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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

Javier Carpio had instructed T’phong Soh to target the area roughly five feet above the garage doors so that the explosion would block the entrance and take out many of the police and federal marshals nearby without coming too close to the vans. He wanted to make sure that his brother wasn’t harmed in the explosions. Diamond O’Connell had knocked the laser guidance out of Soh’s hands seconds before the missiles hit, though. Without specific target acquisition, the missiles’ momentum carried them lower and slightly off course, hitting the area to the left of the garage doors, around five feet above the sidewalk. The van carrying Vincente Carpio and Kit Steele, as well as a driver and two other security personnel, was almost to the garage when the missiles struck the courthouse. As a result, the explosion had far greater impact on them than intended.

The first explosion rocked the van and shattered the windshield and windows. For a moment, Steele thought that they had been hit directly by some sort of a bomb, but when she looked out, she could see the destruction to the side of the building. At least she seemed to be uninjured. She glanced behind her, and Vincente Carpio was still in custody. One of the security guards had been hit by some sort of shrapnel, and it looked as though half his head had been taken off. The other guard was alive, but unconscious.

The far left door to the courthouse garage was destroyed, but the middle door was intact and open. “Get into the garage!” Kit screamed at the driver. She looked over, and could see that he had lacerations across his face from the glass.

“I can’t see!” the driver screamed back.

“Just hit the gas!”

The driver was trying to clear the blood from his eyes as he jammed his foot down onto the gas pedal. The van shot forward, but it wasn’t aligned, so it careened into the side of the door and Steele was thrown forward into the dashboard.

Her head hit first, and she felt herself losing consciousness. She looked back briefly, and through the wire screen separating the front seat from the prisoner, she could see Carpio staring at her. He was smiling.

George Martin was in the second of the vans, and he saw the missiles strike the courthouse. His heart was racing. There were injured police officers and law enforcement personnel all around him. The scope of the destruction was breathtaking, and he knew that he was responsible. No one could ever find out.