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Back Blood in the Water
Chapters (82)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. FIFTY-FIVE
  59. FIFTY-SIX
  60. FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. FIFTY-NINE
  63. SIXTY
  64. SIXTY-ONE
  65. SIXTY-TWO
  66. SIXTY-THREE
  67. SIXTY-FOUR
  68. SIXTY-FIVE
  69. SIXTY-SIX
  70. SIXTY-SEVEN
  71. SIXTY-EIGHT
  72. SIXTY-NINE
  73. SEVENTY
  74. SEVENTY-ONE
  75. SEVENTY-TWO
  76. SEVENTY-THREE
  77. SEVENTY-FOUR
  78. SEVENTY-FIVE
  79. SEVENTY-SIX
  80. Praise for Blood in the Water
  81. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  82. Newsletter Sign-up

Soh was lying on the ground in a side room, alone, trying to get some rest. It wasn’t comfortable, but he’d had far worse accommodations at various points in his life. Rest was not coming easily to him; he was too preoccupied with the plans for Vincente Carpio’s escape in mere days. When the explosion hit, Soh thought, like Diamond, that one of his men had dropped one of the grenades that they had with them. The entire complex shuddered, and dirt and rocks shook free from some of the fractures in the cement ceilings. After a moment, though, he heard the gunfire, and he knew that it was not an accident; it was an assault.

He leaped up and rushed through a short corridor to the main room where most of his men were congregated. “What is it?” he yelled.

“It’s an attack!” one of his men shouted. “They’re at the entryway!”

Soh caught the eye of Juan Suarez, and the two acknowledged each other. Suarez had been correct; O’Connell was not leaving the union, and he wasn’t waiting. He was making a full frontal attack. It seemed like suicide—Soh and his men could hold out for hours in the stone bunker, and once the light came up, O’Connell would have to call off the assault. Soh shook his head—O’Connell’s fool-headedness had just sealed his daughter’s fate.

Soh’s men were rushing toward the entryway, guns drawn. Soh grabbed one of them, though, and redirected him. “Get the girl!” he shouted. “Bring her here to me!”

The man headed off to the rear of the bunker. Soh headed toward the front of the bunker to direct his men. Fighting off an attack would not be terribly difficult, but if they could inflict heavy casualties on O’Connell’s men, it would bring the war to a close even faster. If they could kill O’Connell himself, the war would be over.

It seemed to Cormack like the flash-bang was in the air for an unusual amount of time, and he wondered briefly whether perhaps it was a dud, but then it went off with a tremendous explosion, and he saw the three men at the entryway double over, covering their eyes and ears, momentarily disoriented by the device.