caught off guard by the sudden blast of gunfire.

Sean, expecting the distraction, bent down to scoop up his gun. The movement refocused the gunman, and he turned his pistol from Niki to Sean. He squeezed off a muted shot as Sean dove behind the kitchen island.

More gunfire erupted from outside, and from seemingly every angle of the house. Some shots were similar to the first, big and heavy, while others sounded more like staccato pops. Sean knew the latter were pistols or semi-auto submachine guns. The big, thumping bursts, however, were from an AR15.

Niki, along with the others in Sean’s group, all dove for their weapons amid the chaos. The gunman, seeing he’d lost control of the situation, fired wildly in seemingly random directions, barely coming close to any of his targets as he retreated around the corner after Magnus and Kevin. Those two, suddenly out of their element, fled toward the door.

The guard stuck his weapon around the wall’s edge and fired at the corners of the island. It was suppressing fire more than anything, but it did the job. He turned and aimed at Tommy and Adriana, who slid behind the kitchen island close to Sean just a fraction of a second before they could be hit. Niki ducked behind the far end of it, nearest the side door. Tabitha was on her own, but had the safety of an open walk-in pantry to back into.

Sean risked a look around his shield, extending the pistol out and aiming where the gunman had been just seconds before. He was gone, and the sound of a door slamming shut told Sean the two men had made a run for it.

He stood and strode forward, keeping his gun steady as he swept the living room, then around the corner.

Adriana joined him with the other three close behind.

“Fan out,” Sean said upon seeing the living room was empty. He pointed at an open door in the near corner, and then one in the far corner. His instincts told him that Magnus and his guard had run out of the building, but it was possible they’d dipped into one of the other rooms for cover.

A gun battle raged outside as the mysterious attackers continued to fire. The forces that Magnus brought with him returned fire, but Sean knew they would be in the open, exposed and easy targets for even a novice shooter. And those firing were not novices.

Adriana rushed to the far bedroom door and stepped inside, while Niki and Tabitha checked the near door. Tommy hustled over to a stairwell and aimed his pistol up the corridor, but saw nothing. They would have heard two men clambering up the steps, even amid the cacophony of the battle raging outside, but Tommy knew enough not to take the chance.

Sean pushed ahead toward the front door that hung open, but he couldn’t see much through the inch-wide gap that the two men left on their way out. He stopped and pressed his left shoulder to the wall near the doorframe, then flung the door open and waited.

The others joined him at the entrance and hung back, Tommy to the right side of the door and the other three behind Sean.

“Who is that out there?” Niki asked, confused at the diversion. “The one's shooting at Odin’s men?” He wasn’t sure he needed to clarify, but did so anyway.

“That’s the cavalry,” Sean answered.

“Emily?” Tommy asked.

“Yep. And a few others.”

Sean peeked around the doorframe and looked outside. The return fire from the bad guys had already lessened. And as he peered through the opening, Sean could see why. No less than a dozen black-clad gunmen were strewn across the front yard in a crooked half circle. Magnus hadn’t been joking when he said they had the place surrounded, but their decision to stand out in the open had left them completely exposed on every flank. The first victims never saw it coming. Those who were fortunate enough to react hadn’t been able to do so fast enough.

“Let’s help them out,” Sean said.

He stepped out before anyone could protest and turned to find two gunmen taking shelter behind a couple of rocking chairs on the porch. The men saw him appear through the doorway, turned to defend themselves, and caught bullets through their foreheads as Sean executed them both in under two seconds.

Tommy and the others spilled out of the building and followed Sean’s lead around the porch to the far corner. Adriana took up the rear, watching for an attack from behind.

The gunfire coming from the invisible attackers slowed.

Sean knew Emily and her team had taken out most of the cult’s men and were now in cleanup mode for those taking cover or trying to run.

He rounded the corner and found three more men hiding behind two barrels. One of the men happened to have a pistol pointed Sean’s direction. He fired, and Sean ducked back just in time to dodge the bullet as it shattered the wooden corner panel. Sean motioned for Tommy and Adriana to circle around the back of the building. They nodded and scurried back the other direction and into the house.

Sean bent to his knees and poked his pistol around the corner, firing three wild shots toward the position the men had been in.

He heard a scream and knew that one of the rounds had struck true. Then a series of blasts sent him reeling back again for cover, nearly stumbling into Niki’s arms.

Sean managed to catch himself and right his balance.

He breathed calmly, waiting for several seconds. Then he heard what he’d been waiting for. A barrage of pops from around the corner told him Tommy and Adriana had successfully flanked the three men. His suspicion was confirmed when Tommy shouted, “Clear!”

Sean and the other