Page 35 of Shadow of Hope
“It does. Or could even be just a root cellar to store his provisions.” He took out a tiny bottle of liquid and dampened the swab. “With dried blood, I have to use sterile water to collect it.”
He touched the swab on the tip of a tail and came away with a speck so small she couldn’t see how it was enough to run any tests, but he knew what he was doing, so she didn’t question him.
He bagged the swab and pocketed it, then pointed at the door. “I’ll go first, just in case.”
He took off across the floor, skirting two questionable boards as did she. Once outside, he took a long look in both directions, then cupped his hands around his mouth. “Done inside, Colin. Doing a perimeter check.”
“Roger that.” Colin’s voice came across strong through the trees.
That reply sounded right coming from him, and she vowed never to try using their lingo again.
“Stay behind me again.” Micha motioned for her to exit. He picked up his stick, drew his gun, then started to the right, plowing down the grass and making her steps easier. He tapped the ground around him as he moved, as he’d done on the way to the cabin.
“Do you really think he set boobytraps?” she asked.
“Never know with survivalists. Might not be meant to injure or kill but could simply be in place to let them know someone was here when they were gone.”
They reached the back of the shack, and he came to a stop near an old stained tarp lying on the ground. He gently tapped it.
“Something hard under there.” He lifted the tarp to reveal a pair of metal cellar doors that opened in the middle. He dropped to his knees and felt around the edges like he’d done at the front door. “Checking for tripwires.”
“I’m assuming you learned that in the military.”
“Once a Marine, always a Marine.” He cocked a cute grin.
Her heart took a tumble. Despite the tense scene. Despite their situation. Despite not being free to pursue a relationship.
She tightened her hand around the flashlight to ignore her thoughts and watched him open the doors. What little light remained in the sky illuminated the top three steps. Rough, earthen steps.
“Stay up here until I say otherwise.” Headlamp back on, he took the stairs down, the light reflecting against solid cobwebs. He didn’t hesitate but swung the stick as he entered , sweeping the webs out of the way, and descended the steps.
Her mind raced over what he could be seeing, and she tapped a foot to ease her anxiety.
“You’ll want to check this out,” he yelled. “Come on down.”
The Price is Rightflashed into her brain to finish the sentence, but this wasn’t a game show. No game at all. Could be life or death.
She slowly descended and clicked on her flashlight. But she needn’t have done so. Micha shone his lamp on a pile of crates in the corner. Crates filled with items that stole her breath, and she stumbled back.
8
Micha moved a few boxes and let out a low whistle under his breath as he stared at crate after crate of weapons and ammo. “We’re looking at quite a stockpile here. Not only pistols with enough rounds for a long standoff, but automatic rifles that would quickly annihilate anyone who came onto the property.”
He looked back at Ava. Even in the dim light, he could see she’d paled, but he wouldn’t sugarcoat things. She needed to know what they could be up against.
He lifted out a rifle. “An AK-47. One of the deadliest weapons ever built.”
She let out a long breath. “And not something someone like Buck should have a need for unless he was expecting an assault.”
“Correct. This is the automatic version, which is even worse than the semi-automatic that so many bad guys own these days.”
She narrowed her gaze and stared at the gun. “You can tell by looking at it?”
“The average person can’t, but I spent years working with weapons.” He pointed at the right side of the gun to a trapezoidal-shaped metal latch. “Wear shows me this latch has two positions, which is only true of the fully automatic. It’s in the down position, and that’s this manufacturer’s setting for a full auto. I can’t prove it until firing the thing, but my gut says I’m right when I don’t want to be right.”
She arched an eyebrow. “And is this legal to own?”
“Sort of. Companies can’t make auto versions in the US for private citizens anymore, but you can legally buy one. That is, if the weapon was registered with the feds before May of 1986. It has to be registered before that date when the law changed. Makes them rare, and they could cost a cool ten grand or more at a minimum to buy.”
