Chapter 9- Go Away

Leah had no weapon so she was now at a distinct advantage. She eyed Gallo's gun, thinking quickly about how she could take care of the men outside, but she didn't think the agent would hand over his gun willingly and she had no idea of how many men were out in the parking lot.

Leah looked back out the peep hole. Think. Think. She knew it would be easier if it was just her here. She glanced back at the five people huddled in the corner of the room. They were a liability. And they were in danger.

"There's a small window in the bathroom. The more people that can get out of the room, the safer it can be for the people unable to get out," Leah said as she looked back at Gallo. "Five people huddled in a corner is dangerous. One or two, I think we can protect them. The others can get out, get help."

Gallo nodded. "Go. Paige, Happy, Walt. Get out. Sly, make yourself small," he ordered.

They both watched as the two women and Walter left the room and headed into the bathroom. Leah hoped they could fit through.

"Oh, I do not like this," the large man said.

"Don't worry, Sly. I'm here too," the Doctor said as he patted the larger man's back.

"That's not very comforting."

Leah looked back at Agent Gallo. Cabe. If they were going to die, she might as well refer to him by his given name. She studied his face, seeing the worry lines. Leah felt a pang in her heart, knowing this was partly her fault.

"You watch out for them, I'll take care of these idiots. I don't suppose you've got a backup on you?" she asked.

"What, you came all this way to kill me and didn't bring a gun?" he joked.

Leah raised her eyebrows. "And have you ever tried to get through airport security with a sniper rifle? It's not very easy." She added in a wink.

Cabe shook his head. "Sorry, I don't have a backup. If I had known, I might have carried more."

Leah bit back a laugh. "I did warn you, you know, but ok."

"What are they waiting for?" Toby asked.

"If Andy has a brain, which he mostly does, he would have warned them of me. Certainly, the two idiots from earlier learned that even if you surprise me, you still have to be at the top of your game to get me. Sure, a shootout is the easiest, but mob logic of the 21st century says don't draw too much attention to yourself. That's how you get caught. They know there aren't any cameras here, but they know from the moment they start shooting, every second that passes means a second closer to when the cops show up. They're better off coming in with fists," Leah explained.

"Let's hope so," Cabe said.

Leah looked out the peep hole again and this time, saw three men getting out of a car across the parking lot.

"Three men," she began, "possibly a fourth still in the Honda across the parking lot. Only one is walking like he's carrying. Fourth might have a gun." Leah took a step back and glanced over at Cabe. "I'll open, you head out. We can use the cars as cover, keep them away from the room so these two have a chance."

Cabe nodded his understand.

Leah held up her left hand, while keeping her right on the door handle, and counted down. 3, 2, and she opened the door, stepping back. Cabe hurried through the door and she followed behind. He went right to take cover behind his SUV while Leah went to the left to take cover behind a van parked two spots down. As she hit the front of the van, she heard the door shut.

"Don't bother running, Leah. Andy wants this done quick. Don't bother fighting," one of the men said.

Leah rolled her eyes.

"Rule #6, asshat! Never use the names of the people who employ you! Fast track to getting killed," she yelled. Peering around the van, she could just make out the reflections of the three men.

Cabe nodded at her and she nodded back. As she rolled around the other side of the van, Cabe reached around the SUV and fired off two shots, before taking cover again.

Leah hit the end of the van and peered around. One of the men was taking cover behind the van, his back to Leah. Silently as she could muster, Leah snuck up behind him, wrapped her right arm around his neck and pulled him back behind the van. He grunted, but Leah tightened her grip. She kept pulling him further away from the rest of the group. He hit at her, but Leah ignored the swipes. He wasn't able to get a good hit on her, so it was just annoying, not painful.

Leah counted each gunshot, fairly certain she could tell which was coming from Cabe and which was coming from the other guys. She hoped Cabe was doing well.

When she figured she had pulled the guy far away enough, she let him go, spun him around and slammed her right fist into his jaw as hard as she could. He swayed, but didn't fall, so Leah hit him with an uppercut. The man fell back, hitting the pavement hard.

Leah smiled, heard a noise to her left, and turned. She was met with a punch in the nose. The last thing she remembered was hitting the trunk of a car and then the world went black.

Cabe was stuck behind the SUV to a point. To his left, there were no more cars; just open parking lot. To his right, there was a van and a car a few spots down. He needed to draw fire away from the motel room so that Sly and Tobias weren't hit by a stray bullet, but there was nowhere safe for him to go. So he had to play the game.

Looking around the left side of the SUV, the agent saw no one, so he went up the side, heading for the back of the government issue car. Stopping, he listened. He could just make out what he thought was whispering. Taking a deep breath, Cabe hurried around the corner, gun raised.

One of the men was standing a few feet from him, gun in hand. He saw Cabe coming his way and began to lift his gun, but the federal agent was ready for him. He fired off just one shot, hitting the guy in the right side of his chest and sending him to the ground.

Walking towards the guy, the older man came around the other corner of the car and turned to his left. One of the other attackers darted around the front of the van and Cabe let off another shot, but the kid was too quick and the bullet hit the front of the van. Homeland wasn't going to be thrilled about paying for this stuff.

He headed for the man he had shot and made sure to kick the gun away. The bleeding man was groaning on the ground, clutching at his wound.

Cabe kept his gun up, looking around, but something was off. He looked to his right, where the attacker's car had been.

It was gone.

When did it go?

Stepping over the bleeding man, Cabe headed towards the other side of the van, his weapon still up. He paused at the end of the back of the van, took a deep breath, and stepped around the van.

The other guy was gone. But off at the end of the parking lot which connected to the street was the attacker's car.

They had made a getaway.

"Leah!" Cabe called out, reaching for his phone. "Leah!?"

Frantically looking around the parking lot, the woman was missing. Cabe got on his phone and called 911 to get help for the remaining bad guy. "This is Special Agent Cabe Gallo of Homeland Security, badge number 2835. I need an ambulance," he said quickly, explaining the situation.

Once done, he hung up the phone and headed for the motel room. He headed through the slightly damaged door.

"Sly, Toby!" he called out.

The two men emerged from the bathroom. "It was safer by about 15% in here," Sly commented.

Cabe sighed in relief. "Find the others quickly. Leah is gone!"

"Gone? Like she left?" Toby asked.

"No, they got her."