Shadow Men – 31 – Rafe and Steele

"I'm not liking this one fucking bit," Rafe said under his breath twenty minutes later as they stood in the deep shadows at one end of the large, and very empty, living room at the front of the ground floor.

Steele nodded in agreement. He surveyed the room in the dim light of a small table lamp, the one light they'd run into so far that was on. "I find it hard to believe that the only ones here were the ones we took out. They were, all in all, rank amateurs at best."

"And none of them were the van driver or his friend."

"Why don't I think they up and ran with whatever was in the trunk?"

Rafe snorted. "Because you're not stupid? I'm wondering if the dead guys were just supposed to be collateral damage so we'd lower our expectations."

"Only one way to find out." Steele nodded toward the entry hall and the flight of stairs leading up from it to the second floor.

"I'd opt for the back stairs instead except, of course, that's probably what they're counting on us doing."

"I would if I were them." Steele ran a hand through his hair as he surveyed the stairs, which were barely visible except when there was a flash of lightning. "Trapped, do you think?" he asked.

Rafe quirked a grin. "I would if I were them," he replied, mimicking his partner.

"Toss you for who gets to trip it."

"Nope. Better idea." Rafe picked up one of the sofa's cushions, hefted it to check its weight then walked to the arch that opened onto the entry hall. After a quick look to the sides he moved to the bottom of the stairs and tossed the cushion hard enough that it hit the top stair and began rolling back down again. Before it was halfway to the bottom Rafe was back in the living room. Steele already stood, armed and ready, out of view at one side of the arch. Rafe went to the other side and they waited.

Two figures appeared, one at the top of the stairs, the other through the front door. Both moved with the precision of trained professionals, keeping low profiles as they looked for Rafe and Steele. It took them only seconds to figure out what had tripped the warning signal. They both headed toward, but not into, the living room.

From where he stood Rafe couldn't see the men, but another flash of lightning very briefly sent their shadows skittering across the floor. A quick glance at Steele let him know his partner had seen that as well. As one they brought their guns up, stepped into the arch and fired, not at the man closest to them but rather at the other one. That way they were able to do damage and return to where they'd been standing with the least exposure.

Rafe's bullets hit his target in the shoulder and side. Steele managed to nick the other man's thigh as well as put a shot through his upper arm. The two men moved into view to return fire despite their wounds. Rafe knew Steele had been hit when he heard his breath catch. He pushed back his fear for his partner as always, just a Steele would have done had it been him. There were more important things to handle at the moment, such as avoiding being shot himself and taking the two bastards out in the process. Or, he supposed ruefully, vice versa. He returned fire and grinned tightly when he saw one of the men hit the floor, dead. The other one, however, wasn't going to be so easily dealt with.

Steele bit down on the pain, turned and shot out the table lamp. In the darkness that followed he moved toward the sound of shuffling feet. A crack of thunder followed instantly by a flash of lightning let him know where his enemy was. Unfortunately it also let the man know where Rafe knelt as he tried to locate him. The man pointed his pistol and pulled the trigger at the same instant Steele fired.