Lex Talionis
Chapter
18. "A degüello"


The thick metal gates at the entrance had resisted the explosion, but the hinges had not. Both leaves had been blown off and had hit the van, displacing it on impact.

"Damn it! "Isobel cursed. "I didn't count on them having explosives."

In addition, one of the thick metal plates was now leaning against the top of the van. It didn't seem certain that it could be easily removed.

"My God... What are we going to do now?" Sofía asked anxiously.

While everyone watched in dismay at the result of the explosion on the screens, Jubal went to the kitchen. He brought both rifles and their magazines. He handed one to Darío and kept the other. They had decided to split them up like that because Isobel's wrist made it difficult for her to use such a heavy weapon. Jubal slung the rifle across his back, with the barrel down, so he could bring it forward quickly.

"We could take one of their vehicles," proposed Adriana. Would any of you know how to jump-start a car?"

"I do," said Darío confidently.

On screen, the thugs were already showing up.

"They're here," said Isobel. "Here we go."

"Alright, you heard her. Let's go!" Jubal set them all in motion.

He glanced over his shoulder at Isobel before heading back to his post. His heart was still pounding wildly from the kisses they shared. He sighed, watching her face all the screens. Splendid creature with a hundred eyes...

Darío accepted another rifle magazine from him and climbed the stairs to the upper floor three at a time; lying on the floor of the balcony of the main bedroom of the house, he posted himself as a sniper to cover the front entrance. Jubal opened the glass sliding door that overlooked the garden and the swimming pool; sheltered behind a barricade made of two pieces of furniture, he covered the side entrance from there. Adriana went to the kitchen with Sofía and Carlos; they opened the trapdoor in the floor, and the three of them went down into the underground tunnel.

Isobel stayed in the office, watching the screens; she activated the four-way call using the Wi-Fi she had set up earlier. Jubal had his wireless earpiece, Adriana also had one of her own, and Darío had borrowed it from Sofía because he had lost his in the shooting earlier. That way, Isobel could transmit what the cameras were seeing and keep them all coordinated.

Bullets started flying right away. As they entered the estate, Darío forced the attackers to run to safety at the front entrance of the house, where they also crashed into the massive five-inch-thick hardwood door that was solidly closed. In the meantime, Jubal kept them away from the garden entrance and, incidentally, from the pool house. Adriana began to go through the tunnel towards the little house together with Carlos and Sofía, since they were the ones who could take the longest to cover that distance. They had had to change the plan a bit to give them more time.

"Jubal, watch out, two o'clock," Isobel warned him. "A couple are trying to pass close to the wall."

They were perfectly visible with the thermal cameras. Thanks to Isobel's indication, Jubal did not take long to locate them. Two men were trying to reach the pool house by evading his fire with the garden hedges. He was able to take one of them down easily, the other got away, but he thought again and retreated back to the entrance.

"Darío, two of them are backing up toward the van," said Isobel.

He showered them with automatic fire forcing them back to the front door of the house and even shot one down.

The man with the big sideburns saw as many as three of his own get trapped at the front door, and another one more fall too, before deciding to try to go around the left side of the house to enter through the garage. It was obvious that they did not know that Isobel knew their every move. It looked like the plan was working.

She was not under any illusions. If their enemies had made a direct assault, only two shooters, even if they were in an advantageous position as Darío and Jubal were, would not have been able to slow them down. But Juárez's henchmen were being careful, they wanted Adriana alive to get from her where Carlos and Sofía were, and that was something Isobel was counting on.

Carefully scrutinizing every move she saw on the screens, Isobel struggled to control her breathing. She was concerned that two of the men at the front door were crouched down manipulating something on it, perhaps trying to force it. It was not apparent from the image, and besides, Isobel had to turn her attention to other screens, to give further instructions.

"Darío, you have a climber on the wall to your left. He's climbing up the gutter."

A hand armed with a Beretta soon appeared through the balcony bars, firing blindly. Isobel saw on the screen that Darío, being already alert, easily avoided the trajectories of the bullets; he gave the hand a sharp, sideways blow with the barrel of his rifle. Isobel even imagined the crack sound it made. The hand dropped the gun and the man fell into the void. He hit the steps below him and lay still.

One more down, eight to go.

Suddenly, another loud bang was heard. Isobel could see the image of the front door flying out in a festival of stakes and splinters, just before the camera in the hallway that watched it was destroyed. Unfortunately, the explosives they had entered with must not have been the only ones they had.

"[Qué cojones-!?]"

"What the f-!?"

Exclamations were heard from Darío and Jubal, respectively.

