Irish Throwdown (What Happens In Vegas Book 4) by Matt Lincoln (short books for teens .TXT) 📕

“We’ve got a team of men mobilized and ready to go,” Seamus explained as he led us back outside and toward one of the cars. “We won’t be making the same mistake we made last time. We’ve got twenty officers coming with us to the scene, so we’ll be ready for whatever and whoever’s waiting for us.”

I could feel myself getting pumped up at his words. We wouldn’t be caught off guard like we had been at the castle. We were heading in with the full force of the Irish Garda, and we wouldn’t be overtaken this time.

The building we pulled up to was a bar not unlike the one Junior and I had visited the night prior. We pulled up to the bar at the same time as the other police cars, and within seconds, the entire street on both sides was lined with police vehicles.

“This is the Garda Síochána,” a tinny voice announced through one of the police car’s speakers. “Please exit the building calmly and slowly, with your hands up.”

For a long moment, nothing happened, but then the silence was abruptly broken by the sound of gunshots as a hail of bullets came raining through the windows of the pub and toward the police cars. I ducked my head down as I experienced an overwhelming sense of deja vu.

“Alright!” Seamus yelled over the barrage of noise. “The Public Order Unit’s going to move in first with their riot shields. Once they’ve breached the door, then we’ll go inside. Good?”

“Got it!” I yelled back as I waited for the opportunity to present itself. A few seconds later, the bullets slowed before finally tapering down to stop.

“Go now!” Seamus roared as he threw open the driver-side door. I didn’t hesitate and followed suit before diving out of the car and sprinting toward the bar entrance. I could see the specialized police force standing just inside, holding their large black shields in front of them.

Inside the bar, I could see several officers grappling with men, as well as a few bystanders who were cowering on the ground underneath tables and in corners.

A bullet ricocheted off a table right next to me, and I looked up to find a man standing halfway up a staircase pointing a gun in my direction. I dove to the side as he fired again, and I lifted my own gun in one swift motion. I fired a single shot and struck him square in the chest. The man groaned with pain and fell to his knees before tumbling his way down the stairs.

I rushed through the pandemonium and toward the base of the stairs just in time to catch a shadow moving out of sight near the top. I raced up without thinking twice. I couldn’t let whoever was up there get away.

The door at the top of the stairs led to a hallway lined with numbered doors, and I realized this must be a block of apartment units above the bar. A man in a dark coat ran through the hallway, almost to the end.

“Stop!” I shouted as I lifted my gun up in front of me. The man froze and turned to look over his shoulder. He had thick, curly red hair, and his face was stretched into a ferocious sneer.

He twisted his body around sharply to shoot at me, and I jumped to the side before pulling the trigger of my own gun.

I hissed as the bullet grazed my arm but was pleased to see that my own shot had landed as well, as the man grunted with pain and pressed his hand to his side. He glared at me, but rather than shoot me again, he turned and took off back down the hallway. I lifted my gun and fired again, but my shot missed and embedded itself into an ugly painting of flowers hung at the end of the hallway. He turned a corner and disappeared, and I raced to catch up to him.

I turned the same corner and faltered when I realized it led to a steep staircase. The man was halfway up the top, and I barely managed to duck out of view before he fired two shots at me. I watched as the bullets struck the carpeted floor exactly where I’d been standing just a second before.

This was a horrible position to be in. The suspect had the high ground and would be able to shoot me the second I turned the corner. I’d have to whip around and fire at the exact second to have any chance of not being shot. I drew a deep breath before turning sharply into the stairwell. The man was nowhere to be seen.

I cursed and hurried up the stairs. I had basically no visibility or cover, but I didn’t have much choice other than to follow him. I made it to the top of the stairs just in time to catch sight of the man disappearing around the end of another hallway.

I gritted my teeth and sprinted as fast as I could after him. The corner that he disappeared around led into another long hallway. At the end was a door marked “roof.” It was swinging closed just as I was turning the corner.

I ran down the hall and shoved the door open using my own momentum, blinking at the harsh sunlight as I burst onto the roof. The sky was overcast again, and there was a chill in the air as though it was about to rain. I snapped my head around wildly as I searched for the man and spotted him just as he leapt off the top of the roof.

“Stop!” I yelled in shock as I watched the man land unsteadily on the rooftop of the next building. I’d forgotten for a moment that the buildings in Dublin were all pressed together without any space between them, so watching him take a running leap off