"I'm scared…"
"Hush. Can you reach the shed roof? Stretch your legs, you can't be any more than an inch or so away. Can you feel it?" Kevin asked, concerned.
"No. Wait. I just touched something."
"Both feet on it? Okay, I'll let go now."
"No! Where are you going? Why aren't you coming with me?"
"I have to wake the others. I can't leave them behind to die. I'll come later. You drive away now, as fast as you can, understand?"
Tanya took a deep breath. "Yes," she said, and dropped onto the shed's roof. She hung from the side and then jumped to the ground, just a few feet below her.
Kevin doubled over and crept along the balcony, brushing past the building's wall to avoid a squeak of the wood beneath his feet. He peered into each room until he found Paul, lying completely dressed, on top of the bed's quilt. Kevin tapped on the glass.
Paul was up and at the window immediately. "Kevin? What's wrong?"
Kevin entered the room and gestured for quiet. "Someone's in the house, setting up an explosive in the kitchen."
Paul drew his Glock 20, opened the door, and worked his way to the top of the stairs and a view of the kitchen. He returned to Kevin.
"It's Joe. Joe Halliday. He's working on the detonator. Get Tanya out of the house." Paul's words came out in short, hurried gasps.
"She is out. I told her to drive away."
"I haven't heard an engine. Check up on her. She has a habit of not following instructions," Paul said and headed back toward the doorway. "Go. I'll take care of Joe."
Joe Halliday stood near the entrance to the house. He deposited the flashlight and the control for the detonator on the nearby console, then quietly unlocked the door and opened it wide.
Paul, in his stocking feet, managed to creep directly behind him when Joe abruptly turned and faced him. Joe bent, then surged back with an uppercut, hitting Paul's chin and sending him to the floor. Before Joe could move away, Paul wrapped his legs around Joe's ankles, pulling him down. They rolled on the ground until Paul had Joe underneath him-one of Joe's arms bent backwards. Paul swiftly recuperated his handgun and took aim. Then Joe, with a sudden, powerful twist, wrenched free, throwing Paul out of the door and down the stairway. Joe darted back inside.
Kevin and Tanya were about to drive away when they saw Paul lying on the ground. They rushed to him.