"The front door has been busted in," Isobel reported in a neutral tone. "Let's speed things up guys." She leaned out into the hallway and fired several shots that way to dissuade them from entering heedlessly. "Adriana, how much longer?"

"We're almost there."

"That's fine with me," said Isobel. "Darío, to the kitchen. Jubal, with me. Now. This is going to get FUBAR really fast."

On one of the screens, she saw that the sideburns man and his group, who had gone around the house, were already at the door coming from the garage and were about to break it down. It would not be long before they were flanked.

As they entered, the wires crossed in the doorway slowed them down a bit, just as Jubal had anticipated. Isobel also fired to hold them back. Unfortunately, those at the front door ventured into the wide entrance hall. Some coming from her left of the hallway and others from her right, Isobel found herself unable to stop both groups from the office at the same time.

But Jubal was already there, bless him. Isobel allowed herself to bask in the feeling of having him by her side again. Between the two of them, they forced them all back, at least a little.

They needed to give Darío enough time to come down from upstairs.

Seeing that the hostiles were practically in the hall entrance, and that going down the stairs would make him a fairground booth target, Darío simply jumped from above, rolling with a somersault to break his fall.

Damn nutcase, thought Isobel with her heart in her mouth, as Darío took advantage of the momentum he was carrying to run crouching down and, slipping on his feet, go through the kitchen door that led to the hall.

Without wasting a second, Jubal and Isobel took turns taking cover to reach the kitchen through its other door, just opposite the office across the corridor. They made it, but not without being able to prevent their enemies from getting much deeper into the house.

Not having them in range, the invaders paused briefly. The silence was deafening.

Darío was already climbing down the vertical ladder into the tunnel. At a signal from her, Isobel and Jubal hastily placed rags over their noses and mouths. Almost flat on the floor, they leaned out, took aim, and placed a pistol bullet in the fire extinguishers they had left at each end of the corridor.

A racket of swearing and coughing broke out as the pressurized contents of both canisters filled the hallway with jets of white foam. Jubal slung his rifle on his back and dropped straight down the tunnel entrance. Isobel came down right behind him, but in a more controlled manner; grabbing the trap door at the same time, she shot the fire extinguisher in the kitchen, filling it with unbreathable mist as well. Just before closing it, moreover, she discharged her gun twice into the openings of both doors.

An inferno of uncontrolled gunfire broke out between the two groups of attackers. There were going to be many casualties from friendly fire.

Grabbing her by the waist, Jubal lowered Isobel straight down to the floor as she yanked hard on the rope tied to the leg of the kitchen table, moving it so that it lay over the trapdoor. Hopefully it would take them a while to figure out where they had gone out.

It was possible to hear that upstairs in the house they were still shooting at each other. Isobel couldn't help but smile.

The three of them ran through the tunnel dug into the rock as fast as they could, crouching low so as not to hit the ceiling and the beams that supported it.

Darío was leading the way, lighting the way with a flashlight. Isobel felt Jubal's hand on her back, outstretched to run at the same speed without bumping into her. Their feet sloshed on the wet ground.

It was probably only a few seconds, but to Isobel felt like it took forever. Just as she feared that they had missed the exit that was supposed to take to the pool house, Darío stopped and began to climb up another ladder. As Isobel was climbing too, she heard him bickering with Adriana because she had pointed her gun at him as he exited through the trap door.

They paused briefly to make sure everyone was okay, check how much ammo they had left, and reload.

Isobel's eyes met Jubal's. The slightly euphoric trepidation that stirred inside her and the smile in his gaze made her want to embrace him right there, to feel his arms around her again, his warm lips on hers. But it was not the time or the place. She wondered if it ever would be again. First, they had to get out of that one, of course.

"OK, let's go," she said with sternness more directed at herself than at the others.

Adriana then headed for the door.

"[Wait]," Darío warned.

But she was already opening it, a crack, to check that no one was outside. And someone gave the door a sharp shove, hitting her in the face and knocking her back. A gun appeared next, pointed at her head. Darío, who had stopped her fall, pushed her aside, getting her out of the way. Jubal stepped forward, aiming the rifle well placed on his shoulder, and planted a bullet in the middle of the Juarez man's forehead, who fell backwards as long as he was. But not before his pistol fired.

Darío collapsed at Adriana's feet, clutching his side. She dropped down in her knees beside him immediately. Isobel and Jubal rushed over.

"I said '[Wait]', damn it," Darío growled.

Asking Jubal to shine a light on him, Isobel lifted his shirt and examined the wound. It didn't take long for her to grimace.

"It is bad, isn't it?" asked Darío with a tight throat.

"Not so much. Don't be a whiner," Isobel replied, hiding her anguish as best she could.

