CHAPTER 105

QUICKLY, GREGORY EVANS pushed Kenan to the ground, throwing him behind one of the huge exhaust fans there. He also lay down, to protect himself from what was coming.

A burst of metal made the roof resound like rain. The soldiers began to shoot at everything and everyone there. Of the two men escorting the President, one was taken by complete surprise, being hit before he could even react, and the other tried to hide, but there was no time. The other two who were in the rear realized what was coming and managed to protect themselves.

TOMMY HUGGED KATY, PUTTING HIS ARMS ON HER, pulling her towards him, leaning behind a ventilation duct.

— What the hell is this?! — he screamed in terror.

The bullets were causing a loud act of destruction, the agents barely managed to return fire with their pistols, the "friendly fire" offensive. Handcuffed and unarmed, Tommy could do nothing but try to protect Katherine from the bullets.

While he was thinking of a way to save his wife, he was surprised by one of the agents who were still alive, who threw him the handcuff keys, even though she had fallen into the line of fire of the soldiers. Carefully, he slipped away and stretched out both hands until he reached her and brought her to him.

He shouted to the agent:

— Thank you, good man! Your compassion touches me...

Katherine cried and moaned in terror at the unique situation in her life, repeating the question:

— How do we get out of here, love? How do we get out?!

Turning to her, now without the uncomfortable handcuffs, Tommy caressed her red face with both hands, rested his forehead against hers, staring at her eye to eye and said:

— Honey, look at me. It's going to be okay, just stay here and don't move at all, unless I call you. Do you understand?

Katy stopped to shake her head in anguish. Her tears dampened her husband's rough fingers. With his wife's positive response, he began to think about what he could do to get out of that situation.

If only I had a gun...

The helicopter took off, already raising its nose to climb over the place, which would leave everyone there unprotected and easy targets for the ruse designed to catch them.

Tommy slipped along the side of the exhaust fan to the other one, which was further ahead, where an agent was taking cover, trying to hit the enemies with his tiny pistol shots.

— Excuse me... — he said, pulling one of his Glock pistols from the suit of the agent who had previously seized it.

Attentive to the situation, he realized that the soldiers were focused on suppressing the agents through the free corridor that was in the center of the place, which gave him the chance to follow the side flank, hiding behind the ducts and exhaust fans.

He crept to the side, passing behind several ducts, until he had an almost lateral view of the entire situation. He lay down behind an exhaust fan, hiding his body and exposing only his head and arms, enough to see the enemies and aim in their direction. Shooting lying down, especially turned to the side, was very difficult, but he just aimed very calmly, a quality as preponderant as his sarcasm, in moments of danger.

A well-aimed shot and one of them fell, falling from the door and hitting the ski, hanging by the nylon strap on the back of his tactical vest. The other shooter, who was firing bursts at the group, noticed his privileged position and turned towards him, who tried to hide in desperation. The two agents of the President noticed the gap and opened fire on the helicopter, successfully taking down the last uniformed man. The strange man in the suit pulled out his pistol and tried to shoot to suppress them, waving for the pilot to get on. The helicopter, with the two wounded soldiers hanging from it, quickly took off and left, leaving them stunned, as they watched their rescue turn into an attack against themselves. The rescue was becoming an attack.

They had no way out.

WHEN THE HELICOPTER LEFT, the survivors stood up, intrigued by what they had seen. Kenan tried to stand up, as he was feeling very ill, and Floyd Kenagan, checking the gun he was carrying with him, also helped the President.

"You're in bad shape, huh?" shouted Leone, in his jocular and irritating tone, as he stood up and tried to wipe the dust off his jacket.

Seeing him approaching, Floyd Kenagan, extremely irritated, advanced on him and pointed the gun at his forehead. Surprised, Tommy raised his hands in surrender.

— Give me a reason not to get rid of you right now! — said Floyd Kenagan.

— Now is not the time for that, Floyd — Greg intervened — the boy helped us.

Leone smiled:

— Don't you want to be a killer? — Tommy asked him, challenging him.

— Sir, don't do that! — interrupted one of the agents. — He has been useful. In fact, it was thanks to him that we survived now... — the other agent agreed, nodding his head, confirming what Gregory Evans had just said.

Floyd remained inert for some time, exuding hatred in his eyes, indignant at the young man's attitude, but he finally gave in to the men and lowered his weapon.

