continued from Chapter V: A shock

O’Malley recovered quickly. The ground had stopped shaking. Plaster was still raining down from the ceiling. For a second he thought the roof might collapse or the walls might cave in. But nothing happened. He crawled out from underneath his desk. At that very moment there was screech of tires and another crash on the streets. He pulled out his desk and turned it upside down. He sorted through the mess find handgun and a handful of bullets. He moved to one of the windows, loading his gun as he walked.

The streets looked. And quiet. Strangely quiet. He quickly took a peek outside. A truck had crashed into the front of the building. Right into the doorway, blocking it off. It was an attack. Somebody was to out to get them. He took another peek looking for the source of the explosion. There was smoke coming from somewhere but he couldn’t be sure. But the building wasn’t on fire.

There were shouts from downstairs. The boys were getting organized. But there weren’t too many of them at this hour. O’Malley felt a slight chill down his spine. He didn’t know what he was up against. He didn’t know what was out there. Maybe they had gone. If they were smart they would have left already. This was just a message. Or maybe they had other plans.

He slowly peeked out again. And that’s when he saw the first one. A skinny young lad, in the alley across the station, poking his head out. The gas masked on his head almost made him look like some baboon. He held a gun his hand. A pistol. O’Malley took aim and fired 4 shots. The boy’s body jerked backwards and the top of his head just disappeared. O’ Malley smiled to himself. Got him.

But then there were return shots. The boy hadn’t been alone.

O’Malley ducked down and started crawling to a window from which he would have a better view. Maybe they hadn’t actually spotted him. Logically they would be covering the downstairs windows. If he was lucky he could maybe get another one. There was banging from downstairs. The uniforms were trying to move the truck so that they could get out. They were brief shots exchanged. O’Malley built up his courage and took another peek.

And that’s when he saw it. A short, round figure wildly running across the street towards the alley. Almost plodding and rolling. Like a circus midget. He would know that shape anywhere. Baine. They had him in holding cell number two in the lockup. And there he was now. Running. O’Malley lined up his sights and took two more shots. One missed. One got him. Knocked him flat on the ground. But it wasn’t a kill shot. Maybe the shoulder. But before he got get another round off, there were return shots. But stronger this time. No longer handguns. Automatic rifles maybe. And they had spotted him. As he ducked, the remains of the window he was at was blasted to shreds. A sliver of glass cut his brow, drawing blood. And there were three more explosions. Bombs. A thick white, acrid smoke filled the air. O’Malley coughed and gasped. The shots subsided and he tried to take another look outside. There was thick smoke everywhere. It looked like Baine was no longer there.

Then it hit him. This wasn’t an attack at all. It was a prison break.

Shit! Edward.

stay tuned.. only a couple of of more chapters till the shocking and dramatic conclusion to "O'Malley's Descent"

Burke & the Wolves

chapter I

They were running late. Not just a little late… very late. But Burke couldn’t say or do anything about it. He was just supposed to be an observer. He had been allowed to come along only because he was Daka’s friend.

So he just sat there and observed. The streets were empty. As most streets were in Poison Bay this time of the night. Honest, straight living people knew better. He was sitting crouched uncomfortably in the edge of a little alley. With four other men, uncomfortably close. They were all huddled together in a tiny piece of shadow that gave them a degree of invisibility. But at the same time allowed them to look outside – at the streets, and their target. To his right was the young kid. Jimmy, Jammy… what was his name? He could see the nervousness in his face. Sweat running down his bony face in steady little streams. But his lower jaw moved almost constantly. He was shivering. His hands gone completely white. Drained of blood because he had been clutching the gun so hard. He shifted uncomfortably to keep the circulation going and caught Burke looking at him.

“What ?”, he spat out.

Burke immediately looked away. There were three others somewhere behind him. He didn’t remember the names. But they were all young and fresh faced. Burke didn’t dare turn around to look at them. But the rapid breathing and the sound of constant rustling coming from behind him told Burke that they were nervous too. Probably didn’t look much different from Jimmy or Jammy. Burke didn’t like it. Nervous young men with guns and bombs unsettled him. It was the waiting. That’s what was making them edgy. Daka and Manuel had been gone for over 15 minutes now. This was mismanaged. It was a bad plan. But sometimes even the worst plans worked if you pulled them off quickly and stupidly enough. But they didn’t even have that.

Burke had a bad feeling about this.

At that moment they saw a solitary man in a jacket walking down the streets. The safeties on the guns went off with a click. The man quickly ducked into the alley.

“Easy. It’s me”. It was Daka. “We’re all set. As soon as I blow it, Manny’s going to bring in the truck. Now I want everybody to stay down. No unnecessary shots. Save your ammo. We wait until Mr. Baine makes it out. He should be out in a minute. He knows we’re getting him. He’ll be ready. Hopefully the Pigs will still be too confused. But if any Pig comes out while Mr. Baine is making a run for it, fire at will. Johno, Woolly you have the smokers. Use them if you must. Remember, our prime concern is to cover Mr. Baine and get him to safety. Now. Hoods everybody.”

Everybody nodded. They pulled out gas masks and put them on. Burke didn’t have one.

“Ready?” asked Daka. He pulled out a tiny black box with an antenna on it. He nodded his head and pushed the button.

The explosion almost knocked Burke off his feet. The shockwaves rocked the old stone building to its core. The windows shattered, spitting out glass in every direction.