He was actually bleeding profusely. Obligingly, Jubal took a towel from a shelf and passed it to Isobel, who immediately pressed it against the wound.

The blow to the face, over the cheekbone and forehead, had split Adriana's eyebrow and it was bleeding as well. "You- You took that bullet for me… Why did you do that?" She asked with shocked eyes.

"Well, my intention was rather that no one would take it," grunted Darío. "I wasn't planning for it hitting me, to be honest."

Adriana looked at Jubal and Isobel in bewilderment. She seemed not to know if he was serious or joking. Isobel suspected it was both. Miraculously, Jubal had found a roll of adhesive tape. He fastened the folded towel to Darío's torso, twisting it around in several tight wraps.

"Isobel... We can't stay here," said Darío with labored breathing.

If they delayed any longer, they would lose what little chance they had of getting out of there.

"No, we cannot. Can you move?"

"I'll have to be able to. We have to get going."

The brief second of despair in Isobel's expression spoke volumes. She nodded anyway. "Keep pressing," she ordered him.

"Sí, mamá" Darío protested, clenching his teeth with a wince of pain.

Isobel gave him an exasperated look. It made her want to shake him.

Sofía took Carlos in her arms; the kid was impressively calm and quiet, no crying or wailing, but he was staring at everything with wide eyes. Making a point of not losing her temper in front of him, Isobel took charge of Darío's rifle, despite her wrist.

Slipping Darío's opposite arm around her shoulders, Adriana helped him to his feet. He grunted through his teeth but gave her a grateful glance.

Jubal waited for Isobel's cue to peek outside. He nodded. They all left the pool house.

It had stopped raining.

They walked crouching down towards the entrance, doing their best not to make any noise on the wet ground. Darío found it hard to walk. Jubal came over and helped Adriana. They held him as best as they could, but he was slowing them down.

About twenty yards from the van, a machine gun burst fired in his direction. The thug Jubal had taken down earlier had apparently not died. Posted behind a small wall in the front garden, he had spotted them; forcing them back for cover. They were now under fire that would not allow them to advance.

Without a moment's thought, Isobel acted.

Heart pounding, Jubal called out to her to no avail as he helplessly watched her crouching by a hedge and retracing her steps. Letting out a curse, Jubal kept the shooter busy while Isobel strode along the edge of the pool until she managed to flank him.

Isobel fired the rifle, though her wrist shrieked with each detonation. It was worth it. Suddenly, the one who was in a bad position was that guy.

Muttering his frustration, Jubal took it upon himself to move their small group forward. He stayed behind though, so as not to let Adriana and Darío drop back, and to keep an eye on how Isobel was doing; sooner or later, she would need support to rejoin them.

Two guys came rushing out of the back porch, coughing: they seemed to be running away from the extinguishing powder. Unfortunately, seeing what was going on outside, they reacted quickly and tried to cover their buddy by shooting in Isobel's direction. They did not have a very good angle, but she was forced to retreat. That unsettled Isobel for a moment. No, it didn't matter; she could reach the pool house and sneak around the back if she had to. Isobel was sure she could count on Jubal to then make the stretch from there to the exit.

Meanwhile, Jubal managed to lead the group to the wrecked van. Up close, it was obvious that it had indeed been rendered useless.

He turned to where Isobel was; he was concerned that she was moving too far back. Then he realized with terror that she and her original target were moving close to the large propane tank that powered the house's generators. Dangerously close.

And the guys on the porch kept harassing Isobel, oblivious to the fact that behind both her and their partner, less than a dozen yards away, was the tank.

"Isobel, get out of there! "Jubal shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to warn her.

Too late.

Naturally, a single hit was enough. The explosion was sudden and huge. A gigantic ball of flames that manifested itself faster and more violently than the human eye is capable of perceiving. Even the ground itself shook.

The shockwave launched Isobel into the air, licking her with tongues of flame. Her body, limp as a rag doll, traced an arc in the air and fell into the pool with a splash, in a weird and unnatural posture. The other guy was not even seen where he ended up. The infernal sphere rose into the air higher than the house. Debris began to rain down from the sky all around.

"Isobel!" exclaimed Darío in horror.

Jubal didn't even scream. Despite the panicked screams of his own soul, he did not hesitate for a fraction of a second. In a single movement, he dropped his weapon and ran towards the pool. He could not remember ever running so fast in his entire life, forcing his legs to give him maximum speed in an explosive sprint despite the uphill climb. He didn't mind the pain in his shoulder, he didn't mind being an easy target, he didn't mind the fire. He dove headfirst into the pool with all the momentum of his run, though the flames still hovered over the water, illuminating it with a strange, hellish orange light. Isobel, motionless, was slowly sinking, a necklace of bubbles spilling from her mouth. Jubal reached for her and wrapped his arm around her waist. Kicking hard on the bottom, he propelled them both to the surface.

