Free Red Ice by Craig Reed Jr Page A

slowly tried to bring his weapon up to fire.
    Both Liam and Stephen fired short bursts that struck the driver and staggered him, but he continued raising the assault rifle. Liam shifted targets and put a burst of 4.7mm rounds into the man’s head. With most of his head gone, the body dropped to the road.
    The pair continued advancing. In the distance, they could hear more sirens, getting closer as they moved nearer to the van. Steam poured from the shattered radiator, forming a translucent cloud shrouding the front of the van. There was a thud from the back, something striking the doors. Another thud and the doors flew open. Both men stopped as another player climbed out of the van’s rear. As he shuffled into view, both OUTCASTs couldn’t believe what they saw. The man’s right arm was gone at the elbow, a belt strapped halfway up the upper arm. He had clearly been struck by several bullets in the torso and leg, but he still moving, a pistol in his good hand.
    “Freeze!” Choi yelled, his MP5 up and pointed at the horrendously injured man.
    The target, his face filled with hate, raised his pistol. Before he could aim, Liam shot him in the head with a four-round burst. The nearly decapitated man dropped to the roadway.
    “Did we walk into a zombie movie by mistake?” Stephen yelled.
    “Gotta be drugs,” Liam said. “Dan, cover the front. Me and Stephen will go around the back and check for survivors.”
    They reached the van but didn’t find any more survivors. There were two more bodies in the van, both dead from multiple gunshots.
    Liam adjusted the channel on his radio. “Oscar-2 to CHP H-30. Are you still tracking the bad guys?”
    “Affirmative. Suspects just passed Twentieth Street, three police cars in pursuit.”
    A SFPD car came to a stop twenty yards behind the van. Both officers came out with guns drawn. Liam placed the P-90 on the ground and approached the cops, his Homeland Security badge held out in front of him at arm’s length. One of the policemen came forward, examined the badge and ID, then motioned to his partner to stand down.
    Liam pointed to the van. “Secure this crime scene. You have four DOAs, and messy ones at that. These are the bastards who took out Boy-Fifteen and Nineteen back there. We’re going after the snipers who shot up the pier a few minutes ago.”
    The squeals of wheels made Liam turn in time to see Dante backing up the Suburban until it was only a few feet away. He picked up the P-90 and ran for the big SUV as Stephen and Choi got back into the SUV. Liam barely had enough time to leap into the front seat before the Suburban shot away from the crash scene, siren wailing.
    They barreled through intersections, weaving their way through traffic that would not or could not get out of the way. They reached Twentieth where there were multiple explosions in rapid succession a quarter of a mile ahead. Liam used the vehicle’s radio as a cloud rose into the air. “Oscar-2 to CHP H-30. What happened?”
    “Explosions at intersection of Mariposa and Illinois. Street’s impassable with badly damaged cars.”
    “Do you see the suspect car?”
    Twenty seconds ticked by. “Negative, Oscar. Between the explosions and the smoke, we lost them.”
    Liam slammed his hand down on the padded dashboard. “Damn it!”
    “What do you want to do?” Dante asked.
    “Shut off the sirens. Let’s get back to the DEA office. Maybe Tanner and the others had better luck.”

CHAPTER EIGHT 
     
     
    Naomi took one look at the building they were about to enter and shook her head. “This isn’t one of those hidden gems, is it?”
    Vessler grinned. “Not by a long shot.”
    Tanner frowned. “Are you sure this Alec W is here?”
    “First place to look. If he isn’t here, there are a couple of other rabbit holes I know of.”
    The North Bayside Hotel took up four floors of the five-story building, with a topless bar on the ground floor. The building was on the edge of San Francisco’s