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THE THIRD FLOOR

SAM TURNED TO PETE “WE CAN’T KEEP FIGHTING THEM on these stairs We’ve got to sabotage the one that leads from here to the fourth floor and then make our stand up there It’s held to the steel I beam by bolts—six of the to the stairs, get a cli solid up there and run it down here”

“I understand,” Pete said They were on the third floor where Pete’s and Wendy’s bedrooms were He hurried into his roo tools and equipment, and then climbed the staircase

Remi walked past Sam and he reached out and held her “Where’s Zoltán?”

“I closed hiotten killed down there He doesn’t understand strategic withdrawal Up there, he thinks he’s guarding so important”

“He is,” he said He turned to Sel

ain Get some started in the fourth-floor kitchen”

To Wendy he said, “Wendy, go up and bring azines one uns too”

Re sideboard covering the stairaiting for it to ?” she whispered

“We hurt the to the ones who got burned and any whothem”

“What’s our strategy now?” she asked

“We’re buying time,” he said “We couldn’t call the police or e- out that this isn’t just the sound of those fireworks Probably the ones closest to us don’t have phone service either, but farther away they must”

Remi picked up one of the 308 Match rifles and went to the south-side s She looked out at the Valencia Hotel backed up to the hillside She adjusted the e to account for a left-to-right offshore breeze of five miles an hour, unlatched the , and pushed it open a few inches She raised the rifle to her shoulder and ai roo sure that there were no people behind it, then squeezed the trigger Pow!

She didn’t h the powerful scope Two diners who had been hidden by the wall to the left ran across the ard the doorway She could see the woman’s mouth open in a silent scream A waiter and a hostess in a cocktail dress appeared, looking up at the broken ith great concern, and retreated out of sight

“What did you see?” asked Sam