Deluge (The Best Thrillers Book 2) by James Best (ebook reader with built in dictionary .txt) 📕

two gangs in town. Oh, hell. At least his men had been ordered back from attacking the fleeing gangbangers. That would not have ended well. His officers would have been ambushed or reacted with anger toward any marauders they encountered. He needed to keep them focused on their duty to protect and serve.

“Do you need to get out there?” the stern woman asked.

He looked her. “Yeah, but there are still gang members in this hotel.”

“I can protect these wimps,” she said with a smile to soften the insult.

He looked over at the cowering men.

One of them made a self-deprecating laugh before saying, “She can.”

Evarts thought about requesting a replacement officer but decided he needed to assess the situation first.

As he stood, she asked, “Any more shells for this?”

He rummaged in his pocket and came up with one. He handed it to her with a shrug, and she deftly loaded it into the shotgun without looking at the loading port.

He called Sergeant Curren and told him he was coming out. He also advised him to tell others to knock politely before entering the breakfast room. That got him a smile from the stern woman.

He opened the door a crack and peered out. The lobby was empty except for the dead bodies, which had not been moved. Evarts exited the room and walked along the wall to the front of the hotel, where he once again called Curren. Everyone had to be jumpy, and having escaped a bullet so far, he didn’t want to get shot by one of his own. After he forewarned Curren, he exited the hotel, stepping over more bodies. Damn, why wouldn’t these guys give up and go back to Santa Maria?

When he got to the squad cars, he almost threw up. He had seen a lot of mayhem in the military and with the police, but nothing compared to this. It appeared the gangsters had shot each officer multiple times in the face. Not automatic fire, but deliberately aimed single shots that would preclude an open casket. Barbarous and completely unnecessary. He wasn’t naive. He knew gangbangers hated cops, but this was intentionally beyond the pale. They meant this as a territorial marker.

“Makes you want to go shoot a bunch of the bastards, doesn’t it?” Curren said as he emerged from behind a concrete block wall.

“Already did,” Evarts said. “Doesn’t help, I can assure you. We’ll hunt them all down, but right now, we’ve got a job to do. How did you station the officers?”

Curren explained the position of the nine other officers, but when he mentioned Officer Smithson, Evarts asked Curren to have him come over. Abe Smithson had been a sniper in the army and served in the same capacity when he worked SWAT. As he approached, Evarts signaled that they should retreat around a low block wall and crouch down to talk. Evarts was pleased to see that Smithson carried his M24 sniper rifle.

“Do you have some targets for me, chief?” Smithson asked.

“Not yet, but I’m going to get on the bullhorn and try to coax them out. If they exit the front door hands up, leave them be. Keep your eyes on the windows. If anyone shoots, take them out.”

“Yes, sir.” Smithson said.

“Set up at a proper vantage point,” Evarts said.

Smithson pointed across the street. “I’m going to the roof of that building.”

“Go,” Evarts said. “After you get in place, remember to radio your position to Curren. And watch your back. Those gangbangers may try to sneak up on you.”

Smithson nodded, and Evarts watched the black man, dressed in black, disappear into the night. Then he corrected himself: into the early morning. In fact, it would soon be daybreak. Time to get the next act of this drama into play.

Evarts went to the trunk of one of his department’s cruisers and extracted a bullhorn. He pointed it at the hotel and clicked the transmit button.

“In the hotel, if you are a member of the Northwest or West Park gang, listen to me. Come to the lobby and exit with your hands on top of your head. Do it now. All your compatriots are dead. If you do not come out peaceably, we will send you to rejoin your gang. If you come out in the next five minutes, we’ll transport you to Ventura County jail. If you dally, we’ll send you directly to Santa Barbara County jail. This is our last communication.”

Evarts didn’t click the bullhorn off before tossing it toward the building so that it clattered loudly along the asphalt parking lot. Gang members had killed Sheriff Lopez, so they knew what awaited them in the Santa Barbara County jail. Despite the brotherhood of sheriffs, they might feel safer in another county. Even with a chance to avoid the wrath of local deputies, Evarts didn’t expect them to surrender. They would fight. They had to. They had taken this too far.

Evarts heard sirens. At first, he thought it was the remainder of his force, but the first patrol car to screech to a halt was a sheriff’s vehicle, with several more following close behind. Evarts met the lead vehicle and went to the driver’s door.

“Who’s in charge?” he asked. Then he saw Joseph Michaels, the undersheriff, get out from the passenger side. “Glad you could join us, Joe. We could use the help.”

“How do you want us to deploy?”

“Set up a perimeter around the hotel, but facing outward. There are gangbangers inside and outside the hotel with automatic weapons. There is also supposedly a different gang working another part of town. They’ll probably attack us from behind. We take the hotel, and you command our rear guard. How does that sound?”

“Like a damn good impromptu plan. Separate mission with separate commanders. I’ll get it organized.”

“Joe, tell your men I already lured them into the web. They’re coming. Get your cars parked down a side street. Maybe they’ll underestimate our strength.”

“Santa Maria cops are coming in force. They have their own grudge against