Denton squeezed off two rounds in rapid succession in the general direction of the front door and then retreated back to the living room for cover. Screams and curses erupted in the hallway outside the apartment as the uninvited guests scrambled to get out of the way. Behind him, Leah had pulled open the back door and opened fire at some target he couldn't see. Over the ringing in his ears, he heard muffled screams from somewhere below her which told him everything he needed to know. She glanced over at Denton and gave him a thumbs up. She pointed upwards towards the roof and nodded. It was time to go.

Without warning, another rain of bullets shredded the remainder of the front door. Plaster, wood splinters and other building materials exploded into the air as Denton dove behind a recliner for cover. A loud laugh erupted from the hallway as the bullets continued to fly. Then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped. There was a momentary silence before the leader of the crew in the doorway began talking again.

"There's no way out," the man shouted. "We've got the place surrounded. Come out with your hands in the air, or we're coming in. You've got ten seconds."

Denton looked at Leah. Her eyes were on the fire escape and the courtyard below, gun ready. He ran over to the kitchen where Sidney sat in a corner, knees to his chest, hands over his ears. His eyes were shut tightly. Denton grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Sidney, we've got to go. They're picking us up in just a few minutes."

"Wha, what? Picking you up?"

"Yes, it's an emergency extraction. We've got to get to the roof, now."

"Are you out of your mind?" Sidney said and shook his arm free as he took a step backward. "I can't leave this place. I've got all my gear, all my stuff here. This is my life, man."

"You think they care?" Denton said and pointed over his shoulder with his gun. "Sounds like they're out for blood and I think they're more likely to look for a taste of yours if they can't get their hands on us."

"Nah, I don't think so. They're the protection around here. They watch out for us. "

"Do they? Sidney, do they really? Look at me, for crying out loud. It's not like they were too bothered about your door or your hallway. It's all shred to pieces. What makes you think you're not next when they don't find what they're looking for."

Sidney looked up at Denton, his eyes large, his face full of fear. His head shook vigorously, and he took another step back. "I'm not going."

"Ten," the man at the front door shouted. Denton heard snickering from the hallway. He couldn't for the life of him see the humor in their current predicament. Not that it mattered. They were running out of time. He grabbed Sidney by his collar and pulled his face just inches away from his. "Listen, whether you like it or not, those guys are coming in. I'm telling you, when they come in and we're not here, you're dead. Do you really want to take your chances with them?"

"But, but, my stuff?"

"Nine." Denton was thankful the bonehead in the hallway was counting slowly.

"What's more important, Sidney? Your stuff or your life? Besides, if Tanner can remote in here, why couldn't you?"

"Eight."

Sidney stared back at Denton for what seemed an eternity. Then, his demeanor changed. The fear evaporated, replaced with a rigid determination. He clenched his jaw and fists and nodded silently. Denton smiled and slapped him on the shoulder. "Good choice. Stay close. We don't have a lot of time." He turned and dashed into the living room, ignoring the descending counts coming from the front door.

"We've got to go, now," he said as he kneeled next to Leah. "They're coming in any second," he said and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder.

Leah nodded. "I think the two on the fire escape are down. I'll cover the ground, just in case. You take Sidney and head to the roof. Whatever happens, don't stop and don't wait for me."

Denton looked at Leah with a surprised look on his face. "Ok, wait a second. We're not leaving without you."

Leah grabbed his arm. "It's more important that you get him out of here. I'll be fine. Let's go." Leah said and stepped out the back door before Denton had another chance to protest. Denton shook his head and pushed Sidney out the door behind Leah just as another burst of bullets came flying through the front hallway of the apartment.

"Time's up, gentlemen, we're coming in," the man at the front door barked.

Denton fired a few shots in the general direction of the front door before he followed Sidney. Leah was waiving them up the stairs. "Go, go, go, I'll cover the rear."

Denton nodded, grabbed Sidney's arm and started up the stairs. "Tanner, what's the ETA?"

"Three minutes."

"Can you hurry it up? We've got some unfriendly folks on our tail."

"It's going as fast as it can. Your extraction ship is an unmanned ship. It's programmed to land on the roof and then fly directly to its base. Due to mission security concerns, its mission parameters can't be changed. I can't speed it up, nor slow it down. I can abort the mission, if necessary."

Denton stopped on a landing, breathing heavily. "Unmanned ship, huh?" he blurted out between breaths. Running up and down stairs was wearing him out. "They didn't want to send any more people into the fire, did they?"

"It's the standard solution used by our hosts."

"Right. I hope they instructed it not to crash."

"Of course not. That would be counterproductive."

Denton continued up the stairs, Sidney close behind. He spotted Leah firing into the apartment several floors below as they reached the roof.

"Take cover," he shouted to Sidney. He was just about to start back down the stairs when he heard the whining sound of engines somewhere above him. He instinctively looked up and saw a fixed-wing extraction craft emerge from the clouds, descending at a forty-five-degree angle. It had a long narrow body, and two large wings tilted backward at a slight angle. The thrusters, two mounted on the wings, and two mounted towards the rear of the fuselage, glowed yellow and shimmered slightly from the hot exhaust. They'd be out of here in mere moments. Suddenly, a bald, well-built figure climbed out of a window and onto the fire escape a floor below him, a shotgun in his hand.

"What's all the racket out here?" the man shouted as he looked up and down the fire escape. His eyes locked on Denton. "You there, I recognize you," he spat and pointed a crooked finger. "You're trouble, I can tell, running up and down these here stairs," he shouted and started up the stairs. Denton quickly realized that although the man was at an advanced age, he was obviously fit and should be considered a threat.

"Just stay out of this, old man. I don't want you to get hurt," Denton shouted towards the approaching man over the increasing engine noise.

"Are you threatening me? Who do you think you are?" the man said and lifted his rifle. Denton had to dive onto the roof to avoid the slug from the shotgun. He landed heavily on his shoulder, then rolled quickly onto his feet, his eyes scanning the surface of the roof for Sidney while both his hands supported the gun as he swiveled around. Where was he? Denton felt panic surge up inside. Had he changed his mind and run away? Would this whole mission be a bust after all? As the bald head of the old man emerged above the roof line, Denton spotted Sidney hiding behind an AC unit. He breathed a sigh of relief, took two steps forward and trained his gun on the bald head.

"Stop right there. I don't want to have to shoot you but I will."

The wild eyes of the old man, momentarily confused, found Denton. The man flashed a grin that contained precious few teeth and then pointed at Denton. "Ha, you try, young man, we'll see how that goes," he said and laughed as he raised his shotgun again. Before Denton had a chance to react, a shot rang out, and the man cried out and collapsed on the roof, grasping his knee. Moments later, Leah emerged up the stairs, her gun pointed at the old man. She glanced over at Denton as she carefully stepped around the neutralized threat and kicked the shotgun over the edge of the roof.

"Looks like I came just in time," she shouted as the extraction craft landed on the roof, kicking up dirt and water from the roof.

"I had it under control."

Leah smiled and nodded. "Right. Sure you did."

Denton rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get out of here." He ran over to Sidney and led him over to the craft while his eyes darted back and forth across the roof. They climbed into the cabin through a door that had slid open while Leah covered the stairs. As she jumped in and the craft increased its thrust to took off, the group of people they had seen in the courtyard only minutes earlier emerged onto the roof, their weapons in hand. They quickly shielded their eyes from the initial burst of water that was sprayed on them by the ascending craft but then promptly took up position, aimed their weapons directly towards the disappearing craft and fired.

~~~

Phew! They made it out just in the nick of time...right?