— Kenagan — Kenan said, composing himself and adjusting his suit, — we are in great need now to commit a crime of this kind. I confess I am surprised, but he has proven himself trustworthy and seems to be the one of all of us who is the least susceptible to this evil ruse. I see no sign of him reacting to the sound attack we suffered. Do you see him?

— I am afraid for your safety, Mr. President — Floyd replied disappointedly.

— Your fear has been useless in preventing incidents, let's be frank. And besides, this young man is one of the reasons I have not been killed so far. Let's stop dissenting and take charge of what is most important at the moment. — Kenan then turned to Tommy and his wife and continued:

— You, young man, are now part of this group, the security of the country needs your services. I believe you will be useful in our mission. — Tommy had his own way of dealing with these situations. He was proud and could not demonstrate a posture that was different from the treatment he received from them. This was his way of treating people. He gave them back exactly what he received from others, without falsehoods, but also without the slightest effort to please anyone.

While Kenan was talking to him, he did not look at the President, he just handled his pistol, checking it piece by piece and counting the ammunition that was still in the magazine.

— Are you listening? — protested Floyd Kenagan, seeing the young man's indifference. — President Kenan is talking to you!

— Look — he replied — I just want to get out of here and take my wife away from this hell. If I remember correctly, you threatened me, handcuffed me, treated me like a prisoner and even tried to kill me. I have no reason to stay here with you.

Floyd Kenagan's eyes widened at his response, but he remained silent, unable to find any arguments to dissuade him.

Katherine kept whispering in his ear:

— Love! It's our President! Don't be so petulant!

Tommy pulled her by the arm and headed for the stairs to leave. Kenan wisely retorted:

— You will do a great service to the country, young man. Don't ignore your duty...

— That speech doesn't convince me. — replied the young man, with his back turned, as he left with his wife.

— You could leave here arrested for contempt of presidential authority, young man! — said Floyd Kenagan loudly.

Leone walked, pulling Katherine until she grabbed his wrist firmly and exclaimed, rigidly:

— Love, listen carefully! I've never questioned you about what you do for a living, I didn't want to dare to discover something I couldn't bear, that I couldn't understand... This is the first time I've demanded a position from you. Show me, Tommy, prove to me that you are the one I've been trying to imagine all these days. For the first time, give me the comfort of certainty! Tommy looked at her in surprise. He had never thought about his wife's point of view. He didn't know what kind of doubts she carried with her, until he heard it from her own lips. The words took a while to come out of his mouth.

— You... never... questioned...

— Prove to me, Tom, that you're the one I fell in love with!" Tears filled his eyes.

— I... I just want to protect you...

— Today? Or for all this time we've lived together?

— I just want the best for both of us.

— Maybe the best for both of us isn't the best for you...

— What do you want me to do, Katy?

FLOYD WAS GOING TO INTERVENE, but the President stopped him.

— Don't get involved, Floyd.

— Sir...

He nodded in agreement, looked at Gregory Evans who confirmed that the President's decision was the best at that moment.

THE COUPLE'S DISCUSSION CONTINUED:

— Just show me that you're not that irresponsible adult. Make me see that you have values, that you have principles that are greater than survival. Don't think I'm a fool, Tom, I understand more than you think I can see. But I need... I need to see that you are more than that!

— Do you want me to go with them?

— That's it! Show me that you can take on responsibilities beyond this world you live in! Prove it to me, at least this once!

They both stopped there, at the door, at the edge of the stairs that led to the interior of the building. Tommy raised his gaze from the ground to the top of that cloudy sky. He reflected on his wife's unexpected words.

— And what kind of man do you imagine me to be? — he asked.

— The kind who cares about someone.

All that mattered to him was Katherine, and she was asking him to do exactly the opposite of what he thought he would do. He turned back, looking at Kenan and the others, and said:

— What do you need? — Kenan gave a brief smile. Not that he thought anything positive about the young man, but in that terrible situation, even a nobody like him would be a great help to the weakened group. And the boy seemed to be, among everyone present, the only one who didn't suffer any consequences from the sound. That could make all the difference in important moments.

— We have to get out of here — said Floyd Kenagan. — And it looks like it won't be by heaven...

The group was now back to square one in the escape plan, in a worse state than the first, as the huge group of agents protecting Kenan had been reduced to Floyd Kenagan, two trained men and an armed stranger with his expendable wife.

Although the crowd was slowly dissipating, a large number of corpses were mixed in with the people who were still wandering the streets crazed or crying for their dead relatives. Exposing the President to the streets again would be risky, but it seemed to them to be the only option.