House Rules (1 of 4 free samples)

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COPYRIGHT
House Rules by Mike Lawson. Copyright 2008 by Mike Lawson.
All Rights Reserved. Sharing not permitted.

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HOUSE RULES

Mike Lawson

To Keith--the best birthday present ever. We're so very proud.


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
http://www.dailylit.com/books/house-rules/acknowledgments


PROLOGUE

They had no idea how big the blast might be.

The techs, those useless dorks, said the bomb could take out just the garage or just the surrounding homes--or it could flatten structures as far as a quarter mile away. It all depends, they said. It depended on how the bomb was constructed, if it was shaped to blow in a particular direction. It obviously depended on how much ammonium nitrate the bombers had. It all depends.

No shit, had been Merchant's response, and thanks for all your help.

But Merchant knew, no matter how big the bomb might be, that he couldn't evacuate the nearby homes. If he started an evacuation, the two guys inside the garage might notice all the lights going on at three in the morning and then would see people running like hell, dressed in their pajamas. Or, with his luck, one of the good citizens they were trying to protect would call a radio station, and the bombers would hear that they were surrounded by fifty FBI agents. And once they knew that, they'd probably blow the thing right where it was, and Merchant and his guys, hiding less than twenty yards from the garage...well, they'd be toast. Literally.

If the bomb did explode and a bunch of civilians were killed, the media weenies and the politicians would naturally second-guess the hell out of his decision not to evacuate. They'd call him reckless and irresponsible, and his bosses would blame it all on him to save their bureaucratic butts. But then what did he care? He'd be dead. No, the smart thing to do was to forget evacuating anybody and go in now. And as for trying to negotiate with the guys in the garage....Hell, even the suits at the Hoover Building agreed that would be useless. You can't negotiate with people who are willing to kill themselves in order to kill you.

What a way to spend Labor Day.

He spoke softly into his mike: "Alpha to Bravo Team Leader. Any sign of a third man yet?"

"No, sir."

The two men assembling the bomb were in a garage that was fifty feet from a two-story house. Merchant had overall tactical command of the operation and command of the five-man squad that made up Alpha Team. Another senior agent commanded Bravo Team, also a five-man squad. Bravo was on the opposite side of the garage from Alpha. Charlie Team, which consisted of almost forty agents, was protecting the perimeter, making sure no one entered or left the site. Charlie also had the snipers. The snipers would shoot anyone they thought needed shooting--and they wouldn't miss.

Merchant and his men were dressed in SWAT gear: combat helmets with face shields, black fatigues and body armor, headsets so they could hear and talk to Merchant, night-vision goggles, and an assortment of assault rifles, shotguns, and .40-caliber pistols. They were dressed for war, a war they were going to start.

"Alpha to Charlie Team Leader. What about you? Any sign of the third man?"

"No, sir."

The reports they'd received said three guys were involved, but there might not even be a third guy. The intelligence on him was weak. Maybe the third guy was in the house sleeping, or maybe he'd left to get something. Whatever the case, it was time to move. They had to move before daylight and the longer he waited the higher the likelihood that the guys in the garage would see his men or, even worse, drive the truck out of the garage. If that happened he'd be dealing with a mobile bomb, and that would be no fun at all.

"Alpha Team Leader to all personnel. We're going in. Bravo, are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Charlie, are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

Merchant nodded, although no one could see the gesture. He couldn't rely on the intelligence and he couldn't rely on the techs--but he could rely on his guys. He spoke into his mike again. "Remember, we want these assholes alive but I don't want any of you people dyin' to keep them that way."

Merchant took a breath, flipped the safety on his weapon, and felt the adrenaline start to squirt into his bloodstream. "On my go," he said. "Three. Two. One. Go!"

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