The blast and the chaos, paradoxically, gave them a respite from the shooting. Their enemies, still in shock, did not fire as Jubal struggled to pull Isobel's soaked body out of the water, nor when he swung her onto her shoulder with a grunt. Praying that they had not been forced to leave without them, he ran back as fast as he could to return with the others. Fortunately, the slope made things easier for him this time.

Shots rang out again. Sideburns guy, along with another of his men, had come out of the house doubled over from coughing, but they regrouped with the other two remaining, and were already running after them. Adriana was providing cover fire for them by shooting her pistol from the outside. Thanks to Isobel's sacrifice, the rest were all already out.

Jubal's lungs were burning and his shoulder was bleeding upon reaching the door, gasping for air. Sofía was lifting Carlos into the back of one of the pickup trucks while Darío, despite his wound, had just managed to jump-start it.

Adriana just waited for Jubal to get out before running to the passenger door.

The sun peeked out from beneath the canopy of black clouds already skimming the mountain peaks, casting unreal rays of golden light.

Jubal shifted Isobel into his arms. His anguish became unmanageable at the sight of her closed eyes, her head hanging loosely from her neck, her cadaverous pallor despite the sunlight. He lifted her into the back of the pickup with the help of Sofía, and even Carlos, who tried to pull her too with his little hands.

With no one to hold them back, their pursuers reached the entrance and began firing from there. They seemed furious. Now they were really going a degüello.

"Come on, come on!" urged Darío, looking back with his face twisted in pain.

Barely one knee up on the pickup, and still with one leg in the air, Jubal slammed his palm twice into the side of the vehicle. "Go! Go! Go!" he shouted to Darío.

But there was no need. Darío was already stepping on the accelerator before he said anything. The wheels spun madly in the gravel of the road kicking up a cloud of dust before finally gripping the ground and propelling the pickup forward like a rocket.

Carlos' body went backwards. Sofía shouted his name.

Stretching as best he could, Jubal grabbed him by the arm, but as he did so, inertia dragged him along too. Pulling a fistful of Jubal's soaked shirt, Sofía clutched at the chassis desperately with her fingertips and managed at the last moment to keep the three of them from falling.

As they passed the other vehicles, Adriana shot at their wheels. Unfortunately, she missed the beige SUV's. They were not even fifty yards away when El Patron's few remaining henchmen jumped into the SUV and took off in pursuit.

Crawling over to Isobel, Jubal knelt beside her. He brushed her wet hair aside and placed his fingers on her slender neck, desperately searching for her pulse as he brought his cheek to her mouth, to feel her breath.

There it was! He felt it on his fingers, with a brief spark of triumph... until Jubal realized he felt nothing in his face. Isobel had a pulse, but she wasn't breathing.

Panic welled up inside him, but Jubal didn't let himself be sweep along. He couldn't afford to. Shots from the SUV were hitting the pickup all around them. He tilted Isobel's forehead back with one hand and opened her mouth with the other. Sofía covered Carlos with her body, trying to protect her son. He took a deep breath of air. Adriana was shooting back from the passenger seat. He held her nose and blew air into her mouth as firmly and steadily as he could despite the detonations and the rattling of the bumps in the road. Isobel's lips were cold and blue. He pulled back and waited five seconds, shielding her as best he could. Darío moved the pickup from one side of the road to the other, trying to dodge. Jubal breathed in again. A bullet hit less than two inches from his forehead.

Jubal was just finishing exhaling the air in her mouth, when a spasm shook Isobel, water gushing from her throat, and she began to cough. With a ragged gasp of relief, Jubal withdrew and laid her on her side as she continued to cough and expel water between her lips. Trembling violently Jubal wrapped his arms around her, protecting her again.

Police sirens wailed in the distance. The pickup swerved sharply. Raising his head, Jubal saw terrified that Adriana was trying to grab the steering wheel because Darío had gone lifeless on her shoulder.

But he could also see the GN cars speeding towards them. The shooting had stopped. Jubal looked back. The SUV was maneuvering to turn around and flee.

Dodging the GN patrols, Adriana lost control and the pickup went off the road. It ended up with the right wheel in the ditch, which brought them to a sudden and violent halt. Jubal hit his head hard to keep Isobel's from hitting the back of the cab. The pain stunned him, colored lights flashed before his eyes.

Everything had become disconcertingly still, though gunshots and sirens could still be heard receding. Isobel was still coughing in his arms, but she was breathing, and Jubal could concentrate on breathing again as well.

~.~.~.~