Denver Overrun (Denver Burning Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

team and didn't turn it in when he transferred here. If we do get in another firefight, we’ll wish we had something more than our pistols.”
    “This is what we signed up for,” Alicia said. “No use hanging around. Let’s go.”
    They took off, jogging up the street to get clear of the smoke from the station fire, and then slowed down as they got into new territory. Alicia was shocked to find herself thinking of it that way: what had been a familiar street hours earlier was now unexplored ground from which danger might emerge without a moment's warning. It was as if the city had mutated suddenly from a sleeping giant into a nightmare beast.
    They heard the distant pop of gunfire several more times, and they could see smoke from the plane crashes billowing into the air over the city. But in the immediate area nothing was stirring; either everyone had fled, gone into hiding, or they were... not moving, anyway.
    "Andrews. How widespread do you think this could be?" Alicia asked as they moved northwest through the streets. "I mean, 9/11 involved a dozen actors with overseas support, right? Wherever these guys popped out from, there can't be more than a handful of them, right?"
    Andrews shook his head. "There's no telling, Sergeant. But if there are enough of them that a team of gunmen were sent to assault our little district, then I'm betting that HQ was hit with a lot more. And if these guys have the capability to take down airliners along with the power grid..."
    He left it there, but it was all Alicia needed to hear. The full weight of what was happening clarified what she knew she needed to do, and how far she might have to go. It was entirely possible that they were looking at the destruction of the whole city, possibly the region. It would take a long time to bounce back from this, even if they could regain control of the city in the next few days.  
    How could this have happened? She was grateful that at least Jason and Sadie were out of town and she didn't need to worry about them as well. She shook her head, trying to focus her mind and stay on top of her game.
    Rounding a corner, they cautiously surveyed a street that led toward the downtown area. What they saw wasn't pretty.
    Smoke poured from a large hole in the roof of a building three blocks down. All traffic was stopped, cars abandoned, some with doors hanging open. In the foreground, three civilians were hiding behind a dumpster. Beyond them, four men were walking up the center of the street toward their hiding place, each carrying a weapon.
    "This town is ours now!" one of the armed men yelled so that the civilians could hear. Alicia noticed that one of those huddled behind the dumpster wore a security guard's uniform. "You're gonna be sorry you ever messed with us," the thug taunted again, twirling a baseball bat in one hand. Another sported a red bandanna over his face, black cargo pants and vest, and the unmistakable wooden stock of an AK-47. Alicia remembered the getup from the firefight outside her station.
    "We're going to stop those men," Alicia murmured to Andrews, who was close behind her, still out of sight behind the corner. "If I keep them covered, can you cuff them?"
    Andrews' eyes grew wide. "Sergeant, two of them have long guns. And I only have one pair of cuffs anyway. How exactly are we going to stop them?"
    Alicia glared at him. "By use of deadly force, Officer Andrews. If they won't surrender their weapons. Now come on!"
    She led the way, running out into the street and acting a lot more bravely than she felt. Her revolver was up and ready, and she heard Andrews' boots on the pavement behind her.
    "Freeze! Put your weapons down, hands on the back of your heads!" she shouted.
    Two of the men hesitated at the sight of the armed, prepared police confronting them. But the one with the rifle whirled sideways and ducked into an alleyway. The other, the burly bat-wielder, came on. He sped up, taking short running steps to close with Alicia, and