BooksBarbecue
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

Moving forward, against the flow of those fleeing the scene, was a struggle. It seemed that everyone was trying to escape. As she moved north toward the courthouse, though, she bumped into a slight man in a hooded sweatshirt who seemed to be the only person unfazed by the mayhem. He was holding something in his hand, pointing it toward the courthouse’s garage doors.

Diamond stepped around him, still headed forward into the madness. She continually slammed into people streaming in the other direction. She was nearing Courthouse Way when she felt a strong hand grab her from behind. She turned, hoping against hope that it was Buddy.

It wasn’t. Instead she was staring into the face of the Asian man from Fort Strong. He was staring at her as though he’d seen a ghost.

“Diamond O’Connell,” he said. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Javier Carpio and his men were in the boats. The traffic on the water was crazy, and they had to weave in and out of the commercial ships that crowded the inner harbor. He could see the shocked expressions of those on the ships as they passed in the attack boats with guns mounted fore and aft.

They were ready and waiting, and pulled out as soon as they heard the first explosion. Javier had given instructions for Soh to detonate the backpacks when the caravan carrying his brother was approaching the turn onto Courthouse Way. In the ensuing confusion, he estimated that it would take the vehicles another two minutes to make it to the courthouse garage. That gave them enough time to get more than halfway across the harbor before letting loose the missiles. As long as Soh was accurately painting the area above the garage doors, they should have a chance. Men on the ships they passed watched them closely, and Carpio wondered whether one of them might alert the authorities. It was a risk, but a small one. In light of the explosions near the courthouse, no one would be surprised to see Coast Guard attack boats headed toward the scene.

Even from out on the water, Javier and his men could hear the screaming coming from the area around the courthouse. The sounds of civilian terror brought Javier back to his days in El Salvador, when every day brought violence and bloodshed to the people of his small country. He had contributed to that bloodshed, there was no doubt, but that had not been by choice. He had been forced into that life by the American-backed government forces. At least that was the way he remembered it. At some point he probably could have gotten out of that life, but by then it was all he knew. And it was all his brother knew. Their involvement in MS-13 was just an extension of their long-standing guerilla warfare.