Chapter 40

PART TWO

As the gray gun smoke dissipates and the house becomes dark and eerily quiet, the usual watery burn from the smoke hits my eyes. I'll take the acrid smell home on my clothes and my eyes will remain red until I sleep off the effects.

After hours of preparing the SWAT team's entry, the violence is over quickly and several bullet-riddled bodies lay on the bare floor. Unlike what Hollywood portrays, there are only small pools of blood beneath the bodies. No splattered blood-covered walls, just a body count.

The underground intel led us to believe there were only three men inside, but where there's one gun, there are two and with two, there are three. Training dictates you never forget the plus-one rule.

The entry team suffered no injuries, though a piece of sharp, splintered wood from the doorframe nicked my face. I barely notice the sting or the thin line of blood; my attention is on the safety of my men and finding the women.

"Clear, clear, clear." The cries sound from othe