June 1, 7:06 A.M.
Hohenwald, Tennessee
This will have to do...
Gray lifted his shovel, the only weapon he had at hand.
"Going primitive on their asses?" Monk asked with a wince, pushing up enough to lean on the wall of the freshly uncovered grave. He looked down to the spreading pool of blood through his blue coveralls. "Bullet went through and through. But I won't be getting my cleaning deposit back on these clothes."
"Can you walk?" Gray asked.
"Hobble, sure. Run, no way."
"Then you stay here."
"I wasn't really planning on going anywhere."
Seichan lowered herself from where she was watching a team move in from the parking lot. "I counted eight to ten. They've moved behind the cabin across the lawn for cover."
"Must think we have weapons," Gray said. "Or they'd have swarmed us by now."
"What's the plan?" Seichan asked.
Both she and Monk looked to him.
"We keep them thinking we have guns-at least long enough for us to get to our rifles. The backhoe is only a few yards away. Its bulk will offer some cover if we can reach it. But we'll be vulnerable climbing out of this hole."
Gray handed Monk his shovel, then twisted around and grabbed the other. "We need some sound effects. Our attackers are edgy, wary, moving in cautiously. So let's spook them some more. Crack the shovels together... loudly and rapidly."
Monk got it. "Make them think we're firing at them."
"It'll only work for a couple of seconds. Hopefully long enough for us to reach the backhoe's cab and our rifles."
"Got it."
"Then on my mark."
Gray crouched beside Seichan. Her eyes shone in the shadows of the grave. Her pulse beat at her throat as she stared up at the edge, ready to pounce.
"Go!"
With one shovel propped against the side of the grave, Monk banged the other spade against it with all of his might. The noise was so loud and sudden, it did sound like gunfire. Gray leaped to the lip, shoved hard with his arms against the edge, and rolled cleanly out of the grave and to his feet. He sprinted low for the cover of the backhoe.
Seichan kept next to him.
Reaching the momentary safety under the boom arm at the back of the earthmover, Gray checked on her. Her face was flushed, her lips slightly parted. She lifted an eyebrow toward him.
Good enough...
Without needing to say a word to each other, they split to opposite sides of the backhoe. Shots were fired at them, but they went wild, hitting the dirt yards away. The assailants were momentarily confused as Monk continued to bang his shovels.
Gray ducked into the cab. He'd left the backhoe idling when he went to check the grave. He slid into the seat, popped the parking brake, and raised the hydraulic stabilizers to free the earthmover.
Seichan grabbed both rifles, leaving the driving to him. She pointed, and he understood. This was not a vehicle to attempt to flee in. Besides, they couldn't leave Monk behind.
Gray raised the large front loader, using it as a shield across the windshield. He'd be driving blind, but at the moment he wasn't worried about sideswiping a car. He trundled out into the lawn. Rounds banged into the loader. He slowly angled toward the rear of the log home while Seichan leaned low out the door and fired under the raised bucket, keeping the men pinned down behind the cabin.
Once they reached the shadow of the cabin, Seichan rolled out.
That was the easy part.